Some apps have defaults domains that don’t work the same as other apps and you need to use the -app option in defaults. This option is available for most apps, and sometimes I’ll use it to specifically crawl around for a specific setting I’m looking for. But for other apps, you need to interact with them there. So let’s look at Eclipse. Here, we can do a read with -app followed by the path: defaults read -app /Applications/eclipse/Eclipse.app/ The output would be as follows: { NSNavLastRootDirectory = “~/smb/smb”; NSNavPanelExpandedSizeForOpenMode = “{712, 426}”; NSScrollAnimationEnabled = 0; WebKitJavaEnabled = 0; } Now, let’s say you had a specific setting, like fixing an…
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Configure the Software Update Service on Mavericks Server
The software patching configuration built into most operating systems is configured so all that a user has to do is open a box at home, join the network and start using the computer right away. As environments grow from homes to small offices and then small offices grow into enterprises, at some point software updates and patches need to be managed centrally. Mavericks Server (OS X Server 3), as with its OS X Server predecessors has a Software Update service. The service in the Server app is known as Software Update and from the command line is known as swupdate. The Software Update service, by default, stores each update in the /var/db/swupd directory.…
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Disable Finder Preferences
Finder Preferences allow users to change the sidebar, alter how searches work, show file extensions, configure label names, alter what devices show up on the desktop of a system and control the behavior of Finder windows. You can access Finder Preferences either using the Preferences menu (under the Finder menu) with the Finder as the active application or using the Command-, keystroke. There are a number of reasons I’ve seen people want to disable Finder Preferences, such as controlling user experience and easing support of the user experience for OS X. To do so, send a boolean ProhibitFinderPreferences key to com.apple.finder as TRUE (and kill the Finder): defaults write com.apple.finder…
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Hey Configurator, Get Me Some Logs!
Did you know that you can ask Apple Configurator to give you a lot more logs than it does by default? Holy crap. Makes life so much simpler when you’re having problems, to actually get real logs. And then there’s that… To get more logs, close Apple Configurator and then write All into the LogLevel key in com.apple.configurator: defaults write com.apple.configurator LogLevel ALL Re-open Apple Configurator and you’re golden. Then, have some problems and be so happy to get some logs, viewable in Console.
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Keep Help Windows From Hogging the Foreground in OS X
By default, the OS X help window automatically overlays other screens. I’ve now added to my lab imaging sequence to disable this as I use help windows from time to time but want other windows in the foreground when I command-tab to them. To make the change, write a DevMode key as boolean true into com.apple.helpviewer using the defaults command as follows: defaults write com.apple.helpviewer DevMode -bool true To disable: defaults write com.apple.helpviewer DevMode -bool false
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Disable Dock Autohide
One of those annoying little things is when you ARD into a system and the Dock is nowhere to be seen. Why do we (or should I say they) autohide Docks on servers? Either way, when I ARD into a box and I don’t see a Dock I have this line saved as a Template: defaults write com.apple.dock autohide -bool false; killall Dock By writing an autohide key that is false into com.apple.dock for the currently logged in user, I don’t have to deal with the Dock disappearing any more. You need to kill the Dock and let it respawn, thus the killall as well. Once I’m done working with…
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Debugging Twitter
I was recently working on a new project developing against Twitter using their JSON interface. Turns out that the Twitter app has an awesome little feature to assist with such a task, a Console. To see the menu for the Console, enable the Develop menu, by putting a true boolean ShowDevelopMenu key into the com.twitter.twitter-mac.plist: defaults write com.twitter.twitter-mac ShowDevelopMenu -bool true Once enabled, use the Develop menu to open Console. Here, you can select various buttons and see the GET, POST, PUT or DELETE sent. as well as the entities sent. To disable the Develop menu: defaults write com.twitter.twitter-mac ShowDevelopMenu -bool false
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Controlling Saved Application States
When Lion was new, I put up a post about clearing out information on saved applications states. Saved application states are a new feature in Lion that remembers the screens that were open and where each was when you quit applications. The reason for that post was that those states were causing a few minor issues with applications. There are a few applications that the saving of application states is really awesome for. I think it will mostly be different for each persons workflow. Personally I like saving the state of Terminal, Safari and a few others. However, the state of some others can be a bit annoying for me.…
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Making My NAS Work in Lion
Netatalk seems to always have some issue with OS X. Why I still use little NAS boxes for this that and the other is beyond me. I got stuck dealing with this for a little while and if you’re using Netatalk w/ a DHCAST128 UAM you probably will too. For more on DHCAST see the Netatalk page on UAM support. Kerberos and DHX2 are arguably better, but I’ve found they don’t always work right on some of my NAS boxes. This wasn’t just a quick defaults command as it was in previous instances. It’s not much of a script but the following should fix it if you’re having this issue…
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Fast User Switching
Fast User Switching, when enabled, allows users to leave one session open and hop to another user account. Great for training, testing and impressing friends (ok, so maybe it won’t impress your friends, but the thumb trick is getting old). To enable Fast User Switching, open the Accounts System Preference pane and click on Login Options. Then check the box for Show fast user switching menu. By default you’ll then see your user name in the menu bar. To do this from the command line: defaults write /Library/Preferences/.GlobalPreferences MultipleSessionEnabled -bool 'YES' To then disable it from the command line: defaults write /Library/Preferences/.GlobalPreferences MultipleSessionEnabled -bool 'NO' What’s really cool though, is…