Change the default text for just about everything

Mar 13, '08 07:30:04AM

Contributed by: S

This is a hint which will allow you to change the default text for just about anything. This is actually quite easy -- all you need to do is edit various *.strings files. The thing is, these .strings files can be found just about everywhere. Here are some good places to look:

A few points: Read on for an example to get you started...

Here's how to change the Force Quit menu item in the Dock's contextual menus (I did this in 10.5.2):

  1. Go to /System » Library » CoreServices » Dock.app » Contents » Resources » [your language].lproj.
  2. Open DockMenus.strings in your favorite pure text editor.
  3. Find FORCE_QUIT
  4. Look at the string next to it (the bit in quotation marks). It should say (if you chose English.lproj) Force Quit.
  5. Change it to Kill %@! Yaargh!, or whatever else takes your fancy. Leave the quotation marks in place!
  6. Save the file.
  7. If necessary, copy the file to its original location.
  8. Open the Terminal and type killall Dock.
No, holding down the Option key, click-and-hold on any open application in the Dock. The pop-up menu should now offer (instead of Force Quit) Kill [application name]! Yaargh!, or whatever else you typed.

[robg adds: A couple additional caveats on modifying .strings files. First, if you change a copy and move it back, the permissions will differ from what OS X expects; running Repair Permissions will fix this. Second, changes to these files can and will be overwritten with most any system update that affects that area of the OS or particular application. Third, if you make a mistake editing this file (if you remove a quotation mark, for instance), the results can be bad. Always have a good known backup before trying anything like this!]

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