It is not hard to give PowerBar your own personal touch. You can change several aspects of the 'Bar using the control panel, PowerBar menu, or optional keyboard shortcuts.
Moving/Removing/Renaming Buttons
You can move or remove buttons from the toolbar quite easily.
To move a button:
-Long way: turn on âcustomizationâ mode via the PowerBar menu option âTurn Customization Mode ON/OFFâ, then click and drag the button to a new location. If a button already exists there (and is in use) the two buttons will switch positions.
-Short way: While holding the SHIFT key, click and drag the button to be moved to a new location and release the mouse button. Again, if the new position is in use, the two items will be switched.
To remove a button:
The process is the same as that used to move buttons except that you should release the mouse button after moving the cursor completely OFF the toolbar (remember to press the SHIFT key to move a button). The item will be deleted and replaced with an empty button. You will be asked to confirm the delete (this feature can be turned off via Preferences) before it actually happens.
To rename a button:
Press and hold the OPTION and COMMAND keys while clicking on the button you want to rename. Type the new name and click âAcceptâ to apply the change, otherwise, to cancel, click âCancelâ.
Why would you want to do this, you ask? Perhaps the best reason applies to the use of QuicKey⢠buttons. If you incorrectly name a QuicKey button, the desired QuicKey will not be executed (youâll just hear a beep). The renaming feature allows you to go back and change the name of the QuicKey button to the correct one so that the QuicKey is executed.
Changing Colors
You can change the colors of the PowerBar Toolbar buttons individually. To do this, just click the desired button while holding down the OPTION key. A palette of colors will appear from which you may choose a color. Additionally, if you release the mouse over the eyedropper icon on this palette, you can âextractâ the color from any area to which you point the mouse and click. Also, if you release the mouse over the color wheel icon in this color palette, you may choose a color from the Macintosh standard color picker. Users of Dubl-Click Softwareâs ClickChange⢠2 should be familiar with the use of this picker as it is one and the same (thanks to Cliff @ Dubl-Click for permission to use it!).
You may also change the color of the border around the toolbar (the area surrounding the buttons but not including the toolbar frame). The process is the same as for the buttons...just OPTION-click on the border area and pick a new color from the resulting palette.
PowerLabels
PowerLabels are akin to the Finder's labeling system. You may set up several PowerLabels (8 to be exact) via the Colors Preferences button in the control panel. You can assign both text and a color to your PowerLabels. Then, if you choose, you can switch into âcustomizeâ mode, in which you may move buttons or select a range of buttons to colorize en masse via a PowerLabel. To turn customize mode on, remember that you have two options. One, select the âTurn Customization Mode ONâ menu option from the PowerBar menu. Two, click the little eye icon (assuming you have the captions showing, see below) such that the eye is âopenâ. To colorize via a PowerLabel, select a range of buttons by SHIFT-dragging the mouse over the desired buttons and then select a PowerLabel from the âColorsâ sub menu of the PowerBar menu or the same menu as displayed by clicking the color wheel icon in the upper right of the toolbar (again, assuming you have captions showing).
Button Size
You may choose to view the toolbar using large (40x40 pixel) or small (24x24) pixel buttons. To change the size, either select the âUse Large/Small Buttonsâ menu option from the PowerBar menu or check or uncheck the appropriate box in the PowerBar General Preferences Dialog.
Captions
PowerBar can show the names of the items included on the toolbar as the cursor moves over the button itself. Turn this option on by selecting it from the PowerBar menu (COMMAND-T) or use the PowerBar General Preferences. Additionally, to the right of the caption you'll see two (2) icons. The rightmost icon controls whether you are in âcustomizeâ mode (it looks like a closed eye when this mode is on). Click the icon to turn the mode on (the eye âopensâ ). Clicking the icon a second time switches the mode off (the eye âclosesâ). When in customize mode, you can use the other icon, a color wheel, to change the color of a range of buttons that have been selected. After selecting a range of buttons (by SHIFT-dragging the mouse), click on this icon and the same menu as appears in the PowerBar menu under âColorsâ appears. You can change the entire selection of buttons to a PowerLabel or the default color, or you may choose a new color from the standard Macintosh color picker dialog.
Toolbar Position and Orientation
You may reposition or resize the toolbar to your liking. The new configuration will be ârememberedâ. To move the toolbar, click in any non-button, non-icon area and drag it to the desired location. To resize the toolbar, click the âgrowâ box and resize it to your liking. You'll note that, unless you have the automatic cleanup preference turned on, the icons will NOT reposition to reflect the new orientation after resizing. You can re-do the buttons by selecting the âCleanupâ option from the PowerBar menu (or have it done for you automatically by turning the option on via the PowerBar General Preferences).
