EDIT: Easy Installer
Attached to this post is now an AppleScript that can apply the commands below or revert you to the default Leopard appearance. I recommend using this, but I also recommend reading the info below so you know what you're doing and what problems you may run into.
EDIT: The title was "Weather on Desktop" thanks to Roccat's crazy, unpredictable autofill feature. It's fixed now. Also, I'm sorry I voted in my own poll but the way I set it up I have to vote to see the results.
Over the last several months of which I've been in the PPC Mac community, I've learned a ton of software tips 'n' tricks. Some of it's useless, some of it's useful. I know some of it would be of help to fellow forum members. There's plenty of people here who I'm sure could use some of this stuff. So I'd like to write informational posts like this one every week, sharing these fun tricks. Vote on the poll above if I should continue to do these or if I should stop bothering those who get emails for every new thread in this subfourm. Now, into our main topic: Make Leopard Look Like Tiger!
Leopard has much better software support and more useful features than Tiger does. But some people prefer the look of Tiger; the white windows, toned-down traffic lights, less vivid buttons, etc. This guide is not perfect; Leopard will not look exactly like Tiger (for example there's no brushed metal), but a lot of things are changed. It's a Leopard-Tiger combo favoring Tiger. So, let's get into it!
STEP 1: Window Frames (In Most Apps)
The first thing to do is make the window frames look like Tiger. Most apps look like Tiger, some don't. Some of the most notable apps where this doesn't work:
-Finder
-BitTorrent
-WebKit/Safari
It will work in most other apps though! To do this, it's one simple Terminal command.
defaults write -g NSUseLeopardWindowValues NO
Log out and back in. Open up iCal (just an example) and see the changes.
STEP 2: Traffic Lights, Buttons, Checkboxes, etc.
Now that we've done window frames, it's time to do the main UI elements: traffic lights, buttons, checkboxes, radio buttons, etc. These changes show up in all apps! Again, it's one Terminal command:
defaults write -g AppleUseCoreUI -bool NO
This basically tells the Mac to stop using the Leopard UI and revert to the file used in Tiger, which means you'll have an 100% authentic Tiger UI.
STEP 3: 2D Dock
Yes, yes; the Leopard 2D dock looks nothing like on Tiger. But it's better than the 3D dock, right? Here's the command:
defaults write com.apple.dock no-glass -boolean YES
and
killall Dock
Now you have the Leopard 2D dock, which looks closer to Tiger than the 3D one would.
–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
Now Leopard will look somewhat like Tiger. It's not perfect, but it's something. A full Leopard theme for Tiger might be something I'd look into making in the future, with brushed metal and all. But for now this is all we have. Oh, and here's a screenshot of the finished product (I had changed the font on this Mac, ignore that part. None of the commands above change the font):
BONUS: Real Tiger Dock on Leopard
Yes, you read that correctly; You can have the real, authentic, Tiger dock running on Leopard. We are taking Dock.app straight from Tiger and putting it on Leopard. All you need is a copy of the Tiger dock, which you can download at the end of this post. Once you have that downloaded, here's how to get it working on Leopard:
Open Terminal and type:
while (true) do
(press enter)
killall Dock
(press enter)
done
(press enter)
Now the dock will disappear. Next, go to your main hard drive, open the System folder, then Library, then CoreServices. Find "Dock" in this bunch of files. Back it up to a safe place (for example your desktop). Now delete the Leopard dock and drag in the Tiger dock which you downloaded. You may be prompted for a password. Finally, close Terminal and double-click the new Tiger dock in CoreServices. The Tiger dock will pop up on the screen.
IMPORTANT: This dock has many bugs and problems. I don't recommend installing it on your main PowerPC Mac.
Reverting Back to Normal Leopard
Easy! Three Terminal commands.
defaults write -g NSUseLeopardWindowValues YES
defaults write -g AppleUseCoreUI -bool YES
defaults write com.apple.dock no-glass -boolean NO
If you installed the Tiger dock, follow the same steps but drag your Leopard dock backup into CoreServices.
Conclusion
I hope you enjoyed the first of my little series of tricks. I know this can get confusing at some parts, but I've tried to make it as simple as possible. Post below if you have any questions, and don't forget to vote above!
NEXT WEEK: Make Tiger Look Like Leopard
Attached to this post is now an AppleScript that can apply the commands below or revert you to the default Leopard appearance. I recommend using this, but I also recommend reading the info below so you know what you're doing and what problems you may run into.
EDIT: The title was "Weather on Desktop" thanks to Roccat's crazy, unpredictable autofill feature. It's fixed now. Also, I'm sorry I voted in my own poll but the way I set it up I have to vote to see the results.
Over the last several months of which I've been in the PPC Mac community, I've learned a ton of software tips 'n' tricks. Some of it's useless, some of it's useful. I know some of it would be of help to fellow forum members. There's plenty of people here who I'm sure could use some of this stuff. So I'd like to write informational posts like this one every week, sharing these fun tricks. Vote on the poll above if I should continue to do these or if I should stop bothering those who get emails for every new thread in this subfourm.
Now, into our main topic: Make Leopard Look Like Tiger!Leopard has much better software support and more useful features than Tiger does. But some people prefer the look of Tiger; the white windows, toned-down traffic lights, less vivid buttons, etc. This guide is not perfect; Leopard will not look exactly like Tiger (for example there's no brushed metal
), but a lot of things are changed. It's a Leopard-Tiger combo favoring Tiger. So, let's get into it!STEP 1: Window Frames (In Most Apps)
The first thing to do is make the window frames look like Tiger. Most apps look like Tiger, some don't. Some of the most notable apps where this doesn't work:
-Finder
-BitTorrent
-WebKit/Safari
It will work in most other apps though! To do this, it's one simple Terminal command.
defaults write -g NSUseLeopardWindowValues NO
Log out and back in. Open up iCal (just an example) and see the changes.
STEP 2: Traffic Lights, Buttons, Checkboxes, etc.
Now that we've done window frames, it's time to do the main UI elements: traffic lights, buttons, checkboxes, radio buttons, etc. These changes show up in all apps! Again, it's one Terminal command:
defaults write -g AppleUseCoreUI -bool NO
This basically tells the Mac to stop using the Leopard UI and revert to the file used in Tiger, which means you'll have an 100% authentic Tiger UI.
STEP 3: 2D Dock
Yes, yes; the Leopard 2D dock looks nothing like on Tiger. But it's better than the 3D dock, right? Here's the command:
defaults write com.apple.dock no-glass -boolean YES
and
killall Dock
Now you have the Leopard 2D dock, which looks closer to Tiger than the 3D one would.
–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
Now Leopard will look somewhat like Tiger. It's not perfect, but it's something. A full Leopard theme for Tiger might be something I'd look into making in the future, with brushed metal and all. But for now this is all we have. Oh, and here's a screenshot of the finished product (I had changed the font on this Mac, ignore that part. None of the commands above change the font):
BONUS: Real Tiger Dock on Leopard
Yes, you read that correctly; You can have the real, authentic, Tiger dock running on Leopard. We are taking Dock.app straight from Tiger and putting it on Leopard. All you need is a copy of the Tiger dock, which you can download at the end of this post. Once you have that downloaded, here's how to get it working on Leopard:
Open Terminal and type:
while (true) do
(press enter)
killall Dock
(press enter)
done
(press enter)
Now the dock will disappear. Next, go to your main hard drive, open the System folder, then Library, then CoreServices. Find "Dock" in this bunch of files. Back it up to a safe place (for example your desktop). Now delete the Leopard dock and drag in the Tiger dock which you downloaded. You may be prompted for a password. Finally, close Terminal and double-click the new Tiger dock in CoreServices. The Tiger dock will pop up on the screen.
IMPORTANT: This dock has many bugs and problems. I don't recommend installing it on your main PowerPC Mac.
Reverting Back to Normal Leopard
Easy! Three Terminal commands.
defaults write -g NSUseLeopardWindowValues YES
defaults write -g AppleUseCoreUI -bool YES
defaults write com.apple.dock no-glass -boolean NO
If you installed the Tiger dock, follow the same steps but drag your Leopard dock backup into CoreServices.
Conclusion
I hope you enjoyed the first of my little series of tricks. I know this can get confusing at some parts, but I've tried to make it as simple as possible. Post below if you have any questions, and don't forget to vote above!
NEXT WEEK: Make Tiger Look Like Leopard
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