What's new?
TinkerTool 7 Version History

Release 7.6 (Build 200908)

• Added new option to disable animation when scrolling between document pages.
• The option to block the feature for burning optical media with the Finder was reinstated for macOS Catalina.

Release 7.5 (Build 200630)

• Added preliminary support for future operating systems.
• Added new option to disable the temporary preview to edit screenshots.

Release 7.42 (Build 191016)

• The documentation could be updated for macOS 10.15 Catalina because its news embargo is no longer active.
• The Portuguese user interface has been reviewed for terminology changes in macOS 10.15.

Release 7.41 (Build 190805)

Added support for recent changes in beta versions of macOS. Users with officially published versions of macOS Mojave don't need this update.

Release 7.4 (Build 190625)

Added support for future versions of macOS. If you operate TinkerTool as integrated part of TinkerTool System, it will be necessary to update TinkerTool System as well (version 6.51 or later).

Release 7.3 (Build 190604)

• Added preliminary support for future versions of macOS.
• The settings of the Finder to disable access to preferences and to prevent emptying the Trash could be circumvented easily and are no longer supported officially by Apple. For these reasons, these settings can only be deactivated, but no longer re-activated by TinkerTool.

Release 7.2 (Build 190404)

• Added full support for macOS 10.14.4 and Safari 12.1.
• Added new feature to let the application copy itself to the system Applications folder if desired when the program is launched from the virtual distribution disk.

Release 7.1 (Build 181022)

Release 7.0 (Build 180829)

Release 6.4 (Build 180620)

Release 6.3 (Build 180417)

Release 6.21 (Build 170919)

Added full support for macOS 10.13 High Sierra.

Release 6.2 (Build 170628)

Fixed a problem where TinkerTool would not start with certain pre-release versions of macOS High Sierra, if it was stored on a case-sensitive file system on a computer with Touch Bar. This update is not relevant for users that don't have this specific configuration.

Release 6.2 (Build 170612)

Added preliminary support for future versions of macOS.

Release 6.1 (Build 170601)

The application was re-released, fixing a possible compatibility problem when being used with outdated releases of macOS prior to version 10.12.1 Build 16B2659.

Release 6.1 (Build 170221)

The application was re-released with an additional Italian language support package.

Release 6.1 (Build 170210)

• The preference settings for Dock and Launchpad have been separated and are now presented on two different panes.
• Added support for Macintosh computers with Touch Bar.
• Added stepless control for the initial page zoom setting of Safari.
• Added feature to add spacer elements to the Dock.
• Added feature to change the layout arrangement of Launchpad.
• Several language translations had to be removed for organizational reasons. This may be temporary.

Release 6.0 (Build 160919)

This version supports macOS 10.12 Sierra.

Release 5.7 (Build 160912)

• The application is aware of macOS 10.12 Sierra, and the documentation has been updated accordingly.
• Revised Finnish user interface.
• Revised Portuguese user interface.

Release 5.61 (Build 160823)

This update ensures full compatibility with TinkerTool System 4.8.

Release 5.6 (Build 160707)

• Added preference setting to enable automatic notification for software updates of the application.
• Links to external information sources in the user interface are now using encrypted HTTPS communication.
• Integrated changes of intermediate build versions, fixing problems with support for Quick Look and Mission Control settings in different releases of OS X El Capitan.
• Changed distribution packaging to support future security enhancements of the operating system.

Release 5.51 (Build 150917)

Added official support for OS X 10.11 El Capitan.

Release 5.5 (Build 150819)

• Added new setting to block access to the Preferences window of the Finder.
• Added new setting to block access to the Empty Trash function of the Finder.
• Added new setting to disable the delay for showing the Dock when the Dock is set to hide automatically.
• Added new setting to control the blink rate of the text insertion marker.
• Added new setting to enable a key combination that toggles the setting for dark menu and Dock (OS X Yosemite or later only).
• Many small changes in the user interface.
• Switching to Portuguese is now sufficient to enable language support for Brasilian Portuguese.
• Korean language support had to be removed.

Release 5.4 (Build 150618)

This version adds preliminary support for future operating systems.

Release 5.32 (Build 150518)

• Added Korean language support.
• Reinstated the setting to deactivate Dashboard for OS X Yosemite. Although this option has been superseded by Mission Control settings, Apple keeps it active.  Users who blocked Dashboard in Mavericks and updated to Yosemite can now reactivate Dashboard if required.
• Reinstated the setting to prevent applications from quitting automatically for the official versions of OS X Yosemite.

Release 5.31 (Build 141014)

• The documentation was updated for OS X 10.10 Yosemite.
• The application now detects iTunes 12.
• Corrected a problem where the General pane showed no or an incorrect icon with specific versions of OS X Yosemite.

Release 5.3 (Build 140725)

• Added a more aggressive workaround for a design issue of OS X which can cause preference settings to become effective only after a major delay.
• Added new setting to re-enable the backspace key to navigate backwards in Safari.
• Added new setting to disable the revised function of the power button to switch to sleep mode instead of displaying a power-down dialog (10.9.2 or later only).
• Added new setting to control the speed of Mission Control animations.
• Added new setting to use Notification Center to display information about crashes.
• The internal architecture of the application was updated on all levels to be prepared for the latest developments of OS X.
• The documentation was revised.

Release 5.2 (Build 140218)

This version adds support for OS X 10.9.2.

Release 5.1 (Build 131218)

• To further strengthen its top position as most innovative preference utility of its kind, TinkerTool is now running inside Apple's application sandbox. The tool is the first program of its category to use this security technology.
• The pane Login Items has been removed because it is no longer useful for the latest operating system versions. Modern OS X installations start the items simultaneously, independent of their visible order, and also use additional mechanisms such as Resume and invisible launch entries which have influence on the start sequence during the login phase.
• When working with font defaults, the tool now differentiates clearly between the actual Lucida Grande typeface and the new screen system font introduced with OS X Mavericks.
• The preference setting to enable copy operations for text displayed by Quick Look has been reinstated for OS X 10.9.1 and later.
• The storage space used by the preference reset feature has been reduced significantly.

Release 5.0 (Build 131022)

This version adds support for OS X 10.9 Mavericks. A spin-off version supporting Mac OS X Snow Leopard, Mac OS X Lion and OS X Mountain Lion has been published under the name “TinkerTool 4”.

• Added new feature to import and export settings to file, making it possible to transfer them between different users or computers.
• Added settings to control the default fonts of Safari 7 which become active when no fonts are set within a particular web document.
• Font settings different from defaults are now emphasized by a color marker.
• Added setting to control whether screenshots should have date and time in their file names.
• TinkerTool can now track live if settings are modified by other applications.
• Many small enhancements and layout optimizations in the user interface.

Note: Resetting preferences to ”pre-TinkerTool” state is not supported when upgrading from version 3.96 (or earlier) directly to version 5 without using any version 4 first.

Release 4.96 (Build 130910)

• Corrected a typo in the English user interface of the QuickTime X pane.
• Resolved a problem where changing the placement of the Dock could reset it to bottom screen position.
• Resolved a problem where resetting the font defaults to standard values under OS X Mountain Lion could cause the default for fixed-pitch fonts to be set to “Monaco 10” which is incorrect.
• Added a workaround for a technical issue in OS X Mountain Lion which could cause sandbox-protected applications to revert modified preference settings if they were restarted to soon after changing the setting.

Release 4.95 (Build 130806)

The tool was re-released to fix some minor problems:

• Corrected a typo in the English user interface of the QuickTime X pane.
• Resolved a problem where changing the placement of the Dock could reset it to bottom screen position.
• Resolved a problem where resetting the font defaults to standard values under OS X Mountain Lion could cause the default for fixed-pitch fonts to be set to “Monaco 10” which is incorrect.

Release 4.95 (Build 121212)

• Added support for iTunes 11.
• Added setting to enable the debug menu of Disk Utility (Lion or later).
• Added setting to enable the debug menu of the App Store application (Lion or later).
• Added setting to control smooth scrolling in Mountain Lion.
• Added setting to disable the default suggestion to save new documents to iCloud for Mountain Lion applications.
• The pane to control Resume behavior for individual applications has been added for Mountain Lion.
• Several enhancements in the user interface.

Release 4.9 (Build 120807)

The tool was re-released with additional language support for Brazilian Portuguese.

Release 4.9 (Build 120723)

• Added support for OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion.
• Added setting to disable the rubber-band effect when scrolling beyond the end of a view (Lion and Mountain Lion).
• Added setting to prevent OS X from quitting unused applications automatically (Lion and Mountain Lion).
• The application now allows that its icon can be replaced (using the official feature of the Finder).

Release 4.8 (Build 120330)

• Added setting to disable the animation when auto-hiding the Dock (Lion only)
• Added setting to open Dock Stacks by scrolling (Lion only)
• Added setting to disable the fade-in animation of Launchpad
• Added setting to disable the fade-out animation of Launchpad
• Added setting to disable the page switching animation of Launchpad
• Added setting to show the Unix path of the Desktop background image (Lion only)
• Added setting to modify the delay in Apple Mail when marking messages in conversations as read (Lion only)
• Added setting to disable animation in Mission Control
• Added setting to control the delay when moving windows between Spaces in Mission Control
• Added setting to enable copy operations when previewing text files in Quick Look (Lion only)
• Added setting to disable inertia for all scrolling devices (Lion only)
• Added setting to allow less precise edge grabbing when resizing windows (Lion only)
• Added setting for iTunes 10.4 or later to enable pop-up notifications in the Dock when playing new track (Lion only)
• The option to re-enable old keyboard shortcuts in Lion save panels has been removed because Apple supported this in 10.7 and 10.7.1 only

Release 4.71 (Build 120109)

• Added a Simplified Chinese language package.
• Enhanced support for Mac OS X Lion.
• The documentation has been revised.

Release 4.7 (Build 110906)

• Added new Resume pane to control individually by application how programs should behave when re-opening them (Lion only).
• Added setting to display alert dialogs when uncaught exceptions occur in applications (Lion only).
• Added setting to disable the animation effect when opening windows (Lion only).
• Added setting to disable the animation effect when opening a reply window in Apple Mail (Lion only).
• Added setting to re-enable the key repeat feature in Lion (as opposed to the hold feature to enter diacritic characters).
• Added setting to re-enable the “Don't save” keyboard shortcut for save sheets in Lion.
• Added setting to re-enable the display of text labels for icons in the Safari toolbar.
• The setting not to keep help windows in the foreground has been re-enabled.
• The setting to disable the storage of preview images for web pages has been re-enabled for Safari 5.1.
• The setting not to use rounded window corners for the QuickTime X Player has been removed for Lion, because Mac OS X 10.7 can no longer process this correctly.

Release 4.61 (Build 110722)

• Added compatibility with Safari 5.1 for Snow Leopard, taking into account all features that have been removed by Apple.
• Added compatibility with iTunes 10.4.

Release 4.6 (Build 110708)

• This version is supporting Mac OS X 10.7 Lion.
• The documentation (FAQ) has been revised.

Release 4.5 (Build 110316)

• Support for Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard has been moved to a special version of TinkerTool called TinkerTool Classic Generation 2. Users of Tiger and Leopard must upgrade to this edition instead of upgrading to the standard version of TinkerTool.
• TinkerTool can now run as native 64 bit application.
• Added preference setting for Safari 5 to control DNS prefetching.
• Added preference setting for Safari 5 to disable the caching of preview images for visited web pages.
• Enhanced compatibility with iTunes 10.2.
• Keyboard navigation within the tool has been enhanced.
• The user interface has been streamlined. The new section “Applications” replaces the previous operating system dependent preference pane, bundling all settings which apply to Mac OS X applications.The former Applications pane has been renamed to “Desktop”.

Release 4.4 (Build 101207)

• To enhance compatibility with future versions of Mac OS X and with TinkerTool System Release 2, support for Mac OS X 10.4 has been moved to a separate application. Users of Mac OS X 10.4 should download TinkerTool (Tiger Edition), users of Mac OS X 10.1, 10.2, or 10.3 should download TinkerTool Classic from the official web site. The standard application is designed to be used with Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard or Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard.
• Launching the application and loading its panes has become faster.

Release 4.3 (Build 101011)

• This version adds support for iTunes 10.0.1. Support for the interim version iTunes 10.0 has been removed.
• Adds preference setting to disable the Ping / iTunes Store pull-down menus in iTunes 10.0.1.
• iTunes options have now moved from the operating system-specific pane to their own pane. iTunes 8 options are now additionally available to users of Leopard. iTunes 9 options are now additionally available to users of Tiger. iTunes 10 options are now additionally available to users of Leopard.

Release 4.2 (Build 100920)

• Added preference for Snow Leopard and iTunes 10 to use a standard window with title bar and horizontal buttons for controlling iTunes.
• Added preference for Apple Mail to prefer the plain text alternative when displaying messages.
• Added preference for the Dock of Leopard and Snow Leopard to automatically hide all other applications when using the Dock to switch to or launch an application.
• Added preference for Safari 4 and 5 to disable all RSS features.
• Changed the layout of the General pane to enhance compatibility with small screens. The Dashboard settings have moved from the General to the Applications pane.
• Changed the layout of the Snow Leopard pane to enhance compatibility with small screens.
• Enhanced compatibility with Safari 5.
• Corrected a problem where reactivation of deactivated login items was not working as expected in Leopard and Snow Leopard.

Release 4.1 (Build 100322)

• By user request, settings for iTunes 9 are now available when running Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard, too. (In addition to settings of iTunes 8 in Leopard).
• Added preference for Snow Leopard and iTunes 9 to allow ratings with half stars.
• Added preference for Snow Leopard and iTunes 9 to show a master playlist for the entire media library.
• Added preference for Snow Leopard and iTunes 9 to load excerpts of tracks completely beforing playing them when browsing the iTunes Store. This is helpful when using slow Internet lines.
• Corrected a problem where the check mark ”Maintain full-screen mode when switching to other applications” for QuickTime X could show the opposite state.
• Corrected a problem where font smoothing of Mac OS X was assuming a different background color during animation of the preference panes. This could lead to visible artefacts on specific combinations of graphics chips and monitors.

Release 4.0 (Build 100222)

• TinkerTool 4 was rewritten completely and uses new technologies for its core and user interface.
• A help panel was added.
• The user interface can now be displayed in Spanish.
• Added preference for Snow Leopard to let QuickLook inspect folders by showing them with transparent covers.
• Added preference for Snow Leopard to block the feature “connect to server” in the Finder.
• Added preference for Snow Leopard to block the iDisk features in the Finder.
• Added preference for Snow Leopard to block the eject feature in the Finder.
• Added preference for Snow Leopard to block the features for disk burning in the Finder.
• Added preference for Snow Leopard to block the feature “go to folder” in the Finder.
• Added preference for Snow Leopard to block the restart option in the Finder.
• Added preference for Snow Leopard to block the shutdown option in the Finder.
• Added preference for Snow Leopard to disable the Dock Exposé feature (returning to context menus on click-and-hold).
• Added preference for Snow Leopard to enable a larger, grid-like display for stacks in list view mode.
• Added preference for Snow Leopard to set the delay before applications will display help tags (“tooltips”).
• Added preference for Snow Leopard to disable the immediate inline-display of attachments in Apple Mail.
• Added preference for Snow Leopard to force Mail to copy plain e-mail adresses to the pasteboard (omitting names).
• Added preference for Snow Leopard to let the Exposé feature “Application Windows” include windows from all Spaces.
• Added preference for Snow Leopard to disable the quarantine security warning when opening downloaded objects.
• Added preference for Snow Leopard to control to which computer the remote access feature is sending system key shortcuts.
• Added preference for Snow Leopard to control the style and degree of font smoothing (optimized for CRT or LCD).
• Added preference for QuickTime X to disable display of controls when cursor re-enters player window.
• Added preference for QuickTime X to keep player controls always visible.
• Added preference for QuickTime X not to use rounded window corners for the player.
• Added preference for QuickTime X to disable the title bar of the player.
• Added preference for QuickTime X not to auto-play movies when opening the player.
• Added preference for QuickTime X to show close captioning and subtitles after launching the player.
• Added preference for QuickTime X to maintain full-screen mode when switching to other applications.
• Added preference for QuickTime X to allow multiple concurrent recordings.
• Added preference for QuickTime X to use the option key to switch between video and audio tracks when trimming movies.
• Added preference for QuickTime X to use the option key to highlight silent ranges in the audio track when trimming movies.
• The Portuguese version of the user interface had to be removed.

Release 3.96 (Build 090825)

This version adds preliminary support for Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard. Full support will be added when the new operating system has matured.

Release 3.95 (Build 090729)

TinkerTool has been split into two parts, one for operating versions prior to Mac OS X 10.4 „Tiger“, one for 10.4 and later versions. The release for older systems has the version number 3.95 and is called „TinkerTool Classic“.

Release 3.94 (Build 090609)

This release adds support for Safari 4 for Tiger and Safari 4 for Leopard.

Release 3.93 (Build 081209)

This is a minor maintenance update which does not add any new features.

• The code size was optimized.
• Corrected a problem where the option to disable shadows when taking screenshots of windows did not work as expected in Mac OS X Leopard.

Release 3.92 (Build 081110)

• The internal architecture of TinkerTool has changed to support new features in the future.
• The option for advanced features of Leopard Screen Sharing will be disabled in operating system versions which cannot support this.
• The following preference settings have been added for users of Mac OS X Leopard:
  • Disable the shadow when taking a screenshot of a window (cmd+shift+4).
  • Create file names with track numbers when importing music in iTunes 8.
  • Inverse the meaning of the option (alt) key when clicking on links in iTunes 8: Option-clicking will link to the local library.

Release 3.91 (Build 080917)

By user request, access to some lost preference settings of iTunes 8 has been added:

• Disable the display of the genre column in the iTunes browser.
• Disable display of links to the iTunes Store.
• Enable playing songs while importing or converting.

These settings are available for users of Mac OS X Leopard only.

Release 3.9 (Build 080529)

• Added preference setting for the Leopard Finder to display UNIX paths in window titles.
• Added preference setting for the Leopard Finder to omit the striped background in list views.
• Added preference setting for the Leopard Dock to use the spring-loading feature of the Finder also for Dock tiles.
• Added preference setting for the Leopard Dock to highlight the current selection when working with stacks in grid view.
• Added preference setting for the Leopard Dock to display a stack for recent items.
• Added general preference setting for Tiger and Leopard to set expanded Save dialogs as default when using new applications.
• Added general preference settings for Leopard to set expanded Print dialogs as default when using new applications.
• Added Leopard preference setting not to include entries from the Dictionary application into Spotlight search results.
• Added Leopard preference setting not to use the calculator feature of Spotlight.
• Added Leopard preference setting not to keep the Help Viewer window always in the foreground.
• Added preference setting for Spaces not to wrap around when switching from the last or first space.
• Added preference setting for Time Machine not to ask for backup disks when connecting new drives.
• Added Leopard preference setting to include all system user groups in the Accounts pane of System Preferences.
• Added preference setting to enable the full feature set in the toolbar of the Leopard Screen Sharing client.
• Added preference setting to display the computer browser when opening the Leopard Screen Sharing client.
• The feature to reorder and temporarily disable login items has been reinstated for Mac OS X Leopard 10.5.2 or later.
• Added preference setting for Safari 3 not to show a warning when closing unsubmitted forms.
• Added preference setting for Safari 3.1 to redirect all links opening new windows into foreground tabs.
• Improved compatibility with Safari 3.0 and Safari 3.1.
• By user request, an additional explanation dialog was added when users switch off the Desktop background of the Finder.
• In order to avoid unintentional selection of options by mouse clicks resulting from window reordering bugs in Leopard, the empty spaces behind option texts have been made unsensitive to clicks when using certain languages.
• The documentation has been revised.
• The language packages for Swedish, and Traditional Chinese have been removed. They may be reinstated later.

Release 3.8a (Build 080213)

• Added Russian language package.
• Fixed a problem where Safari's preference setting "Visible items in main history menu" did not differentiate correctly between Safari 2 and Safari 3 installations.

Release 3.8 (Build 071107)

• Added compatibility with Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard.
• Removed support for Mac OS X 10.2 Jaguar and other operating systems releases prior to version 10.3.8.
• Added preference setting to modify the destination folder for screenshots (Tiger and Leopard).
• Added preference to set the default user name when connecting manually to AppleShare (AFP) servers in the Finder (Tiger only).
• Added preference setting to slow down animations in the Finder when the shift key is pressed (Tiger only).
• Added preference setting to disable manual changes of the Dock size.
• Added preference setting to disable changes of the Dock contents.
• Added preference setting to disable the three-dimensional glass effect of the Dock (Leopard only).
• Many small changes in the user interface.

Release 3.7d (Build 070906)

This new build of version 3.7 adds a Brazilian-Portuguese language package. Users of 3.7 only need to upgrade if they like to use the software in Portuguese.

Release 3.7c (Build 070823)

This new build of version 3.7 adds a Russian language package. Users of 3.7 only need to upgrade if they like to use the software in Russian.

Release 3.7b (Build 070620)

This new build of version 3.7 adds a Dutch language package. Users of 3.7 only need to upgrade if they like to use the software in Dutch.

Release 3.7a (Build 070602)

This new build of version 3.7 reinstates the Japanese language package and corrects some typos in the French user interface. In all other aspects the application is identical to version 3.7. Users of 3.7 only need to upgrade if they like to use the software in French or Japanese.

Release 3.7 (Build 070423)

This new build of version 3.7 comes with additional French and Polish language packages.

Volunteers for the translation of TinkerTool 3.7 are welcome, especially for Danish, Dutch, Japanese, Korean, Norwegian, Portuguese, Russian, and Spanish.

Release 3.7 (Build 070416)

• Added new preference pane to reorder and temporarily disable login objects (Mac OS X Tiger only). This feature was requested by many users, because Apple removed it from the original System Preferences application.
• Added new preference setting to enable display of hidden and system files in the context menu of folders dragged into the Dock.
• Added preference setting to generally limit the number of items shown in the "File > Open Recent" submenu of all native Mac OS X applications.
• Added preference setting to disable the drag-and-drop feature of selected text in Cocoa applications. The user can also set the delay time the system should wait when switching from selection mode to drag mode.
• Added preference setting for Safari to show the Internet addresses of links via Help tool tips when the mouse cursor is positioned on the link (Panther and Tiger only).
• Added preference setting for Safari to disable the database of web-site icons (Panther and Tiger only).
• Added preference setting for Safari to control the number of days after which history items expire automatically (Panther and Tiger only).
• Added preference setting for Safari to control the number of history items visible in the menu of the Back/Forward buttons.
• When used with Mac OS X Tiger, TinkerTool will now use the unified Tiger display style for its toolbar.
• Support for Mac OS X 10.1 "Puma" has been removed.
• The number of supported languages was reduced unfortunately. Volunteers for the translation of TinkerTool 3.7 are welcome.

Release 3.61

Added a Polish user interface.

Release 3.6

• Added a Tiger option to prevent the Finder from creating hidden .DS_Store files on network volumes.
• Updated translation of the Finnish, French, Italian, Swedish and Traditional Chinese user interface.

Release 3.5

• Added a Tiger option to select the graphics file format for system screenshots. There are 12 possible choices.
• Added an option to disable Dashboard per user account. This can solve memory and security problems in protected environments.
• Added an option to enable Dasboard developer mode. This allows the user to drag a widget from Dashboard to the Desktop, testing and using the widget like a normal application.
• Added an option to disable native PDF support for the Tiger version of Safari. This allows users to quickly download a series of PDF documents without additional mouse-clicks.
• Added the menu item "Close Window" by user request.
• Removed the option "Minimize Desktop" for Exposé window hiding from the Tiger user interface because most users didn't understand the warning about possible negative side effects. The option is still available in the Panther interface.
• The documentation was revised.
• NOTE: Some of the new options will appear in English for the Finnish, French, Italian, Japanese, Swedish and Traditional Chinese versions of the tool. Fully translated versions will be released at a later time.

Release 3.4

• Added support for Mac OS X 10.4 "Tiger".
• Removed support for Mac OS X 10.0 "Cheetah". The required minimum system version is now 10.1.
• Added option to disable sounds in the Tiger Finder.
• Added the security option to avoid the display of full user and group lists in the Finder's ownership settings for objects (Tiger only).
• Extended the option to enable additional formats for the conversion of disk images from Jaguar to Panther and Tiger.
• Several small changes in the user interface.
• The documentation was revised for Tiger.

Release 3.3c

The Italian language package been updated. In all other aspects the application is identical to version 3.3.

Release 3.3b

The language packages for Finnish, French, Swedish and Traditional Chinese have been updated. The window layout has been optimized. In all other aspects the application is identical to version 3.3.

Release 3.3a

A Japanese language package has been added. In all other aspects the application is identical to version 3.3.

Release 3.3

• Support for Swedish and Traditional Chinese has been added.
• A preference control for Panther was added to accelerate the animation of opening and closing sheets.
• A preference control for Panther was added to reduce the time Safari uses to delay the display of page content while a page is loading.
• A preference control for Panther was added to skip checksum verification when opening DMG files.
• A preference control for Panther was added to insert an eject symbol for optical disks into the menu bar. This feature is useful for computers containing more than one optical disk drive or having a keyboard without eject key.
• The feature known from Mac OS X 10.0 to disable all functions of the Desktop was added to Panther again on customer request.
• On customer request, the preference control to define keyboard shortcuts for menu items was enabled for Panther, too.
• Several small changes to the user interface have been added.
• The uninstall application for old TinkerTool 2 modules in System Preferences is no longer part of the distribution package. It can now be downloaded separately.

Release 3.21

• A warning has been added to the Exposé setting
• Added Finnish, French and Italian language packages
• There is no need to upgrade to this version when you are using TinkerTool 3.2 in English or German

Release 3.2

• An option to set how Exposé controls hiding of windows when disclosing the Desktop has been added (Panther only)
• An option to automatically activate Terminal windows by pointing at them with the mouse cursor has been added (Panther only)
• An option to control how the operating system handles application crashes has been added (Panther only)
• The control to set the minimum non-CSS font size for Safari v100 has been removed from the Panther interface, because Panther's Safari 1.2 (v125) now officially supports setting the minimum font size.
• A new feature has been added to detect an invalid user configuration of the operating system's core fonts. TinkerTool displays an exact error message at launch time when a font configuration problem has been found. This can help users to avoid typical font issues which prevent many applications (e.g. Address Book, or the iLife 04 suite) from launching or working correctly.
• The font preview panel now displays an additional help tag sample.
• A user interface problem where Panther's font smoothing limit was displayed as 6 pt although a different value was active was corrected.
• Minor changes in the user interface.

Release 3.1

• The option to disable and control font-smoothing for QuickDraw applications has been reactivated for Panther.
• An option to control font-smoothing limits in applications using Quartz has been added for Panther. This includes a high 144 point limit which allows to basically switch off font-smoothing.
• An option to modify the permission filter for the creation of new files and folders has been added for Panther. It is effective for all applications started from the graphical user interface.
• The option to add keyboard shortcuts for menu items has been removed for Mac OS X 10.3 because this feature is available in Panther's System Preferences application.
• The option to re-import Mozilla bookmarks into Safari has been removed for systems running Safari version 100 or higher because Safari no longer supports this.
• By user request, a setting of 9 points has been added to the minimum font size limit for Safari.
• The restrictions when setting font size limits in Safari version 100 or higher have been clarified.
• An option to set the number of visible entries in Safari's main history menu has been added. (Panther only)
• An option to set the maximum number of history entries stored by Safari has been added. (Panther only)
• TinkerTool is now saving and restoring the top left corner position of its window instead of the bottom left position to avoid confusion when reopening the application.
• TinkerTool now remembers the last used preference pane between launches.
• The close button of the main window could be used which was not intended. This problem has been fixed.
• The compatibility with Cocoa applications that define invalid keyboard shortcuts has been enhanced.
• When running on Panther, the tool now visualizes the selected pane icon in the toolbar.
• A new FAQ list has been added to the distribution package.

Release 3.01

• By user request, the option to manipulate font smoothing in QuickDraw applications was re-enabled for Jaguar again.
• A problem was detected when switching off the "animate snap to grid" option while the Finder's "snap to grid" option was enabled for the Desktop folder: In this case, certain versions of the Jaguar Finder could drag the icons outside the visual screen area. For safety reasons, the option to disable the "snap to grid" animation effect was removed. TinkerTool 3.01 will automatically reset this Finder feature to its default state to resolve this issue.

Release 3.0

• TinkerTool has been completely rewritten and uses a new technology to guarantee compatibility with all versions of Mac OS X.
• TinkerTool has been prepared to be compatible with Mac OS X 10.3 Panther.
• The tool has returned to be a standard application, not a preference pane, because Apple was unable to fix some quality problems with the Jaguar System Preferences application.
• The distribution package now contains an uninstaller for TinkerTool 2.x preference panes.
• Several features of TinkerTool 1.52 have been reactivated in 3.0 and will be available if the tool is started on Mac OS X 10.0.
• The feature to set the startup and login language has been removed. It is now available in the new application "TinkerTool System" and can still be used for free, even if "TinkerTool System" is run in demo mode.
• Most language packages have been removed temporarily. Support for languages other than English and German will be added later this year.
• The application has a new feature to check if updated versions are available on the Internet.

The following new settings are available for Mac OS X Jaguar:

• Prevent the Finder from displaying the "Empty Trash" warning.
• Disable the animation effect when opening Finder information panels and Desktop icons.
• Disable the animation effect when selecting categories in Finder information panels.
• Disable the animation effect for the Finder's "snap to grid" feature.
• Enable the use of dark labels for Desktop icons.
• Enable extended options when creating Disk Images with Disk Copy.
• Enable the diagnostic menu of the Address Book application.
• Enabe analysis and inspector windows in DVD Player.
• Set 6 new categories for font settings of Cocoa applications.
• Add keyboard shortcuts for menu items of native Mac OS X applications.
• Enable the diagnostic menu of Safari.
• Force an updated import of Internet Explorer® favorites into Safari
• Force an updated import of Mozilla-based bookmarks into Safari
• Set the minimum font size limit for Safari

Release 2.32

• Fixed a user interface bug where the Cocoa font-smoothing control could mistakenly be enabled in Jaguar.
• The Icelandic language package has been revised completety and is now fully translated.
• The documentation has been revised completely.

Release 2.31

The preference pane package of TinkerTool 2.3 had been released in 10.2 format which caused it to appear as folder in Mac OS X 10.1. Because 10.1 remains the primary platform of TinkerTool, this problem was corrected and the package format was downgraded to 10.1.More controls are disabled when running TinkerTool in Jaguar.

Release 2.3

The TinkerTool Jaguar Developer Edition has been merged with the full version, which now can be used both on Mac OS X 10.1 (any build) and Mac OS X 10.2.
Note that the first release of Mac OS X 10.2 (known as build 6C115a) is a bit immature. Unfortunately, Apple decided to ship this system as 10.2 even though many functions do not work as advertized. We hope that Apple will publish an update for 10.2 shortly after the official release date (August 24, 2002). If this is the case, the next version of TinkerTool (which will support preference settings of Jaguar more specifically) can be expected to come out four weeks after the release of a Jaguar build with higher product quality.The preference setting that controlled the smoothing of fixed-width fonts in Cocoa has been removed because it did no longer have an effect in recently released versions of Mac OS X 10.1.x.

Release 2.2b

Language packages for Russian and Ukrainian have been added. The software itself has not been changed.

Note: To use TinkerTool in Russian or Ukrainian, you'll have to enable support for those languages in Mac OS X. See https://unlink.narod.ru/tinkertool/ for more information.

Release 2.2a

Language packages for Finnish, Brazilian Portuguese, and Polish have been added. Partial support for Icelandic has been reactivated.

Release 2.2

This is a minor update which addresses very specific installation problems on some systems. It does not add any new settings.

• The installer will now automatically find an old version of TinkerTool and automatically select its location as destination for the new release, hereby replacing the previous one. This will avoid problems of having two different versions installed at the same time.
• By request of many users, the display of the TinkerTool icon in small sizes has been improved.
• Some preinstalled versions of Mac OS X 10.1 bundled with Apple hardware in some countries come with a bug in the language setup: Users of such versions will notice that the startup messages are displayed in English, not in the language they had selected during system setup. TinkerTool is now capable of repairing such defective installations. If this problem is detected in your system, TinkerTool will display "-?-" as active setting at the "Startup- and Login Language" button. You can then select the correct language to fix your system. Note that TinkerTool cannot undo the repair procedure.
• Applications with Icelandic language support crashed when some versions of Apple's Public Beta version of the Icelandic language package for Mac OS X 10.1 (Íslenskustuþningur fyrir Mac OS X 10.1) had been installed. As a temporary workaround, Icelandic support has now been removed completely from TinkerTool.
• Some new paragraphs have been added to the FAQ document.

Release 2.11

This is a maintenance update which fixes an issue on machines that have been updated from Mac OS X 10.1.2 to Mac OS X 10.1.3: Under certain conditions, the modified multi-monitor features of 10.1.3 could cause a problem in TinkerTool's detection of the main display which resulted in the Desktop background settings to have no effect. This bug has been fixed.

Release 2.1

• TinkerTool now comes with an automatic installer. The installer makes handling easier and uses workarounds for bugs in Mac OS X 10.1 that could prevent TinkerTool from appearing in System Preferences. Additionally, it is now possible to deselect TinkerTool language packages during installation. The installer itself supports 15 different languages.
• A Swedish language package has been added.
• The Icelandic language package had to be removed. However, a preliminary package is still included.
• A new reset button allows users to reset preferences not only to Apple's defaults but also to the state they were before using TinkerTool 2.1.
• New: a "Quit" menu item can be added to the Finder
• New: it is possible to control options of the Finder's column view. Icons, arrows, and the preview column can be disabled.
• New: the maximum number of lines the Finder uses to display long file names in icon view mode can be set
• New: the Finder can be relaunched from within TinkerTool to make its settings take effect immediately
• New: the file format for screenshots can be set
• An additional warning that explains the Finder's auto-correction of background image settings has been added
• Cosmetic fix: the version warning regarding incompatible operating systems appeared as panel, not as sheet
• Cosmetic fix: touching but not changing the startup language setting sometimes caused a password panel to appear. It now appears only if necessary
• Bug fix: the reset button established the "separate arrows" preference for scrollbar view mode. This has been corrected to "at both ends"
• Bug fix: changing scrollbar view mode displayed a "login to activate" message. This has been corrected to a "relaunch applications" message
• Bug fix: changing the startup language only had an effect on the boot phase but not on the login window. This problem has been fixed

Release 2.02

• added Norwegian language package
• the font and font anti-aliasing tabs are now closer together.
• minor changes in the wording of some language packages
• implemented a workaround for a bug in Mac OS X 10.1 which can cause TinkerTool to read invalid font settings for Cocoa applications in very rare cases

Release 2.01

• added Korean language package
• corrected typos in several language packages
• the reset button did not immediately update the Dock position. It also reset the scrollbar arrows to the "at both ends" style instead of "together at end position". These problems have been corrected.
• the FAQ document has been extended

Release 2.0

• added feature to control sizing and placement of the desktop background image
• added feature to control position of scrollbar arrows
• added feature for disabling automatic play of audio CDs and video DVDs
• added feature to change the startup and login window language of Mac OS X without having to reinstall the operating system
• removed features that can no longer be supported in Mac OS X 10.1. This affects "mark foreground application with blue arrow", and "show trashcan on the Desktop".
• the new version avoids a window flicker effect when TinkerTool is loaded into System Preferences
• changing Dock position no longer produces a "logout to activate" message
• the Terminal preview window now also respects the user-selected background color
• the wording of some user interface elements has been changed in five language packages to better match its counterparts in the standard preference panes
• an Icelandic language package has been added
• the language package for Traditional Chinese has been re-integrated into the 2.0 version
• TinkerTool now comes with an installation notes reader that automatically displays instructions in one of the nine supported languages
• the FAQ document has been updated

Release 2.0 Preview Edition

TinkerTool has now become a module for the System Preferences application. The Preview Edition is targeted at early beta testers having access to Mac OS X 10.1 preview releases. The feature set is subject to change until the official version of Mac OS X 10.1 is released.

Release 1.52

• because delivery of Mac OS X 10.1 might have a considerable delay in some parts of the world, it was decided to publish another maintenance update for Mac OS X 10.0
• added language package for Traditional Chinese
• added support for the "12 language version" of Mac OS X 10.0: When using earlier versions of TinkerTool together with this system release, the checkmark "Unlock Dock Extensions" could remain disabled for security reasons. Now, TinkerTool correctly detects this OS version and the checkmark will be enabled. (This affects Mac OS X 10.0.x versions based on Apple CD part number 2Z691-3064, released in June 2001. You don't need to update if you have the "7 language version" of Mac OS X 10.0.x, based on Apple CD part number 1Z691-2974-A.)
• the FAQ document was updated
• minimal changes in the user interface to optimize compliance with Apple Human Interface Guidelines

Release 1.51

The tool was adapted to work correctly with future versions of Mac OS X. Release 1.51 is the last version of TinkerTool that is compatible with Mac OS X 10.0. Future updates will work on Mac OS X 10.1 or later only.

Release 1.5

• This release will support a future version of Mac OS X. Here, the default paper size for printing can be set.
• TinkerTool still works fine on Mac OS X 10.0.x but no new features have been added for this operating system.
• The Italian language package has been revised.
• FAQ list has been updated.

Release 1.4

• New version supports all seven Mac OS X core languages
• Added shadow activation switch for the Dock
• The blocked features of the 10.0 Dock (v1.0) can be activated. This will enable the Dock's placement options and makes the position settings persistent.
• Font anti-aliasing can now be manipulated at the CoreGraphics level, which makes it possible to disable font smoothing in Aqua user interface elements (including the Lucida font).

Release 1.32b

• Added Dutch localization

Release 1.32a

• Added French and Spanish localization

Release 1.32

• Corrected problem with Italian localization
• Made clean-up of environment variables more reliable
• Disabling Cocoa font smoothing for large fonts now works under all conditions
• FAQ was extended

Release 1.31a

Release 1.31

• Refined layout of the font smoothing pane.
• Added stepper buttons to control font smoothing thresholds.
• Added switch to completely disable QuickDraw font smoothing.
• Corrected minor bug which could disable QuickDraw font smoothing under certain conditions.
• The TinkerTool FAQ and version history are now part of the distribution.

Release 1.3

• Added new feature to control font-smoothing (anti-aliasing).
• Added new menu item to reset all TinkerTool settings to their original values.
• The new version has English and German language packages only. The 1.2b release will still be available until all missing languages have been implemented.

Release 1.2b

Release 1.2a

Release 1.2

• Version for Mac OS X 10.0. All controls that do not work in the official release of Mac OS X have been removed. Also, all settings that are now part of official preference values have been removed.
• Placing the dock at login time has been temporarily disabled by Apple. The dock can still be moved but the setting is not persistent.
• Added new control for "minimize windows" effect.

Release 1.1.2

Developed workaround for bug in Mac OS X Core Graphics: Under rare conditions, TinkerTool could set the gamma correction to zero which resulted in a black screen when starting the application. This bug has been fixed. The maintenance release will automatically repair corrupt screen settings and does multiple security checks to avoid the problem.

NOTE: If you used an older version of TinkerTool and have the "black screen" problem, you can easily repair the tool by deleting the file "de.bresink.system.tinkertool" in your Library/Preferences folder.If you start TinkerTool for the first time, you should avoid that a Classic application which comes with its own color calibration or gamma correction tool has already run in the same login session. In this case, log out, then log in again and start TinkerTool without running Classic first.

Release 1.1

• Added new options to change not only the size but also the type of the system fonts.
• Added new dock options for rumored features of future versions of Mac OS X.

Release 1.0

First public version.