Welcome to the MacNN Forums.

JudieKaren · May 12, 2005, 12:07 AM

Before Tiger I could move things around by dragging a menubar extra while holding down the command key. I want my "wClock" to the left of the Spotlight icon, but Internet Connect keeps putting it's modem status icon there. Any help, please?

4lfclover · May 12, 2005, 12:56 AM

Originally Posted by JudieKaren

Before Tiger I could move things around by dragging a menubar extra while holding down the command key. I want my "wClock" to the left of the Spotlight icon, but Internet Connect keeps putting it's modem status icon there. Any help, please?

I don't think it possible to move a menu extra you stated beyond spotlight (unless there is some hack i am un aware of). You can rearrange the other menu extras as you stated though.

Jasoco · May 12, 2005, 01:06 AM

SpotLight is stuck in the corner. You cannot move anything to the right of it.

Now, aside from that, there are two kinds of "Menu extras" the ones that run inside Apple's "SystemUIServer" (I think that's what controls them.) and the ones that don't.

The ones Apple makes are the kinds you can move around. They run inside a special "frame". In order to put a non-Apple menuling to the right of the Apple ones, the app needs the function built-in. MenuCalendarClick iCal has this ability. (To either show the Clock/Calendar on the far left or the far right.) But not all apps do. So unless wClock has this ability, you're stuck.

Then there's another kind of this app. PTH Pasteboard is always on the far left no matter what, which I like, but the very fact that it is always over there shows me there's another kind of these apps.

In other words, I was wrong, there's more than two. Maybe 4 different kinds not including the always running SpotLight.

Wheee!!!

JudieKaren · May 12, 2005, 01:31 AM

Thank you for your replies!

I know that Spotlight has to be in the right corner. I just wanted to put wClock to the immediate left of Spotlight, but the Internet Connect 'modem status' icon keeps placing itself there.

I know it's not earth shattering. It's just that I've always looked up in that corner for the date and time and now when I look there I see the numbers representing how long I've been online and for an instant I think it's the *time of day*. I guess I have to retrain myself to look further to the left for the date and time.

BTW, I just tried moving the Konfabulator icon to a new location and discovered I can't rearrange ANY of my menu bar icons. I can make them go 'poof', but can't change their location. I know I was able to move Konfabulator around in Panther. hmmm

4lfclover · May 12, 2005, 01:53 AM

Originally Posted by JudieKaren

Thank you for your replies!

I know that Spotlight has to be in the right corner. I just wanted to put wClock to the immediate left of Spotlight, but the Internet Connect 'modem status' icon keeps placing itself there.

I know it's not earth shattering. It's just that I've always looked up in that corner for the date and time and now when I look there I see the numbers representing how long I've been online and for an instant I think it's the *time of day*. I guess I have to retrain myself to look further to the left for the date and time.

BTW, I just tried moving the Konfabulator icon to a new location and discovered I can't rearrange ANY of my menu bar icons. I can make them go 'poof', but can't change their location. I know I was able to move Konfabulator around in Panther. hmmm

I see what you mean Judie I just downloaded wClock which is a pretty cool app. I see that it hasen't been updated in a while, Have you emailed the developer?

4lfclover · May 12, 2005, 02:00 AM

I found this. Although it is shareware.

Jasoco · May 12, 2005, 02:39 AM

MenuCalendarClock iCal is what I use, has a customizable clock with a slide down calendar. I love it. I have it on my right side next to the SpotLight menu. I suggest it highly.

JudieKaren · May 12, 2005, 03:47 AM

Is anyone able to move any of the menu bar icons around? I'm wondering if it's just me.

Jasoco · May 12, 2005, 04:14 AM

I've never been able to move non-Apple sanctioned extras around. Ever.

Randman · May 12, 2005, 04:15 AM

Some, like MenuMeters can. Others, such as F10 and Konfabulator don't. I have a transparent menu icon for Konfab (which will likely be replaced soon by Amnesty) but after a logout, I have to quit and reopen the app so it appears on the far left.

JudieKaren · May 12, 2005, 08:05 PM

UpDate:

I reset my PRAM (Restart while holding down Option + Command + P + R, wait for the 2nd chime) because I read that may be a fix for the CD/DVD problems some people are having (BTW, It didn't help that problem for me). Lo and behold, my wClock moved over to the immediate left of the SpotLight, right where I wanted it! Go figure.

So, THAT annoyance is resolved and I've moved on to figure out why any CD-RWs and DVD-RWs that I erased using Tiger's Disk Utility won't work in Tiger, but DO work if I boot into my Panther clone. Brand new CD-RWs and DVD-RWs DO work in Tiger, however.

olorin15 · May 13, 2005, 02:58 PM

So about menu extras:

There are two basic differences between apps that run in the menu bar - those that are menu extras, and those that are not. Menu extras (like apple's clock, battery, etc) are special programs that can be moved anywhere in the menubar. Apple does not welcome 3rd party menu extras, so you need to install Unsanity's menu extra enabler haxie to run any that you may come across, such as Menu Meters or cee pee you. Most other apps, such as the various itunes controllers, or the menubar icon for Desktop Manager, or gCount, or I'm guessing wclock, just stick an icon where the menubar is, but do not actually "live" in the menubar. So you can't move them around. The order in which they appear depends only on the order in which they were launched - or more precisely, the order in which their startup process got far enough to place the icon in the menubar. If you want one of these to be right next to Spotlight, you need to launch it first. If other apps are already running, you need to quit them, then start the one you want, wait for it to put an icon next to Spotlight, then restart the others.

Some apps, such as XMenu, have an option of being to the left or to the right of all the menu extras. Some don't. If you have any menu extras and an app w/o such an option running at the same time, this app will alaways be to the left of them all.

Hope this helps ...