![]() I could have put all of these in the same geeklet, but you’ll note I used a smaller font for the date and day of the week than the clock. Make sure to match the font with the time for a consistent look. If you’re up at midnight and it would kill you to see the previous date for 1000 seconds at most, set it lower. Set the refresh timer high this time, maybe every 1000 or 5000 seconds - after all, the date only changes once every 86,400 seconds. That will show the day of the week, insert a line break (the semicolon adds the line break,) and then the date on the next line. Drag another Shell geeklet to the desktop, adjust its size to match how large you’d like the day to appear relative to the time, and then type the following into the command field: Once the time looks the way you’d like it to, repeat the process for the day of the week. The %I toggles 12-hour format, and the %p on the end adds an AM/PM to the clock. I’m using a 24-hour clock here, but if you prefer the AM/PM style, use this string instead: In the example here, I used Futura Medium, at 144 pt. Set the colour to something that’s readable on your desktop background, and then change the font to something you like. It should take up the entire space you’ve set, but if it’s too large, you can either decrease the font size, or resize the geeklet so the entire time is displayed. Then click the box to set the font and colour, and increase the size so the time is displayed as large as you’d like. Set the refresh rate to be every 60 seconds so the time updates every minute. Give it a name, and then, in the “command” field of the properties window, type the following: Drag the bottom right corner to resize it to be as large as you’d like the time to display on your desktop. Here are a few ways to get started adding some flare to your desktop using the default geeklets:ĭrag the Shell geeklet to your desktop, and place it in the space where you’d like the time to appear. The default geeklets are fairly powerful, and can help you get a long way towards the HUD of your dreams. When the plug-in is in place, the properties window will change to allow you to change its size and position, type in the commands you want the plug-in to run, select the image you want it to display, or specify the text you want it to show. To activate a geeklet, drag it out of the System Preferences window to the desktop where you want it to live. Click the checkbox next to the group name to activate or deactivate that group, or toggle them from the menu bar. Switch to a brightly coloured wallpaper, and you can switch groups to change the font and colours without having to go into each geeklet to change them one at a time. ![]() For example, if you have a dark wallpaper, your date and time geeklets may need white text. You can set them up to fit a specific need, work with the desktop wallpaper that you have up, or just fit your mood. Groups allow you to configure multiple geeklets without having to tweak them every time you change your wallpaper or plug in an external display. Installing GeekTool is simple - just download and open the installer to add it to the System Preferences (it’ll appear under Other at the bottom.) When you open the GeekTool preference pane, you’ll see the three default geeklets, and options on the right to add GeekTool to the menu bar, enable or disable GeekTool, and to add and delete groups of geeklets. While GeekTool isn’t quite as graphically intensive as its closest Windows counterpart, Rainmeter (which we’ve already shown you how to configure in Windows,) you can still build a gorgeous HUD on your Mac with it. GeekTool supports Mac OS 10.6 Snow Leopard and Lion via the Mac App Store. The three bundled geeklets include the “File” plug-in, which allows you to monitor system and application activity or keep a text file open on your desktop, the “shell” plug-in that lets you run scripts of terminal commands and display their output on the desktop, and the “image” plug-in that lets you embed items like iTunes album art, weather conditions, and more on your desktop. The output from those commands is displayed on the desktop, organised and styled by you. It installs as a preference pane in the System Preferences, and from there you can open use any of the three included plug-ins (called “geeklets”) to run text commands. GeekTool is a utility that allows you to embed objects and information directly onto your Mac’s desktop. ![]()
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