Tinkertool-You should add the appropriate version to your toolbox of Utilities

My last post reviewed Intego Software’s Washing Machine utility package. I mentioned that it doesn’t do everything, such as alter your screenshot’s file format and file location. Well, here’s a utility to solve problems like this.

It’s a utility that doesn’t get publicized in mass e-mails or in Web pop-ups; but i heartily recommend it to  you. It’s Marcel Bresink’s Tinkertool. What it does is put a graphic interface on hidden settings that Apple didn’t give you a graphic interface. According to Apple, you have to type in the defaults command followed by the parameter to alter into Terminal. 

If you bought a Mac to get away from working at the Terminal, then  you’ll appreciate Tinkertool. You download it from http://www.bresink.com/osx/0TinkerTool/download.php

 

It comes in a .dmg file. When you click on it, you get this warning:

 

 

Click on “Agree” and you get the Tinkertool 5.0 application, an HTML page with Frequently Asked Questions in  English and a link back to the Web site for future reference. 

When you drag and copy Tinkertool to either your Applications or Applications/Utilities  folders, you click on it and get this window.

 

 

Look in the middle and you see how to change the screenshot file format and the target folder for screenshots. So if you have a series of projects and you want separate folders for each set of screenshots, now you can change them with ease. That’s under the General tab. 

Under the Finder tab at the far left-hand  side you can change whether to see otherwise hidden and system files that OS X normally hides from you. You can also set OS X to NOT save all those .DS files that crop up when you save a file on a Windows server . 

 

 

Two final tricks. First, if you don’t want other windows open on your screen to distract you, you can use the Dock tab to set Single Appleication Mode:

 

 

Second, what if you move to another Mac and want to keep all these settings? Siimple, export a Tinkertool .ttps file

 

 

 

 

Summary:

 

Tinkertool, a free utility from Marcel Bresink Software, let you change many servings for your own user account that would otherwise require you to type in commands at the Terminal prompt. You can also import and export settings files from the same version of Tinkertool.

 

Tinkertool does not alter anything that Apple did not make available. You do not need to enter your user password to use Tinkertool. You will need to use it on each user’s account on a Mac. You have the option to import and export .ttps files that contain all your modifications.

 

Make sure to read the FAQ file included on the .dmg file that you download. If you use earlier versions of OS X, earlier than Mavericks, you will need to use versions specific to that operating system. 

 

 

Tom Briant

Editor, MacValley Voice