TinkerTool

Features

TinkerTool is an application that gives you access to additional preference settings Apple has built into macOS. This allows to activate hidden features in the operating system and in some of the applications delivered with the system.

To further guarantee that the tool cannot change any part of your installation, but only gets access to your personal preference settings, the program puts itself under the restrictions of Apple's Application Sandbox. TinkerTool is the first application of its kind to use this innovative technology.

When you have defined your preferred set of “pro” preference settings, you can additionally export and import the settings, copying them to another user account or to a different computer. All settings which don't depend on the availability of third-party applications can be transferred.

Because TinkerTool only gives you access to features already built into macOS, its feature set varies greatly between different operating system versions. Please refer to the following table:

For older operating systems, please see the version overview page.

Preference Setting macOS 15 Sequoia
Enable the Finder to show hidden and system files x
Disable sound effects of the Finder x
Prevent the Finder from using the Desktop background x
Enable the “Quit” menu item of the Finder x
Let the Finder display the UNIX path of the current selection as window title x
In column mode, resize columns automatically to file name widths x
Disable the animation effect when opening information panels or Desktop icons x
Disable the animation effect when selecting information categories x
Disable the creation of hidden Finder .DS_Store files on network volumes x
Force the Finder to collect all data from a network folder before displaying its contents x
Block the feature “connect to server” in the Finder x
Block the eject feature in the Finder x
Block the features for disk burning in the Finder x
Block the feature “go to folder” in the Finder x
Use dimmed Dock icons to show hidden applications x
Disable the animation when hiding or showing the Dock x
Disable the delay until the Dock is shown when autohide is active x
Restrict the Dock not to allow manual changes of its size x
Restrict the Dock not to allow changes of its contents x
Add spacer elements to the Dock x
Set the Dock minimization effect to a “suck in” animation x
Enable slow motion of Dock minimization when shift key is hold x
Disable fade-in animation of Launchpad x
Disable fade-out animation of Launchpad x
Disable page switch animation of Launchpad x
Change the layout arrangement (number of rows and columns) of Launchpad x
Re-enable the key repeat feature x
Disable the revised function of the power button to switch to sleep mode instead of displaying a power-down dialog x
Enable direct mouse control without any influence on speed and acceleration x
Set the file format for the creation of Desktop screenshots x
Disable the shadow when taking window screenshots x
Prevent that recording times are inserted into the names of screenshots x
Disable temporary preview for editing screenshots x
Set the destination folder for Desktop screenshots x
Allow less precise edge grabbing when resizing windows x
Set expanded Save dialogs as default when using new applications x
Disable animation when scrolling between document pages x
Limit the number of items shown in the “File > Open Recent” submenu of native macOS applications x
Disable drag-and-drop of text in Cocoa applications or set the delay time when switching from selection mode to drag mode x
Set the delay before applications will display help tags (“tooltips”) x
Control the blink rate of the text insertion marker x
Show the cmd+tab application switcher on all displays, not only on the Dock screen x
Control how macOS handles application crashes x
Use the Notification Center for crash information x
Control the display of warnings when uncaught exceptions occur in applications x
Show Problem Reporter in the Dock when applications crash x
Automatically activate Terminal windows by pointing at them with the mouse cursor x
Let Mail use your own AIFF sound file to indicate a new message x
Allow ratings with half stars in “Music” x
Control the delay when moving windows between Spaces in Mission Control x
Disable the dialog which asks for Time Machine backup disks when new drives are connected x
Prevent macOS from quitting unused applications automatically x
Change the thousands separator for displaying numbers
 x
Change the decimal separator for displaying numbers x
Change the preferred currency symbol x
Change the thousands separator for displaying currency values
 x
Change the decimal separator for displaying currency values
 x
Change the formats for displaying date specifications
 x
Change the formats for displaying time specifications
 x
Set preferred font sizes for the selection of default fonts for eight specific use categories, typefaces for two categories x
Disable font smoothing if possible x
Restrict dark mode to menu bar and Dock, keeping applications light x
Keep Finder light even if dark mode is enabled x
Keep Mail light even if dark mode is enabled x
Keep System Settings light even if dark mode is enabled x
Keep Terminal light even if dark mode is enabled x
Keep Music light even if dark mode is enabled x
Keep Safari light even if dark mode is enabled x
Re-enable use of the backspace key to navigate backwards in Safari x
Set the initial page zoom value of Safari continuously x

(x) denotes feature support.

The software is offered without implied warranty of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose. We cannot guarantee that TinkerTool will be compatible with future versions of macOS.