Maximizing the Mac Menu Bar

Derek Johnson
Aug 25, 2017 · 3 min read

The menu bar is one of the most overlooked yet powerful features in macOS. In this article, I’ll show you how to get set up with an uncluttered and highly productive menu bar.

Top: The typical, unusable and cluttered menu bar; Bottom: Clean and productive menu bar

Getting Started: The Basic Necessities

First things first, you need to get Bartender 2. No, seriously, just go buy it right now (or start your free trial if you aren’t yet convinced). It is the de facto standard of customization for the menu bar, and you will not regret the purchase. Bartender allows you to hide anything from the menu bar, and conveniently place it into a single icon that takes up less space. It is the key to reclaiming that critical screen real estate.

Bartender 2 — $15
https://www.macbartender.com/

Bartender 2 lets you show and hide menu bar items to a special hidden bar until you need them

The Mac menu bar shines most in providing unobtrusive access to key information like the time and date, battery status as well as things like weather or stock information.

InstaCal provides quick access to your fully editable calendar

InstaCal — $4.99
Get it on the Mac App Store

For quick access to a calendar and your upcoming events (and reminders), I recommend InstaCal. It allows you to show a number of useful date formats in the menu bar, instantly bringing up your calendar. InstaCal supports pretty much every calendar provider, including all your local calendars (those that show up in the Calendar app), Google Calendar, Office 365 and Outlook accounts.

Forecast Bar is a highly customizable weather app for your macOS menu bar

Forecast Bar — $5.99
Get it on the Mac App Store

Another critical piece of information is the weather, and the best I’ve found is Forecast Bar. Forecast Bar keeps the weather constantly up to date in your menu bar and is wildly customizable. A click on the menu bar item opens up a panel full of weather information — kind of like an iPhone weather app on your Mac.

Menu Bar Tips and Tricks

Now that you have the basic building blocks, there are a few simple tricks to set things up to match your preferences.

Reorder menu bar items

Hold (Cmd) ⌘ then click and drag to rearrange items in your menu bar

Customizing system menu bar items

Many of the stock items let you control what shows up. For example:

Getting more information when needed

Do you have other tools or tips and tricks you find useful with the macOS menu bar? Please share them with me!

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