XMenu for Mac

1.9.11

1.9.11

See all Versions

Simply marvelous. Free and out performs virtually any other competitor. Easy to personalize. Works perfectly in Catalina. Near zero cpu and RAM usage. True out does not show the contents of the Utilities folder…but you can add what you want to the menu and it does open the folder directly so you can choose what you need. Really, how many items in the Utilities Folder do you use on a daily basis?

XMenu 1.9.9 under Catalina does not show all items in folders Applications, Utilities.

best

This is one of the most useful apps I have. It provides quick access to all my files and apps without having the desktops littered with Finder windows – double-quick for the commonest items that I keep in the “user-defined” file – and the snippets are as easy to use as those offered by the ridiculously expensive specialist apps. And the service Devon offers is second to none.

Does it work with Sierra?

Does this work on 10.11 El Capitan?

Thank you so much for the inclusion of support for the Dark Mode of Yosemite. I have a visual impairment, and that makes it easier to use XMenu. I love the app and use it every day. I have found that on Yosemite there is a delay when I pull down one of my custom folders, before it will show the contents. If this can be addressed in a future update that would be great. Either way it's mandatory software for me.

Always been a fan of this, been using it since Snow Leopard. Clean and simple access to all your stuff without clicking through interminable finder windows. Great app!

For those of you who have used both, how is XMenu compared to FinderPop? Similar to XMenu, FinderPop uses a "FinderPop Items" folder in the user's library where the user can add aliases to folders, files, etc., which are then accessible via a contextual menu in the Menubar. Does XMenu have any particular advantages over FinderPop? Thanks in advance.

FolderGlance which has not been updated for almost 2 years is still the best on here and still working flawlessly (Thank God). It uses Quicklook to generate previews in the menu or directly inlined in the Finder. By far the best in this menu enhancing category (when it came along I ditched FinderPop.. though I had used it forever..). I'm a little puzzled that DevonTech does not make this more powerful. I always give it a twirl when it gets updated just to see if it got better.. Oh well... I love their apps though (I use DevonThink Pro all day long, DevonAgent and DevonSphere at times ). But this one here is really too basic. Free or not.

Could not figure out how the heck to make this work. When clicking app, all I see is an app window. Where are the preferences for this app. They do not show up as a sub menu in Mavericks. Any help?

Mountain Lion's Notification Center has really screwed up the easy accessibility of XMenu and Spotlight. Now the Notification Center is the farthest right menubar icon, and Spotlight's now to the left of XMenu! Even after using a hack to get rid of the useless and annoying Notification Center, the Spotlight icon is still to the left of XMenu, which sucks because I use Spotlight ten times more frequently than XMenu but can no longer just sweep my index finger to the upper-right corner of the Track Pad to access it — now I have to apply care and precision to hit the Spotlight icon without accidentally clicking one of the XMenu icons instead. Mr./Ms. Developer, could you please find some way to re-engineer Xmenu so its icons can be placed just to the left of the Spotlight icon for those of us who’ve nuked the Notification Center? Pretty please?

I am trying to delete xmenu from my iMac. When dragging the application folder to the trash, I receive the message "xmenu can't be moved to the trash because it's open". Can't see where it's open anywhere, I've never used it and no longer want it on my system. Can anyone help?

It's extremely simple to use but adds so much convenience. I like that it does what it does well.

FinderPop has been around for some time - but I've rarely used it, despite its ease of use. But XMenu can be accessed from a drop down menu, and gives you fast access to your applications, for free. For me, this is an example of a great idea that's even simpler to use. If you have a lot of applications, scrolling down to your program of choice is a natural. Like FinderPop, XMenu is free - the best price.

I've used XMenu for many years, because it's provided exactly the interface I want to access apps and other stuff. But 1.9.2 brings what is, for me, a huge disadvantage. It no longer places its menus close to the right edge of the menu bar, where they're always accessible. Instead, it places them to the left of all (?) other menu extras. This usually has them hidden behind application menu items on my little 1280x800 MacBook screen. That means I have to switch to Finder or some other menu-light app before I can get access. For Snippets, it's deadly, as I can no longer easily paste them where I want because of having to switch out of the target application. Try as I might, I can't get them to move to the right. I sorted XMenu to first position in my Login Items pref and logged out/in, no joy. The DEVONtechnologies XMenu forum has a similar issue posted April 1 by theorg, asking for advice/fix, with no response after a week. I'll be trying to find 1.9.1 and reinstall. Advice: if you have a small screen, stick with 1.9.1.

Correction of two points in my review below: 1) The 'Download Now' link above has been updated and now yields v. 1.9.2; 2) The developer informed me that XMenu was not completely rewritten in the 64-bit architecture. Rather, "Version 1.9.2 indeed supports 64-bit, but it wasn't completely rewritten, only recompiled after minor changes."

DOWNLOAD NOTE: Direct download link for XMenu 1.9.2: http://www.devon-technologies.com/files/XMenu.app.zip because as of 7:00 AM on March 20, the version downloading from this MacUpdate link is still 1.9.1. XMenu is a GREAT free app that gives you super-fast, easy access to your files and apps, and I'm thrilled that DEVONtechnologies continues to develop it. I've been using it for years, but previous versions became too slow — I had to retire the Applications menu and replace it with Himmelbar because it started taking too long to open under OS 10.6.3+. Thankfully, version 1.9.2 was rewritten as 32/64-bit, so now it’s snappier by perhaps 15-20%. So, I re-rate it at 4.5 stars. The only things that could make it better would be a color preference for the menus, and even speedier operation of the Applications menu. But asking that of such a generous developer would be greedy!

LOVE this little piece of code, adds to OSX the only "Windows-like" feature I missed: point to quickly open deeper files/folders. Newest version 1.9.2 seems quicker to respond than previous version. Well done!

I've been using XMenu for a few years and think it's a really great old app. However, as mentioned in my 7/15/10 review below, its v. 1.9.0 Applications menu had simply become t o o d a r n s l o w to render after clicking its icon. So, now I use Himmelbar as an Applications launcher and XMenu's Home and Snippets menus for those functions because they work better than any of the other 12 or so such apps available. However, I just discovered that XMenu was updated to v. 1.9.1 in November 2010 after nearly 2 years of neglect, so I was hopeful that Devontechnologies had modernized it. But after trying it today, I was very disappointed to discover that it hadn't become even the slightest bit quicker, and in fact hadn’t improved one jot. The update’s description said that they’d added an alternate menu accessible by control-clicking one of its icons, but v. 1.9.0 already had that functionality, and I’ve been using it for more than 2 years! So I don’t know what the heck they were thinking when they made that statement. So unfortunately, XMenu is STILL dying, and will continue to die until its developer rewrites it from the ground up to take advantage of several Leopard and Snow Leopard technologies that its current version simply ignores, making it one ulcerously slow waste of time. Shame, really.

I've been using this little gem for several years now without any issues. xMenu is extremely handy and useful.....a most valuable 'freebie'. DEVONtech puts out some really stellar software. xMenu's version 1.9.1 release notes are contained in a version history pdf file included with the download. Here's what's new and improved: VERSION HISTORY 1.9.1 NEW Control-clicking on XMenu items opens the alternate menu. NEW Italian and Spanish localizations. Improved New application icon. Fixed Support for plain text snippets. Required Mac OS X 10.5 or later. Looks like those who are still running OS 10.4 or 10.3.9 are out of luck with this version.

I hope I'm wrong about this, but it seems like this developer has abandoned XMenu. That would be a shame because it's a very fine app, and the only thing keeping it from greatness is its sluggishness. I think an effort to update XMenu for Snow Leopard would bring it back from the dead. Currently, a click on the XMenu 'Applications' menubar item results in a 3- to 6-second delay while it reads everything in the Applications folder before displaying them in a drop-down menu. If you click it again a short time afterward the delay is gone, but just a little while later it's back to its slothful ways. I understand that this lethargy is partially caused by the large number of apps on my MacBook, but other such apps are a lot snappier than XMenu, like OpenMenu X, which was recently updated to work better on Snow Leopard, and which I now have to use instead of XMenu because it works almost instantaneously. Nevertheless, I'd jump right back aboard the XMenu bandwagon if it could be updated to work as quickly as other Snow Leopard menubar launchers.

Great app. I would like if the selection of "menu items" were a bit more dynamic than it is right now though. You have a few static predefined items, and only one "user-defined" item. Add a list widget and let people add as many folders they want to instead of only one directory for that purpose. It would be nice if menu bar items could be assigned custom icons, and also they were were spring-loaded! It would be nice if the text mode had a font setting. Or if one at least could unset the "bold" typeface of the font. This method of accessing the file system is highly addictive! Don't try it! Once you try try it, you can never go back... ;)

Remember folks: Command-Click (Coverleaf key) on an XMenu menu title in the menu bar to show the preferences and configuration options. I love XMenu, but after a year or so of usage I forgot how to configure it and had to spend about an hour to find the magic "Command-Click on the menu title" description. So...for a truly stellar app, for 2.0 please add a handy "options" submenu at the bottom of each XMENU menu, that shows the Command-click menu as a submenu. Then we would all find it when looking. In other words, take a hint from the MacOS 10.5 doc folders, which also have an "options" menu when shown in "list" mode.

I tried several launchers and contextual menu modifiers and this one has become my favorite, even over FinderPop that I used for years. Virtually the same functionality as FinderPop but also other features like the very handy 'snippets'. It takes a bit time to study the settings etc. but in the end that's just a small hurdle to take for such a wonderfull workflow improvement tool. Thank you Devon! But also one feature request for the developers: when fully used, XMenu places no less than six icons in the menubar. Why not just one, with preference settings for a contextual menu in which one or more can be activated? Laptops don't have that much space in the menubar and there are also other apps that place icons there...

This is truly one of the best apps out there, and it's FREE! Thanks a bunch, Devon Tech.!

Best Version ! Everything Devon Technologies makes is top notch!

I thought this would be the end of xmenu! Thank you so much for keeping it free and updated!! Thank you.

This is one of the most useful free programs that I own. The improved interface and preferences, and the new ability to insert Snippets, are fantastic. XMenu drills down long folder hierarchies with no delay, and if you customize the user-defined folder with files and folders, or aliases of them, you have incredibly easy and fast access to just about anything you need. And, it's free!

EDIT: Message edited. Contents transferred below. Sorry, cannot delete this particular one.

Help ! It is apparently running (according to Activity Monitor), but I cannot see a menubar icon for XMenu so I can access it or set preferences. Help !

Since FriutMenu broke under Leopard and it has taken Unsanity so long to develop even a buggy beta, I've shopped around for a replacement. After trying various alternatives, I settled on XMenu as the best, largely because it runs as an application rather than any kind of a system mod., and so is completely non-invasive. In the XMenu folder in User>Library I I've set up a bunch of folders (utilities, applications, documents, a nested folder containng my URLs, one for my current work project, etc.) so I have a fantastic amount of stuff at my fingertips. Then, just to make things even better, I used KeyboardMaestro to assign an F-key to the XMenu folder, now I can access all my stuff either by pulling down the menu or from my keyboard. All this took a couple of hours of creating and storing aliases, but in the end I had set up an insanely great storage/navigation system with no worries about destabilizing my system or surviving future major OS upgrades. This, as I say, involved some work, but it didn't cost me a penny.

Thank You very much for this awesome app. 1 issue though. When I run an automator script it pushes the XMenu icon over then it does not move back. :(

'Himmelbar' is similar, but shows the icons as well.

Nice! Bravo! Free? Wow! My advice to everyone who suffers from Dock-Overcrowdedness is to to remove all icons from their Dock and put everything in custom XMenu categories/folders. Now, only your active apps are in the Dock, and everything is in XMenu, neat and organized. My only wish would be a choice to put XMenu to the right, a la OS 9, but other than that, it rocks! (Now, if only someone would make the Dock like the Task Bar to reflect all open documents. I know it's heresy, but it's the one thing Microsoft got right.)

For me as well, this bug described (from "Anonymous") on July 7th 2005 remains: the XMenu icon still appears in the extreme right corner, behind the spotlight icon(!) on start-up if the option "display on left from menu extras" is unset. And I use custom icons, most of which are not displayed as such (Some are, other appear as generic). Awesome program otherwise, perfect for OS 9 refugees or those willing to keep the dock as free as possible. A nice tool I would not want to miss.

Unusable because I can't find the preferences to configure it, even after reading through the "Read Me." Also, can't figure out how to quit and get rid of it. I'll have to go kill the process from within Terminal.....?

xmenu icon still goes to extreme right, behind the spotlight icon, on system startup/restart, if xmenu is not set to "display on left" - right round corner is part of spotlight icon.

okay.. make an auto-update feature in it now.. i keep on updating this application and i'm getting tired of it ;) i think this is my fifth time updating :) please make it check for updates every once in a while.. PLEASEEEEE!

when "display to the left of menu extras" not checked, xmenu goes to extreme right, behind the spotlight icon, and it appears to be outside of menu bar itself (right round corner is to the left from xmenu icon) what gives?

Great application. Best thing since canned-beer. Only exception - the applications own menu icons are more OS9 looking rather than OS X !!!

This is superb, unfortunately the speed of spotlight makes it old hat on my Mac.

superb!!! 10/10

Absolutely GREAT app. I hate the idea of constantly having to surf Finder to get what i'm looking for. This app is the best!

Can't live without it.. I installed it on all of my friends' macs (that is, those who run 10.3). I'd appreciate better looking & color icons for the menubar, though (I know, one can do it by himself but it would be more convenient for everyone if they were installed from start)

This is one of the best things that has ever been on my menubar! And it's free!

Good app, keeps getting better. fantastic stuff. I love being able to navigate heirachical menus of disks and folders on my computer. You might not like, or know why you might want to do this, but if you do xmenu is very good indeed

Thank you, Thank you, Thank you!

Wonderful app that does exactly what it needs to do and does it flawlessly. Thanks! PS: If you size menu icons at 16x12px they look the same size but take up the same amount of space as the name MacOS 9's "mini" size in list view used to take that aproach.

Great little utility works exactly as it should. The best of the launch menus I've used and has found a permanent home on my system. My only complaint is it's a little slow if you use icons, creating a noticeable delay for submenus to appear. I really hope this can be addressed somehow.

Simple, fast, effective. A much faster alternative to adding the application folder to the dock. If Tiger hasn't implemented this function, this is the first app to be DL-ed. Note: "Made just for 10.3 is acceptable", for Jaguar just use v.1.1. Don't forget: It's still great value for money ;-) Keep up the good work Christian and remember: if it ain't broken . . .

It's nice, has lots of options, and it's free :) What I'd like to see is an option for easy selection/deselection like TigerLaunch. You can do it by adding aliases from what I understand, but it'd be nice to have more of an interface to it.

Terrific! The update addressed the only problems I had with the program... ugly icons in the menu bar (now b&w) and the dropdown menus opening slowly (now works instantly). Outstanding app.

This looks to be a promising utility if they fix one major bug; it only runs on 10.3 They even went so far as to have the software tell you it require 10.3 when you launch it. There is no reason for it to not support 10.2 except for pure laziness on the part of the developer.

Sweet!

This little menu app is AWESOME! I use it for other apps that I normally don't use frequently which frees up my doc greatly. If you're a user who needs to always look for files and folders then this is for you. Great way to organize and look for those things especially if you're in the the Art/Design field. A much needed time saver if you're looking for that project or file. I would highly recommend using this little menu app and best of all its FREE!!!

For those who switch from Widows, this is good. You can add the alias of program in Xmenu folder of active user library and select user define at the window popup by click on the icon at menu bar with command button hold down.

It does not "bring back the old Apple menu". The Apple menu in old Mac OS was where the blue Apple menu is now in OS X. IF this app modified the OS X Apple menu, and made it somewhat like the old Mac OS Apple Menu, well then the description would be accurate. But to flatly state that this brings back something that it does not truly bring back is disingenuous. And wrong. That said, this thing works OK if you don't mind having yet another menu item in your menubar. I do mind. My menubar is already loaded with things more useful to me than this app. Unsanity's FruitMenu DOES modify the OS X Apple menu in a way which DOES reflect somewhat the way the OLD Apple Menu was. I don't own or use it. But Unsanity's products are terrific. That I DO know because I use many of their haxies. My iBook (900 MHz/640 MB RAM) is rock-solid running OS X 10.3.2 and using many Unsanity haxies. So there.

Fantastic little app! Thanks! I was literally one day away from my evaluation of Fruitmenu and was more than ready to pay for it. Now I have almost all the functionality and maybe more for free! (Gotta read the ReadMe to know how to configure it, but that should be a no-brainer.)