MacOS – How to add System Apps to menu items toolbar

applicationsmacosmenu bar

I'd like to add System Apps to menu items toolbar e.g. show I am hotspotting with my iPhone?

The below first 6 apps (e.g. network app), are utility style apps for me, and I would prefer they be out of my Dock and in the top right hand corner (menu items bar). How do I do this?

Plus a 7th app, which is a purchased app via the App Store.

System:

  • Yosemite 10.10.3
  • Installed Bartender app (this app allows you resequence menu item icons and pop desired apps into a sub "menu item bar" — very nice!)

Bartender app does not appear to allow me to add System Apps that I am always using as there is no setting in the app "make menu item".

  1. OS X system preference – Network so I can see internet connectivity when hotspotting to iphone. Similar to Wi-Fi indicator but Hotspot.
  2. OS X System Preferences
  3. OS X Activity Monitor
  4. OS X Terminal App
  5. OS X Automator
  6. OS X Calendar App
  7. A purchased app from App Store called Screen Rotate, so I can use my macbook like an ebook reader

Best Answer

A simple way to accomplish what you ask is to use AppleScripts. The result will be a Status menu represented by the script icon as shown below. (Hint: for a better view, click the image.)

  1. Using the Finder, navigate to your home folder. From the Finder menus select View → Show View Options. Make sure "Show Library Folder" is checked off as shown below. (Home folder was shown in list view)

  2. Create the ~/Library/Scripts folder, if it does not already exist.

  3. Open Script Editor application. In the Preferences for the Script Editor, check the box "Show Script menu in menu bar" and uncheck the box "Show Computer scripts". An example is shown below. The script icon should now appear on the menu bar.

  4. Using the Script Editor application, create a single line script for each menu item you want to appear in the scripts menu. Each file name should be the same spelling as will appear in the menu. Save each script file to the folder ~/Library/Scripts.

    For Activity Monitor:

    do shell script "open -a '/Applications/Utilities/Activity Monitor.app'"

    For Automator:

    do shell script "open -a /Applications/Automator.app"

    For Calendar:

    do shell script "open -a /Applications/Calendar.app"

    For Network:

    do shell script "open /System/Library/PreferencePanes/Network.prefPane/"

    For Screen Rotate, you are on your own. I assume this would be similar to System Preferences.

    For System Preferences:

    do shell script "open -a '/Applications/System Preferences.app'"

    For Terminal:

    do shell script "open -a /Applications/Utilities/Terminal.app"

  5. After saving the script files, the menu items should appear in the script menu.

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