A simple way to disable Apple menu items

Apr 29, '05 08:11:00AM

Contributed by: gripp

There are some previously posted tips on the subject of removing items from the Apple menu. However, this one works without deleting lines or using a special editor for the configuration file. Try this:

  1. Change to the right directory:
    cd /System/Library/Frameworks/Carbon.framework/Versions/A\
    /Frameworks/HIToolbox.framework/Versions/A/Resources\
    /English.lproj/StandardMenus.nib 
  2. Make a backup of, and then edit the, objects.xib file:
    sudo cp objects.xib objects_old.xib
    sudo pico objects.xib
  3. Insert a hide or disabled tag after the first line of the menu item you wish to remove. You can use either of the below syntaxes:
    <boolean name="hidden">TRUE</boolean>
    <boolean name="disabled">TRUE</boolean>
    
    Here's an example for hiding the "Mac OS X Software" item:
    ..
    <object class="IBCarbonMenuItem" id="221">
      <boolean name="hidden">TRUE</boolean>
      <string name="title">Mac OS X Software _</string>
      <ostype name="command">soft</ostype>
      ...
    Save the file with a Control-X, and then restart the Finder.
That's it! If you have a system in another language, you have to edit your language file too. For a German system, for instance, edit the StandardMenus.nib file in the German.lproj folder, in the same spot as the English.lproj folder shown above.

Read on for a quick tip on making Software Update only accessible for Admin users...

If you want completely hide "Software Update" for Users, but not for the admin, do this. Logged in as admin, move the Software Update control panel into your home directory:

sudo mv /System/Library/PreferencePanes/SoftwareUpdate.prefPane ~/
Then open the panel and install it only for admin, so a folder /Library/PerferencesPanes is created and the ControlPanel is inside. After this, move the application itself into the Admin's Home directory, so you can't open it in the "About Macintosh" menu as a user:
sudo mv /System/Library/CoreServices/Software\ Update.app /~

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Mac OS X Hints
http://hints.macworld.com/article.php?story=20050426093415728