how do I get Preferences tabs back?

[jeanw]

in my Sierra 10 12.6. system 12.1.2
I trying to get the preferences tabs back instead of the "pictures" how do I do it? I even restart and shut down. but nothing changes. I want to get to the Tab"Advance" .. I did at first. Cause I want to see the complete URL. But Saraia won't show the complete long URL even though Smart address was already clicked> sometimes I get so frustrated with my Mac it so hard to understand and hate the keyboard on this older laptop. Miss the Back and home keys . Now have to use the blanket y blank two keys. Rah please explain thank y'all

 

[Mr.Blacky]

I have no idea what you're talking about. 🤔

 

[casperes1996]

Back and home keys? Preferences tabs? I think we’re all a little confused here, haha

 

[0128672]

in my Sierra 10 12.6. system 12.1.2
I trying to get the preferences tabs back instead of the "pictures" how do I do it? I even restart and shut down. but nothing changes. I want to get to the Tab"Advance" .. I did at first. Cause I want to see the complete URL. But Saraia won't show the complete long URL even though Smart address was already clicked> sometimes I get so frustrated with my Mac it so hard to understand and hate the keyboard on this older laptop. Miss the Back and home keys . Now have to use the blanket y blank two keys. Rah please explain thank y'all

Are you asking

1. how to view in the Safari browser the Favorites bar instead of seeing Favorites as tile images?

2. how to enable the Preference setting "Show full website address"?

 

[jeanw]

now when I want to access System Preferences under the Apple Logo It shows it a Icons sometimes as. tabs but when I found and use the keyboard Shortcut "command" and a comma it opened system preferences as "tabs"
Yes...... I did have checked "Smart so it would show full website address but it usually doesn't. So how do I get it to show full http agrees in the address bar? always
thanks y'all

 

[macsound1]

View menu -> Organize by Categories

I can't tell if that's what you're trying to do or not.
⌘ , doesn't do anything for me when System Preferences is open.
When I'm in the finder it opens Finder preferences but that's not what you're looking for, right?

 

[jeanw]

But on my old laptop the command key and comma key open System Preences ilke I want to see them as "tabs" so I can access the "advanced tab". Yes I want to just OPEN systems preferences Period and see the Categories as Tabs not Icons

not

 

[casperes1996]

But on my old laptop the command key and comma key open System Preences ilke I want to see them as "tabs" so I can access the "advanced tab". Yes I want to just OPEN systems preferences Period and see the Categories as Tabs not IconsView attachment 1811166View attachment 1811166View attachment 1811168not

⌘+, opens Application preferences, not System Preferences. The first two images you show are Safari's Preferences; NOT System Preferences. They are entirely and completely different.

 

[0128672]

In addition to what @casperes1996 posted about your screenshots, it seems you're asking about Safari Preferences, not System Preferences. There is no Advanced System Preference, and there's no option to view them as tabs.

In your Safari Preferences screenshot, the Tabs section is for Safari websites, not the Preferences themselves. There is no option to view the Safari Preferences are tabs. You have to tap one of the icons in the Preferences toolbar to access that Preference.

 

[jeanw]

I thought I typed "comma" in my question and reply......LOL
THEN whys the Apple Logo on top of the task bar or what ever its called? HUM?? maybe cause I have an older laptop from 2012 edition? I don't have a tapscreen an don't want one.....It is bad enough with my peck typing I hate the finger stuff cause most of the time I do it wrong and don't know how I did it. Im about ready to go back to a "mouse" trackball..
NOTE. also It says "system Preferences under the APPLE LOGO when I click on it. maybe y'all have a different Sierra VERSION

 

[0128672]

I thought I typed "comma" in my question and reply......LOL
THEN whys the Apple Logo on top of the task bar or what ever its called? HUM?? maybe cause I have an older laptop from 2012 edition? I don't have a tapscreen an don't want one.....It is bad enough with my peck typing I hate the finger stuff cause most of the time I do it wrong and don't know how I did it. Im about ready to go back to a "mouse" trackball..
NOTE. also It says "system Preferences under the APPLE LOGO when I click on it. maybe y'all have a different Sierra VERSION

I'm on Big Sur, so it's been a long time since I've had Sierra as the operating system. But even on this system on the Finder toolbar (when you're on the desktop, not inside an app), under the Apple menu, System Preferences is a menu item.




When I open that, here's what I see:

 

[0128672]

Under the Finder menu (to the right of the Apple menu), there's Preferences that can be opened by typing the command key and comma. Those preferences are for the Finder though, not System Preferences, and not Safari (or any other app). Here's what it looks like on my system:



Finder preferences look like this:

 

[0128672]

The Finder preferences has an option to open folders in tabs instead of new windows. I don't recall whether Sierra offers this option, but take a look to see if this is what you're searching for.

 

[Mr.Blacky]

Dude, try to tell in as few words as possible, what you're really trying to do.

 

[DeltaMac]

The Apple logo is ALWAYS at the left end of the topmenu bar. That never changes, unless you use full screen for something, so the topmenu disappears while in full screen. Otherwise, the Apple logo is always there.
You then should see that the APP that you are using will be the first menu to the right of that Apple menu, and will always show the name of the app that you have "in front", with the primary controls for that app (usually including that app's preferences/settings.) Sounds like that's what you want, not the System Preferences. System preferences doesn't do much for tabs, other than a minor setting for Finder tabs in the General pane, and that's pretty recent (Big Sur was first with that, I think (?). Sierra, certainly, had nothing about tabs in the system/finder windows. You do need to better define what it is that you are trying to do. (I'm still confused about what you want...)

 

[casperes1996]

I thought I typed "comma" in my question and reply......LOL
THEN whys the Apple Logo on top of the task bar or what ever its called? HUM?? maybe cause I have an older laptop from 2012 edition? I don't have a tapscreen an don't want one.....It is bad enough with my peck typing I hate the finger stuff cause most of the time I do it wrong and don't know how I did it. Im about ready to go back to a "mouse" trackball..
NOTE. also It says "system Preferences under the APPLE LOGO when I click on it. maybe y'all have a different Sierra VERSION

See what DeltaMac wrote.

The Apple menu in the top left is a global menu. It does not relate to the key/foreground app. The remaining menu items on the left side of the menu bar do. The menu bar item with the app name is the currently front-key application's global app menu, the rest are window-space dependant. macOS has worked like this since the first version of OS X and still does on the latest macOS Monterey.

 

[DeltaMac]

See what DeltaMac wrote.

The Apple menu in the top left is a global menu. It does not relate to the key/foreground app. The remaining menu items on the left side of the menu bar do. The menu bar item with the app name is the currently front-key application's global app menu, the rest are window-space dependant. macOS has worked like this since the first version of OS X and still does on the latest macOS Monterey.

Yeah, almost. The first release, Public beta of OS X, had the Apple menu in the center of the menubar, not the left corner. Apple "fixed" that pretty quickly

 

[casperes1996]

Yeah, almost. The first release, Public beta of OS X, had the Apple menu in the center of the menubar, not the left corner. Apple "fixed" that pretty quickly

Right, I didn't consider betas - 10.0 Cheetah as it released retail at least had it on the left
Behaviour was also different with the menu bar in OS9 and prior and all but yeah That's a damn long time ago now, though I still have machines tucked away with OS 9

 

[DeltaMac]

The only reason that I mentioned that beta, was that it was the initial OS X, sold in shops ($30, IIRC), and was the first of the new "generation" for many users at that time, and there were a few GUI "adjustments" that came out of that beta. I don't think I would give the same attention to any other beta. It was, in my mind, the beginning of the era -- It wasn't just any old beta, it was the Beta... (well, OK, not really usable at that time, more of a curiosity for most!)

 

[casperes1996]

The only reason that I mentioned that beta, was that it was the initial OS X, sold in shops ($30, IIRC), and was the first of the new "generation" for many users at that time, and there were a few GUI "adjustments" that came out of that beta. I don't think I would give the same attention to any other beta. It was, in my mind, the beginning of the era -- It wasn't just any old beta, it was the Beta... (well, OK, not really usable at that time, more of a curiosity for most!)

Sure that's fair. I wasn't really even aware they sold it like that at retail. But I guess other beta distribution mechanisms weren't as viable back then. Was a pretty iffy time back with Copland, Rhapsody, Server 1.0 and all that though. Everything was uncertain and in flux. While OS X turned out to be a solid future, Cheetah itself was never really "great". I mean it was great compared to the slew of failures it followed, mostly in the fact that it was a modernised operating system that actually shipped, but it was also slow and fairly buggy compared to 10.1. Tiger was my favourite of the earlier OS Xs, but Puma was a pretty great release, and in some ways I think of it as the real proof that Apple was back on track after their... Rough times in the 90s