TinkerTool logo

TinkerTool for Mac

By Marcel Bresink Software-Systeme Free Editors' Rating

Key Details of TinkerTool

  • Access hidden preferences settings
  • Last updated on 08/13/20
  • There have been 1 update within the past 6 months
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Editors' Review

Download.com Staff Nov 20, 2014

TinkerTool for Mac provides quick access to otherwise buried settings and features. Through this app, you can tweak and adjust features as much as you want without worry, because you can always revert everything back to the original settings, with just one click.

Pros

Interface layout: This app's interface is organized by location, with icons arranged across the top of the main viewing window for Finder, Dock, General, Desktop, Applications, Fonts, Safari, and more. When you select one of these locations, the various options for customizing their behavior appear below this menu bar, and you can quickly switch from one to another at will.

Individualized changes: Any of the changes you make through this app apply only to your current user account. Because these aren't systemwide or permanent changes, you don't need Admin privileges to make them, and you don't have to worry about impacting other users if you're on a shared machine.

Cons

Limited Help and descriptions: The only Help available for this program is a FAQs page, and there are no explanations for the items listed that you can change or turn on and off through the app itself. That means you're left basically to just find out what happens when you make changes through trial and error, which is fine because the changes aren't permanent, but much less efficient than it could be with descriptions that are a little clearer.

Bottom Line

TinkerTool for Mac customizes your settings and features. The lack of documentation and descriptions can be off-putting to inexperienced users, but the reversible nature of the changes makes it unlikely you'll do any harm by poking around.

Full Specifications

What's new in version 7.5

  • Added preliminary support for future operating systems.
  • Added new option to disable the temporary preview to edit screenshots.

General

Release August 13, 2020
Date Added August 13, 2020
Version 7.5

Operating Systems

Operating Systems Macintosh
Additional Requirements
  • macOS Catalina
  • macOS Mojave
  • macOS High Sierra
  • macOS Sierra
  • OS X El Capitan
  • OS X Yosemite
  • OS X Mavericks

Popularity

Total Downloads 112,178
Downloads Last Week 12
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187 User Votes
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Developer's Description

TinkerTool is an application that gives you access to additional preference settings Apple has built into Mac OS X. This allows to activate hidden features in the operating system and in some of the applications delivered with the system.

The tool makes sure that preference changes can only affect the current user. You don't need administrative privileges to use the tool. With this design, it is no problem to use TinkerTool in professional networks where users have restricted permissions. The program will never change any component of the operating system, so the integrity of your system is not put at risk, and there will be no negative effect on system updates.

All preference settings changed by TinkerTool can be reset to Apple's defaults, or to the state that existed before using the tool. No dangerous background processes are used for TinkerTool's operation. Because TinkerTool only gives you access to settings already built into Mac OS X, its feature set varies greatly between different operating system versions. For details please refer to the feature table at the developer's site.

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