10.4: Disable Mail.app's button-style toolbar items

May 03, '05 07:55:00AM

Contributed by: Pais

Tiger only hintWith the release of Tiger, the new Mail.app's toolbar look is the subject of great controversy. I think the change that I dislike the most is the new toolbar -- mainly because it just looks plain weird. An easy way to disable the toolbar backgrounds is to move or rename the following files (I put them in a "Disabled Toolbar Images" subdirectory) within the application's resources:

To get to these files, control-click on Mail.app and choose "Show Package Contents" from the pop-p menu. Open the "Contents" folder in the new window, then open "Resources." Be careful not to modify any other files, otherwise unexpected results may occur. To be really safe, create a duplicate of Mail first, and then modify/test the duplicate.

I haven't experienced any adverse effects from "removing" these files, but your mileage may vary. I've also created a free application called DeButtonizer that does the task for you.

[robg adds: I also received a submission from omnivector with a pointer to his free program called Cage Fighter, which does the same thing. Personally, I actually like the new buttons, but I know the look is quite controversial -- some love it, some hate it, and there are very few in the middle.]

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