The Menu bar at the top of your Mac‘s screen comes in handy, as it does offer really helpful shortcuts that give you instant access to the most important features. Now, take a look at how to use this convenient tray.
Also Read: How use the Windows Touch Bar on MacBook Pro
What’s on the Menu bar?
First and foremost, to take full advantage of the Mac’s Menu bar, you should be aware of what’s on it.
- Apple menu: Important system tools and features, such as information about your Mac, System Preferences, recently opened items, rebooting your Mac, shutting down your Mac and logging out of your account, are all found here.
- App menu: When you launch an app, you are presented with such options like File, Edit, View, Help, etc. Each app has its own menu layout.
- System status menu: This is where you can find third-party widgets that you can download from the Mac App Store, Wi-Fi status, AirPlay, the date and time, and so on.
- Spotlight: From here, you can search for anything online quickly, and will be able to find what you are searching for.
- Siri: With the help of Siri, your personal virtual assistant on the Mac, you will be able to look up information, add events to the calendar, set reminders and so on.
- Notification Center: You can have instant access to the information that you are interested in, such as the weather, your daily schedule and iTunes control by setting widgets in Notification Center.
How to remove widgets from the Menu bar on the Mac
Overtime, your Menu bar can begin to look cluttered, so you should clean it up by removing macOS status widgets if you don’t use them very often.
Step 1: Right-click or control-click on a widget in the Menu bar.
Step 2: Click on Open Preferences.
Step 3: Uncheck the box next to Show in Menu bar.
How to change the date and time in the Menu bar on the Mac
Manually change the date and time
Step 1: Click on the date and time in the Menu bar.
Step 2: Select Open Date & Time Preferences.
Step 3: Select the Date & Time tab.
Step 4: Click on the lock icon in the lower left corner of your Mac’s screen to make changes.
Step 5: Type in your administrator password > Unlock.
Step 6: Uncheck the box next to Set date and time automatically.
Step 7: Pick a new date and time as well.
It’s worth noting that you can also set the date and time automatically for a different country.
Manually change the time zone
Step 1: Click on the date and time in the Menu bar.
Step 2: Select Open Date & Time Preferences.
Step 3: Select the Time Zone tab.
Step 4: Click on the lock icon in the lower left corner of your Mac’s screen to make changes.
Step 5: Type in your administrator password > Unlock.
Step 6: Uncheck the box next to Set time zone automatically using current location.
Step 7: Select a new region.
Change the look of the date and time Menu bar widget
Step 1: Click on the date and time in the Menu bar.
Step 2: Select Open Date & Time Preferences.
Step 3: Select the Clock tab.
Step 4: Click on the lock icon in the lower left corner of your Mac’s screen to make changes.
Step 5: Type in your administrator password > Unlock.
Step 6: Select Digital or Analog to change your clock face.
Step 7: Check the box next to Show the day of the week to show the day of the week.
Step 8: Check the box next to Show date to show the date.
How to use the battery widget in the Menu bar on Mac
Step 1: Click on the battery widget.
- The first status lets you know how long you have left before your battery runs out. It also lets you know whether or not your battery is plugged into the wall.
- The second status lets you know which program is draining your battery.
Step 2: Select Show Percentage to show the battery percentage remaining as a numeric percentage.
Step 3: Select Open Energy Saver Preferences to set awake time for your Mac’s screen and hard drive when not in use.
That’s all about Mac’s Menu bar and its usage. Got any questions? Put them in the comments below and we’ll help you out.