VRH  Solid, handy, and free. Good stuff. This app has been well maintained and it offers easy access to lots of otherwise hidden features.  
(Version 3.94)

BADABING  Once there was a little tool (don't know the name anymore) to active the docks "single-application" mode in Tiger (clicking on an app icon in the dock activates that app and its windows while automatically hiding the windows of all the other apps) is it possible to integrate that in TinkerTool?

That's an easy way to prevent window clutter, I've been looking for that feature for a long time but can't remember the apps name.

I think it would be a very useful enhancement for TinkerTool.

Oh, ...and thank you for TinkerTool.  
(Version 3.93)

MSWFUJOWDFFYC  iTunes

Some time ago I used the "Terminal" to link the iTunes-Arrows to the Library. After starting this app and displaying the iTunes-Section: it reversed my handmade-change (without asking). Now, the arrows are linking to the store again... enough reason for me to trash-it as untrustworthy. Sorry.  
(Version 3.92)

MACHSPEED5  why is "skipping checksum verification of DMGs" grayed out? running leopard on ppc powerbook 12 1.33. no mention in faq.  
(Version 3.8)

DOC RENAUD  Beautiful icon :-)

And thanks for updating TinkerTool for 10.5 users.  
(Version 3.8)

MAC ADAM  is it allow have translucid bar ?  
(Version 3.8)

GURUBEZ  Great App, works perfectly also with LEO!!

THX  
(Version 3.8)

CRUZDREW  Excellent program for changing hidden settings very stable on intel imac running 10.4.10 never had any problems. And excellent price!! Thanks!  
(Version 3.7a)

ROBOGOBO  I'm duplicating my review of Tinkertool System here, because this review is developer/support related. After using Tinkertool System for a few months, I did weekly maintenance and ran all the recommended processes religiously. Two weeks ago, after doing the same thing I did before, I experienced constant kernel crashes and freezes immediately following a Tinkertool session. I spent a few days trying to troubleshoot. I'm a moderately experienced user, so I did all the standard stuff- Diskwarrior, fsck, memtest, etc. All found nothing. I do regular backups using CCC, and so I cut my losses, saved my client data and cloned my hard drive from the last backup before Timkertool tinkered too much. That was three days ago, and no more problems.

Now, I'm sure Tinkertool is a good program, but the worst part came when I contacted the developer, Marcel Bresnik. He insisted kernel crashes are only caused by hardware problems, and called me a liar when I said my crashlogs were naturally reverted when I cloned from a backup, and would be of no use in troubleshooting. I asked for a refund, but then told him he could keep his $10 if it was too big a deal, to show him I wasn't lying to rip him off, and I would simply give honest feedback on Versiontracker. So there it is. And it's a shame, because it's probably a good program that needs improvement in a few areas, and the developer just happens to be a defensive ass. Oh well, back to Butler.  
(Version 3.7a)

ZANGIEF  You can use Terminal to set the files' attributes. Use FileWrangler to rename them all to something like "picture-x" (where X is a number) and then use a regular expression in grep, then pipe the output.  
(Version 3.7a)

ZAHAR  This is the one thing I couldnt do without I do not think. Not being a terminal techie, TinkerTool really helps a lot find those things to customize osx that I otherwise wouldn't be able to do. Cheers!!  
(Version 3.61)

68KMLA  If you set the finder option to 'show invisible and system files', work with some files, then turn it off again, it seems to make whole folders full of files disappear.

3 folders, each with between 8-30 jpg files in them. They all showed up as folders with 'No Items' in the Finder with hidden files turned off, but when I re-enabled hidden files with TinkerTool, they showed the files I knew were there.

These files were not modified in any way, other than being moved between partitions.

This has me very worried now, as I have to leave hidden files enabled or else possibly trash files that I didn't know were there.

How would they get the 'hidden' property on their own?

The filenames didn't have a dot in front or anything, and I have not run setfile on any of them.

Help!  
(Version 3.61)

MAGICBRETT  I love this program, It is great because by showing ivisble files, you can put songs on the compuuter from the iPod. So far thats the only feature I've used and am very satisfied with the layoiut, and functionality of the application  
(Version 3.6.1)

ANONYMOUS  Some weeks ago all of my icons disappeared from the desktop but they were still accessible though a finder window in the sidebar. After running through a number of diagnostic activities trying to get my desktop back, including starting up with a new identity, to confirm that it was a user problem , I downloaded and used this software which fixed the problem on the very first try. Based on earlier dialog with this developer I can also say that he is very responsive to questions, etc. about his software.  
(Version 3.6.1)

AMAKE  I love the app. I've been using it for years. My one nitpicky complaint has actually very little to do with the app. I hate it when downloads are offered as gzipped disk images. Why not just use the dmg's internal compression? Then I only have to deal with one file instead of two. You can do this easily in the Terminal by using the command hdiutil create -imagekey zlib-level=9 -srcfolder $SOURCE $TARGET  
(Version 3.6.1)

SPAM GLORIOUS SPAM!  it's NOT properly tiger compatible as it still "greys out" all icons if you set the finder option to "show invisible and system files"  
(Version 3.5)

ANONYMOUS  Getting better and better! The dev keeps TinkerTool updated with the latest hidden prefs available in Mac OS X. Thanks!

:-D   
(Version 3.5)

ANONYMOUS  I'm not myself too worried about the Terms of Service bit. But at least in the copy I just downloaded all the contractual stuff that comes as part of the package was written in German. I do think it would be a little fairer to make these agreements available in English.  
(Version 3.5)

MR. X  FINALLY an effective way to "kill" the Dock (yes, I'm a Dock-hater...). Just select the "top" position and unless you stick your mouse for like a second right at the lower end of the menubar (which is not so easy to do by accident, yes!) you won't see this annoying piece of junk that Steve seems to be in love with...

My second fav is the "disable sound effects" for the Finder. :)

Gotta love the screenshot file format option, the scroll arrows together at both ends.

One feature that sounded really cool doesn't work for me though: "disable native PDF support" for Safari doesn't do anything on my particular set-up. I'll try to find out why later.

Still amazingly useful piece of freeware though!!!

THANK YOU!  
(Version 3.5)

ANONYMOUS  This person is more than just a genius. I just discovered a way to "kill" the Dock with this program. First, shrink the Dock down to its lowest size. Then use Tinker Tool to locate the dock to the top and center. It will show up if you enlarge the Dock again, but in its tiny state, it doesn't seem to pop down from behind the menu bar. Works great on other things, too. Thanks.  
(Version 3.4)

ANONYMOUS  This is a superb software!!

You are a genius!!

Thanks!!  
(Version 3.4)

ANONYMOUS  oh no!

Not my IP address!

Holy crap. You people are whack.

This is such a normal EULA.  
(Version 3.4)

ANONYMOUS  Dude, if you think the EULA below is scary, you need to re-read the EULAs for most of the web sites you visit. The EULA here is pretty typical and not scary. EVERYBODY tracks you by your IP address. I"ll bet MacUpdate does too. Many of these EULAs also say that they are not tracking personally identifiable information like your name. For instance, if you ran a web site and you wanted some stats about what platforms and browsers visited your site, and what parts of the world, you too would be gathering "aggregate non-personal information." YOUR OWN EULA would have to look like this one and most of the ones on the Web.

The point is, either you realize how typical and non-remarkable the quoted paragraph below is, OR YOU MUST STOP using the Web now, because you can clearly not accept what most Web site are doing for statistical purposes.  
(Version 3.4)

ANONYMOUS  The comment below has caused me to NOT want to download what might have been an otherwise useful bit of freeware. This is the first time that I have seen a EULA that completely scared me away from the product.  
(Version 3.4)

ANONYMOUS  In responce to the Terms And Services complaint below.

This is an excert from the EULA. Im thinking all it means is they are keeping track of who click the link on the website? correct me if im wrong.

6. Terms of Service.

If you downloaded the Software, computer systems under direct and indirect control of MBS will automatically log certain non-personal information from your computer, information such as your Internet Protocol address. If you decide you wish to purchase a Registration Key, we require that you provide us or our contractors with certain billing information that is personal to you (“Personal Information”). That Personal information includes your name and address and may also include other information such as your e-mail address.

To the extent MBS may access Personal Information, MBS will not transmit Personal Information voluntarily to any third party without your express consent, unless disclosure is required by law.

MBS may, on occasion, use the Internet Protocol address of your computer to help diagnose problems with our Internet services. MBS may provide aggregate statistics about our customers, traffic patterns, and related site information to reputable third-party vendors. In this process, the information that MBS collects remains anonymous to third parties. MBS may derive general information from your Personal Information and web usage. MBS will not voluntarily disclose, sell or trade your Personal Information to any third party without your consent.  
(Version 3.3c)

ANONYMOUS  Free? Did you actually read the Eula? I dont think so. The program Control Freak will work just fine for me and no EULA to sign. Thanks but no thanks, and as far as gathering info from my computer...... Go get @#$@#%!!!!  
(Version 3.3c)

IAN LUECK  Definitely useful for finding useless hidden files that can clutter your HD. The rest of the stuff I rarely bother with- a Quit Menu for the Finder? Yikes, I don't want that.

And the DVD Player debug menu doesn't work with DVD Player 4.0+. It just displays an empty menu when you click on it.  
(Version 3.3c)

ANDROO  Superb App, does everything it needs to without having to reenter the admin password. Well thought out interface, dosn't do it all but it does do whats needed. Top Stuff  
(Version 3.3c)

FABRO  Probably the best OS X tweaking app, much better that many other non-free apps ... and if you need to go beyond its user-level features to tweak some system settings TinkerTool System only costs $7.  
(Version 3.3a)

SPAM ON TOAST  actually, i agree with the poster who mentioned the 'double arrows' on scrollbars. i'm a fan of those as well and have them on my current setup - but i haven't got tinkertool installed. how did that happen, i wonder?  
(Version 3.3a)

SPAM ON TOAST  tinkertool was a 'must have' in the early days of OSX, but as apple have rolled more and more of its capabilities into the OS with subsequent releases, it's become less and less vital. nowadays it's probably a one or two trick pony at best, and each new version seems to exist as primarily as a 'new coat of paint' for the purpose of getting a mention in versiontracker and macupdate, rather than adding any new functions.

i guess this little app has reached the end of its useful life cycle.  
(Version 3.3a)

ANONYMOUS  Any way of disabling the Quartz Extreme mouse pointer graphic ?

When I upgraded my graphics card I noticed that I had an anti-aliased mouse with a drop shadow. I think I prefered the old mouse pointer graphic.  
(Version 3.3)

SJ  Cheers, nice app. I like how you can move the dock to the top of the screen. Good work.  
(Version 3.3)

PETER MAURER  Installing TinkerTool is one of the first steps when I'm setting up a Mac. I could hardly live without it.

However, I have one minor request: Please consider making the tool bar customizable. Applying that change shouldn't take much more than a minute...  
(Version 3.3)

PIR  Excellent freeware. Stable. Better than sharewares.  
(Version 3.3)

ANONYMOUS  FYI: The preference to reduce the amount of time a page takes to start displaying works on Jaguar as well as Panther.  
(Version 3.3)

IAMKINGHENRY  This program is extremely helpful when you need to find a hidden file. Would have been lost without it. thx  
(Version 3.2.1)

ADAM JAY  great preferences app. free, stable, you could probably expect some of the features to be in the next OS 10.4 Tiger, so this is a good luck at whats to come.  
(Version 3.2.1)

ANONYMOUS  Great freeware, works as advertised and it is stable, better than sharewares. Good job guys.  
(Version 3.2.1)

ANONYMOUS  I'm not sure what motivated this change, but I'm really disappointed that it's an app now instead of a preference pane. My applications folder is crowded enough – put it back in system preferences, where it belongs.

I'm sticking with the old version that's still a preference pane, even if it doesn't have as many features.  
(Version 3.2.1)

RJ NORRIS  not a review of the app, per se, so i will refrain from a rating, but if you do the following: enable "expose" to "desktop" mode, have itunes playing on a secondary monitor under panther with an nvidia card, trigger the "all windows" expose, and then try to switch to the desktop, all of aqua will crash mightily. requires a hard reset. like i said, not a ding against tinkertool... but it does serve to point out that you should be careful about enabling features that apple didn't enable on their own.  
(Version 3.2)

JUSTIN  Great app. I prefer that it's an application again instead of a prepane too. Very useful to turn on hidden OS X features. I use the add Quit Menu item to Finder on most macs I set up and personally, since I deal with a lot of Unix files, I use it to show all the hidden files in finder windows. Lots of other useful stuff too. Check it out, it's free (Thanks!) and also includes a way to restore everything to the OS defaults so you don't have to worry about not being able to change things back.  
(Version 3.1)

ROBERT CAILLIAU  For Dana Sutton and other Americans: the license panel is not only in German; for once the English is just a bit lower down... ;-)  
(Version 3.1)

VENUS  Installed it last night and shut down. This morning my iMac just wouldn't startup. Only got a grey screen. Rebooted 3 times but still grey screen. Had to boot up in safe mode to reset to pre-Tinkertool state and only managed to startup my iMac again.

Not sure what happened but couldn't really review this if it does not allow me to startup my machine.

Maybe next time :) Used version 2 before and loved it! Keep up the good work in future versions.  
(Version 3.1)

DANA SUTTON  As great as ever. For some wierd reason the license document you have to look and agree to as part of the installation is in German. Fear not, the app. it itself is in English.   
(Version 3.1)

CLETUS WALDMAN  Download is still at 3.0.1 and app states 3.0.1 for version 3.1? Anyone else?  
(Version 3.1)

CYBERGOOBER  Interesting. Now the description has changed…  
(Version 3.01)

CYBERGOOBER  Great, as always. Anonymous-

Quote from description at the top of this page:

"TinkerTools allows you to customize the look of Mac OS X's Aqua interface. You can have translucent terminal windows, **modify the trash can's icon**, display all hidden files, and more."  
(Version 3.01)

ANONYMOUS  TinkerTool features vary depending on which OS version you have, but there's no mention about changing the trash icon, where did you see that. bdog? The only item similar is allowing moving the trash icon from the dock, but only with 10.1.x  
(Version 3.01)

BDOG  I've always loved this. The only thing is that it says you can change the trash can icon, but I don't see that anywere.  
(Version 3.01)

JH  Other customization apps come and go, but TinkerTool has earned a permanent place on my Macs...as a PrefPane, as an application, whatever. A question to other users: has anybody else got the menu-shortcut feature working? I'm sure the problem is with me rather than TT, but I can't seem to get it running.  
(Version 3.01)

SCHMELDING  TinkerTool, will you marry me?  
(Version 3.01)

NIFTY  as ever, a solid bit of software... and free is always nice. props to the dev.  
(Version 3.0)

RSNYDER6  Works well for me. A preference panel or not really doesn't make much difference to me.

Seems very stable.

-Roger  
(Version 3.0)

ABBOTT  I installed it on two 10.2.8 systems. Worked fine on my PowerBook, but hoses the icons in some circumstances on my Quicksiler. What happened on Quicksilver was that when I moved any icon, it became invisible. The fix: go into your user library Preferences folder, delete com.apple.finder.plist and redo your Finder preferences. Now everything's fine again.  
(Version 3.0)

SAGE  Wow, I love this! The extra features (including Menu Shortcuts), the app instead of a prefpane... it's perfect. :-)  
(Version 3.0)

OWATERS  Just installed on new PowerBook G4 and it has completely ruined the Finder. When moving any icon on the desktop it just disappears!  
(Version 3.0)

DEE L  New requested feature:

Disabling Finder fading menus (or ability to control the fading time). They're a waste of time for OS X users with slow Macs!  
(Version 2.3.2)

ACRAPPA  Good work, though it's features aren't quite as many as when it was first release. I understand the software's purpose though (it enables features that are built into the OS; they aren't being programmed by the developer), and that limits things a bit.  
(Version 2.3.1)

HES NIKKE  it's good to see yet another new update to tinkertool! now if we can get a few more nicities (a verbose boot checkbox?) bug fixes are good too though.  
(Version 2.2b)

CAM REVOL  whoa! very nice new installer for TinkerTool...  
(Version 2.1)

ANONYMOUS  I like OS X, but there are simple essential features from OS 9 which are missing. TinkerTool gives back control of system typefaces, scroll arrow positions, type smoothing plus more.  
(Version 2.0.2)

ED S.  this may be helpful for 10.0.x but most of it is redundent in 10.1. Nothing new added i really saw a good use for right now. didn't hurt anything but didn't really add much either.  
(Version 2.0.2)

"CAM"  Why did Apple not think of this? This is one of the top things I missed from OS 9. Great Job Marcel Bresink!!!  
(Version 1.32b)

ANONYMOUS  Better grab this quick before Apple's legal team sees this!  
(Version 1.3.2)