The Menu bar on the Mac is a nearly forgotten bastion of productivity. With the right widgets, you can have access to some of your most important apps and info without having to pause your current activity. There are lots of great apps that also have useful Menu bar widgets, like Fantastical 2 and 1Password, but this list focuses specifically on apps whose sole purpose is to sit in your Menu bar and make your life easier.
Timing
Wondering where all of the hours in the day went? Can't figure out how long it took you to write that letter to your client or how much time you spent researching a subject for a project? Do you really know how much time you spend on social sites (Facebook can be such a time suck!)? Timing tracks all of this for you in the background while you just going on about your day. It all happens automatically and you can see your activities by click on the Menu bar shortcut. It's truly impressive to see how your activities automatically divide into categories. If something isn't quite right, you can also manually change activity names. You can even manually add a specific task with a start and end time if you're working off your computer, but still want to track your activity. Timing is one of the many dozens of apps you can use with the subscription-based Mac app service Setapp, or you can buy it directly from the developer's website. If you want to try before you buy, you can check it out for a trial period first.
- $29 - Download now
iStat Menus 6
iStat Menus is a system monitoring tool that sits in your Menu bar and keeps you abreast of everything that's going on with your Mac. The amount of data it collects for you is somewhat staggering. I haven't even used everything available yet.
Monthly calendar widget can be placed in macOS Status Menu or added to the Notification Center. Calendarique is fully localized in English, French, German, Italian, Spanish and Russian. Weekdays and month labels are localized in every language.
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You can keep track of CPU and GPU usage, how much memory you're using and how much disk space you have left, your current network upload and download activity, sensor data, and more. When you click on a status, you'll see a detailed report of that particular dataset.
You can customize what items appear in the Menu bar, so if you are only concerned with your CPU usage and network upload activity, you can limit what you choose to see. If you prefer graphs to numbers, you can switch which active item is displayed. You can even reorder the stats and move them to the far left of your Apple Menu bar content.
iStat Menus was recently completely overhauled with a new version, which includes hundreds of new features and improvements, plus a revamped interface. You can get weather reports, notifications for high levels of usage, customizable menus, a Notification Center widget (!!) and a whole lot more. If you weren't already on board with iStat Menus, version 6 is where it's at. Upgraders get a 50% discount on version 6.
- $18 - Download now
Bartender 3
With all of these Menu bar widgets, things start to get out of control and your Menu bar starts to look like a hot mess. With Bartender, you can organize your widgets by hiding them within the Bartender Bar. I absolutely love this little ditty because I want to use all of my favorite Menu bar Widgets, but kinda hate how messy it looks when I'm tracking my activities, monitoring my Mac's stats, and keeping my calendar close at hand. Clicking on the Bartender puts them all behind its menu until I need to access them.
Bartender even organizes your Mac's default Menu bar widgets, like WiFi, Bluetooth, the date, and your account user name (which I've never really liked having there anyway).
Bartender has been updated with a bunch of cool new features, like hotkey assignments and the ability to search your widgets. You can even customize your Menu Bar widgets to appear whenever there is an update or change currently taking place (like when you sync a file in Dropbox). If you're not sure you need this amazing Menu Bar organization tool, you can try it out for a month for free.
- $15 - Download now
Bumpr
Bumpr is a web browser and email client switcher. Once installed, you use it as your default email client and web browser and it acts as a gatekeeper whenever you click on a link. If you get a text message, chat, or email with a URL, when you click on it, you'll be presented with the option to choose which browser you want to open the link with. When you click on a contact link to send an email, you'll be presented with the option to choose which email client you use. It is absolutely superb for people that use multiple web browsers and multiple email clients for different activities on their Mac.
- $3.99 - Download now
MenuCar for Uber
Uber is a convenient way to get around if you need a ride, and MenuCar wants to extend that convenience to your Mac. While Uber is generally confined to your iPhone, MenuCar makes the convenient service even more convenient by putting it on your Mac's Menu bar.
Using MenuCar works very similarly to using the Uber app. Log in to your Uber account, choose what kind of car you're looking for, then request a ride. You'll get all of the same information you would get in the official app: your driver's name, rating, phone number, the car type, and the estimated time of arrival.
- Free - Download Now
f.lux
I'm sure you've already heard all about Night Shift on iOS, and might even use it regularly. I sure do. Automatic screen dimmer software is not new and f.lux has been available on the Mac for years. I learned about it when I was complaining to my friend about how my eyes hurt when I start working right after I wake up in the morning. Harsh blue light at 6 a.m. makes Jane a cranky girl.
f.lux automatically adjusts the brightness of your screen based on where the sun is. If the sun is setting or rising, so will your screen. It adds a soft yellow tint to the screen, as well, making it more comfortable for you to work in dimly lit rooms.
You can set your screen to 'Movie Mode' so you can stare at your screen for two hours straight without having the harsh light burn your eyes. 'Darkroom' turns your screen red so you can work in, well, a dark room without your computer screen lighting up.
If you find yourself staring at your computer screen early in the morning or late at night, f.lux will save your sight.
- Free - Download now
iBetterCharge
When your iPhone or iPad reaches 20 percent, you get a notification that your battery is running low. But, what if you want to be sure that your device is charged up more than that before you walk out the door? iBetterCharge will send a notification to your Mac when your battery capacity drops below a threshold you choose, from five to 50 percent. When it drops below your chosen limit, you'll get a ping to remind you to charge up.
In order to connect your iPhone and iPad to iBetterCharge, you have to enable Wi-Fi syncing in iTunes. That way, the software can communicate with your devices. When they are connected, you will also always be able to tell how full their batteries are, even if they are in another room. So, if you are working in your office, and want to make sure your iPhone is fully charged for your Pokémon Go walk later that evening, but it's in the living room, you can click on the Menu bar widget to see if it's got enough juice for you to catch 'em all.
If you like keeping track of all of your devices' batteries in one place, iBetterCharge has you covered.
- Free - Download now
Updated September 2017: Removed DeskConnect and Browserism. Added Timing and Bartender 3. Updated iStat Menus to reflect the most recent version.
Your favorites?
Do you use any Menu bar widgets? Which ones are your favorites and why do they work so well?
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macOS is designed to be easy to navigate for the average computer user, but finding some tools and features can be arduous, especially if you are going through System Preferences. Luckily, the Mac has a Menu bar (the small strip at the top of your screen) which has some very useful shortcuts to the most important features.
What's on the Menu bar?
The best way to make the most out of the Menu bar on the Mac is to get to know what's on it.
- Apple menu - This is where you find important system tools and features, like information about your Mac, System Preferences, access to the App Store (and whether there are updates for apps), recently opened items, a shortcut to putting your Mac to sleep, restarting your Mac, shutting down your Mac, and logging out of your account.
- App menu - Just past the Apple menu icon is the currently-selected app menu. When an app is open and in use, you'll see such categories as File, Edit, View, Window, Help, and more. Each app has a different menu layout.
- System status menu - The System status menu includes third-party widgets that you can download from the Mac App Store, the volume controls, Wi-Fi status, AirPlay, the battery (on laptops), and the date and time.
- Spotlight - Spotlight is the Mac's system-wide and online search tool. You can type anything into the Spotlight search and you will almost definitely find what you are looking for.
- Siri - With Siri on the Mac, you can use the personal digital assistant to look up information, add events to the calendar, set reminders, and a whole lot more.
- Notification Center - You can set widgets in Notification Center to provide quick access to things that matter the most to you, like the weather, your daily schedule, iTunes control, and special content from some third-party apps.
How to remove widgets from the Menu bar on the Mac
Over time, the Menu bar can start to get cluttered, especially when you add third party widgets. You can remove macOS status widgets if you don't use them.
- Right-click or control-click on a widget in the Menu bar.
- Select Open Preferences.
- Untick the box for Show in Menu bar.
In third-party apps (like Fantastical 2, when you click on the widget, there is usually a settings icon (it looks like a gear), which you can click on to quit or disable Menu bar access.
How to change the date and time in the Menu bar on the Mac
![Mac Mac](/uploads/1/2/5/6/125614776/875159300.png)
Yahoo Widgets For Mac
You can change the date, time, time zone, and look of the Date & Time of your Mac.
Note: If you manually change the date and time on your Mac, you could negatively impact programs running on your computer, and possibly get banned from certain games that consider time alterations a method of cheating at a game, so tread lightly.
How to manually change the date and time
- Click on the date and time in the Menu bar in the upper right corner of your screen.
- Click on Open Date & Time Preferences.
- Click the Date & Time tab.
- Click the lock to make changes.
- Enter your administrator password and click Unlock.
- Untick the box for Set date and time automatically.
- Select a new date.
- Select a new time.
You can also set the date and time automatically for a different country. You can set it for the U.S., Asia, or Europe.
How to manually change the time zone
- Click on the date and time in the Menu bar in the upper right corner of your screen.
- Click on Open Date & Time Preferences.
- Click the Time Zone tab.
- Click the lock to make changes.
- Enter your administrator password and click Unlock.
- Untick the box for Set time zone automatically using current location.
- Click on a new region.
How to change the look of the date and time Menu bar widget
- Click on the date and time in the Menu bar in the upper right corner of your screen.
- Click on Open Date & Time Preferences.
- Click the Clock tab.
- Click the lock to make changes.
- Enter your administrator password and click Unlock.
- Click Digital or Analog to change what the clock looks like.
- Tick the box for Show the day of the week to show the day of the week.
- Tick the box for Show date to show the date.
How to use the battery widget in the Menu bar on Mac
The battery widget in the Menu bar, which will only appear on Apple laptops, shows you how much juice you have left before you'll need to charge up again. It also shows a few interesting facts about your usage.
- Click on the battery widget.
- The first status shows approximately how much time left you have before your battery runs out. It also shows whether your laptop is running on battery power or if it is plugged into an outlet.
- The second status shows which program is being a battery hog. This is helpful if you notice that your battery is draining much faster than normal. It could be a buggy app.
- Click on Show Percentage to show, in numbers, how much battery power is remaining.
- Click on Open Energy Saver Preferences to adjust how long your screen and hard drive stay awake when not in use.
How to use Spotlight on the Mac
Spotlight is your Mac's systemwide search. When you type in a term, it will search for apps, documents, files, emails, and more. It will also search the internet, your contacts, directions in Maps, currency conversions, calculations, and a whole lot more. It's your one-stop shop for shortcuts to everything you use on your Mac.
How to use Siri on the Mac
Just like Siri on the iPhone and iPad, Siri on the Mac can be your personal virtual assistant. It searches your Mac for files and folders, schedules calendar events, and keeps important search results in your Notification Center. Need to know something? Siri can help with that.
How to use Notification Center on the Mac
Notification Center is a side panel that you can access whenever you want to quickly see what's on deck for today, what the weather looks like for the afternoon, or your list of things to do today. With third-party Notification Center widgets, you can stylize your Today view with all of your most important productivity apps.
How to rearrange Menu bar icons
![Widgets For Mac Widgets For Mac](/uploads/1/2/5/6/125614776/330203773.png)
- Hold down the command key on your keyboard.
- Click on the icon you would like to move. Make sure the command key is still pressed.
- Drag the icon to its new location.
- Let go of the mouse and command key to let the icon fall into place.
Bonus: Pro tips for Menu bar widgets on the Mac
Pressing the option key on your keyboard while clicking on some of the built-in Menu bar widgets will call up different information.
- Option + Click on Wi-Fi to call up additional information about your wireless network, such as your IP address, the router address, your security type, and more. You can also create a diagnostic report and open a wireless diagnostic.
- Option + Click on Bluetooth to see additional information about your Bluetooth connection, including its version and address. You can also create a diagnostic report on your Desktop.
- Option + Click on Notification Center to manually turn Do Not Disturb on or off.
macOS Catalina
Main
Widgets For Macos
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Apple ArcadeSTELA for Apple Arcade is a shallow, sadistic, totally fun game
Translator Widget For Mac
Can you outrun killer dark shadows? Take leaps of faith into the unknown? Traverse a world where nothing is what it seems? STELA will test your mettle.