This Clever Mac Tool Transforms Your Top Menu Bar In Seconds - And Gives You Total Control

Jack Wallen / Elyse Betters Picaro / ZDNET

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ZDNET cardinal takeaways

• Bartender 6 is simply a awesome measurement to dramatically cleanable up your paper bar.
• This app gives you overmuch much power complete really nan apical barroom behaves.
• Bartender 6 costs $20, but it's worthy its weight successful tidying up nan desktop.

I reviewed Bartender 5 for MacOS immoderate clip agone and person been utilizing it ever since. Since installing nan app, I've recovered it to beryllium a awesome summation to my desktop. Not only was it an easy measurement to get my apical barroom looking a spot much "nifty," but it besides cleaned it up.

After installing capable applications that included apical barroom icons, I recovered excavation to beryllium a spot excessively cluttered. Thankfully, Bartender 5 was capable to hide those icons, allowing maine to uncover them only erstwhile needed.

It's some businesslike and aesthetically pleasing.

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Well, erstwhile Apple released Tahoe and Liquid Glass, Bartender 5 didn't precisely return advantage of nan powerful caller theme. With nan MacOS changes successful mind, nan developer went backmost to work, retooling Bartender 5 into Bartender 6, and now it's imaginable to make judge that nan apical barroom is amended suited to nan caller taxable and gives you plentifulness of power complete really it behaves.

Although nan styling of nan apical barroom is rather nice, it's really good Bartender 6 cleans it up that really seals nan woody for me.

Although nan theming recovered successful Bartender 6 doesn't rather lucifer that of Liquid Glass, it still makes nan apical barroom (aka paper bar) look really cool. As acold arsenic nan look is concerned, you tin move between:

• Standard
• Solid Color
• Gradient
• Glass
• Classic Bar

Each of nan supra will entreaty to different personification types, but for me, I vacillate betwixt Gradient and Glass, depending connected my desktop wallpaper.

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Yeah, I'm that benignant of user.

As I said, nan Glass taxable doesn't rather deed nan Liquid Glass mark, but it's close. Instead of it looking akin to nan glassy dock and menus, it's much of a frosted glass, truthful I conjecture it's still successful nan solid family.

It still works.

I would for illustration to spot nan developer get nan apical barroom to look a spot person to Apple's return connected glass. Maybe if they allowed users to alteration nan colour of nan barroom erstwhile successful Glass mode, it would beryllium imaginable to amended lucifer what's connected nan bottommost of nan screen.

But that's picking astatine nits.

Cleaning up that barroom

If you're not arsenic into aesthetics arsenic I americium (most aren't), past you'll astatine slightest admit Bartender 6's expertise to cleanable up that bar.

Consider this: your apical barroom is filled pinch desktop icons, truthful overmuch truthful that it's go cluttered. What do you do?

You usage Bartender 6.

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The app defaults to hiding paper barroom icons, truthful astir of what you spot are nan menus connected nan near broadside and nan date/time connected nan right. In nan app's settings model (in nan General section), you tin specify really to uncover those hidden icons.

I emotion really Bartender 6 keeps my apical barroom cleanable and tidy.

Jack Wallen/ZDNET

I for illustration nan hover action simply because it saves maine a click.

Once you get this configured precisely to your liking, you'll find this characteristic unsocial is worthy nan value of introduction ($20 one-time fee). Keeping a tidy paper barroom removes nan consciousness of clutter connected my desktop (which is simply a large annoyance for me). A paper barroom afloat of icons mightiness not fuss you, but pinch Bartender 6, there's nary measurement (at slightest not that I tin find) to disable nan feature.

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With regards to nan hidden icons, you person 2 options:

• Reveal nan hidden icons successful nan paper barroom itself.
• Reveal nan hidden icons successful nan Bartender Bar (which is simply a mini barroom that appears beneath nan apical barroom erstwhile nan hidden icons are revealed).

I group excavation up truthful that each I person to do is hover my cursor complete nan paper bar, and nan hidden icons look successful nan Bartender Bar.

The prime is yours

I'm not saying that Bartender 6 will level up your MacOS skills. What I am saying is that pinch Bartender 6, you get to beryllium successful power of your paper bar, truthful you get to take really it looks and behaves.

For me, Bartender has go a necessity for keeping that paper barroom cleanable and looking fresh. If only nan developer would let maine to customize nan look truthful it amended matches nan dock and possibly make it imaginable to alteration nan font size successful nan paper bar, this app would get a cardinal chef's kisses.

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Even so, Bartender 6 should beryllium considered a must for anyone who wants to person choices for nan customization of nan apical bar.