Personalize Mac OS X Yosemite
Edited by VisiHow, Dougie-1, MsBarbs, Eng and 1 other
If you're looking for ways to personalize your install of the Mac OS X Yosemite operating system, you've come to the right place. In this tutorial, we'll show you everything you need to know about personalizing your Mac. This will include the desktop background, menu bar and dock color, highlight color, and the dock preferences.
Read the steps and tips that follow for information on everything you can do to personalize your Mac OS X Yosemite install.
- 1 Change Desktop Background in Yosemite
- 2 Select an OS X Screen Saver
- 3 Change OS X Yosemite Dock Preferences
- 4 Use Dark Mode in OS X Yosemite
- 5 Change Color of Buttons, Windows, and Menus
- 6 Change the Highlight Color of Your Mouse
- 7 Additional Tips and Suggestions
- 8 Warnings on Personalizing OS X Yosemite
- 9 Questions and Answers
- 10 Comments
Change Desktop Background in Yosemite
We'll start from the most basic and important methods of personalizing your Mac.
A new desktop background always makes your Mac look fresh. Follow the steps below to change your desktop background:
- 1This is done by pressing with two fingers instead of one on your touch pad, or by control clicking if you only have a single button mouse.Right click on your desktop.
- 2This is where you'll find all of the backgrounds.Select the 'Change Desktop Background...' from the menu.
- 3You can also select your own background from photos you've taken or saved. Just click on the photos option under the iPhoto section.Now you can select your preferred background.
Select an OS X Screen Saver
In the past a screensaver was used to prevent the phosphor burn-in on older computer monitors and laptop displays.
These days it's just used for aesthetics and entertainment. Follow the steps below to select a screen saver for your Mac:
- 1This will bring up a menu.On your desktop, right click on any empty space.
- 2This will let you modify the desktop background.Select 'Change Desktop Background...'.
- 3Here is where all of the screen savers are stored.Click on the 'Screen Saver' tab.
- 4Some can also be personalized.You can now choose one of the screen savers.
Change OS X Yosemite Dock Preferences
In this section, we'll talk about all of the different settings you can use to personalize your dock.
Follow the steps below to personalize your Mac dock:
- 1This is the menu of icons that is at the bottom of your screen.Right click on your dock.
- Size: You can choose the size of your dock.
- Magnification: This option will make your dock look 3D. You can also choose the size of the icons on your dock.
- Position on Screen: You can choose the position of your dock on the screen.
- Minimize Windows Using: This option let you change your Windows minimization effect.
- Automatically Hide and Show the Dock: Once you enable this option, your dock will hide automatically. If you move your mouse over the dock area, it will be displayed.
Use Dark Mode in OS X Yosemite
One of the new features of OS X Yosemite is the ability to can change your shiny menu bar and dock into the more cool dark mode.
Follow the steps below to use the dark mode feature on your Mac:
- 1This will bring up a menu.Click on the 'Apple' icon, which is located on the top left side of your screen.
- 2Here you will see all of your system preferences.Select 'System preferences'.
- 3This will open a new set of options.Click on 'General'.
- 4You'll be enabling dark mode by doing this.Mark the check box next to 'Use dark menu bar and dock'.
- 5If you don't like it, just follow the steps above, and uncheck the box for dark mode to turn it off.Now the color of your menu bar and dock will change to a dark color.
Change Color of Buttons, Windows, and Menus
Another of the great features that you can use to personalize your Mac is changing the color of your buttons, Windows, and menus.
Follow the steps below to change the appearance for the buttons, menus, and Windows on your Mac:
- 1This is found on the top left corner of your Mac screen.Click on the 'Apple' icon.
- 2Now a new menu should be shown.Select 'System preferences' from the menu.
- 3This will let you select general options.Now click on the 'General' icon.
- 4You can now choose from the options available.By changing the color of the 'Appearance' option, you'll be able to modify the color of the buttons, menus, and Windows.
Change the Highlight Color of Your Mouse
With this option, you'll be able to change the color of highlighted text on your Mac.
The default color is light blue. However, you can change this to your preferred color. Follow these steps to perform this on your Mac OS X Yosemite:
- 1This will open a menu.Click on the 'Apple' logo, which is on the top left side of your screen.
- 2Now you'll see the system preferences menu.Select the 'System preferences' option.
- 3This will open the general options.Click on 'General'.
- 4If you don't like any of the default colors, you can click on 'Other...' and select your own color.You can now choose a highlight color by clicking on the 'Highlight color' option.
Additional Tips and Suggestions
- Remember that you can always click and drag to move items on the dock bar.
- If you prefer the dock bar in another position, just right click it and set the position differently.
- Keep in mind that you can always change any color preference back to the default if you don't like the changes you make.
Warnings on Personalizing OS X Yosemite
- Keep in mind that some users who need visual assistance may not want to change these colors, or may find it difficult to view the changes once they're applied. Get help if you need someone to revert a change.
- Be careful you don't change things to colors you won't be able to easily see, or that are unpleasant to read, such as yellow text on a blue background.
Questions and Answers
Windows on my Mac osx Yosemite are grey even though blue is selected in system preferences?
Windows on my Mac osx Yosemite are grey even though blue is selected in system preference
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