{"id":5031,"date":"2026-04-04T03:28:43","date_gmt":"2026-04-04T01:28:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/reparationmac.be\/?p=5031"},"modified":"2026-04-04T05:10:06","modified_gmt":"2026-04-04T03:10:06","slug":"customize-mac","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/reparationmac.be\/en\/customiser-personnaliser-mac\/","title":{"rendered":"Customise your Mac: interface guide"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"article-blog\">\n\n<h1>Customise your Mac: the complete guide to a MacOS that reflects your personality<\/h1>\n\n<div class=\"article-meta\">Reading : 13 min | Upgrades and Optimisation<\/div>\n\n<img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/personnaliser-mac-guide.webp\" alt=\"Customise your Mac: all the macOS customisation options\" title=\"Complete guide to customising your Mac\" width=\"1200\" height=\"568\" loading=\"eager\">\n\n<div class=\"answer-box\">\nTo sum up: macOS offers a host of native customisation options - wallpaper, light\/dark appearance, accent colour, Dock organisation, desktop widgets, active corners and custom keyboard shortcuts. To take things even further, third-party applications such as Bartender, Rectangle and Alfred can be used to transform the user experience without compromising system stability.\n<\/div>\n\n<div class=\"toc-box\">\n<strong>Contents<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"#apparence\">Appearance: dark mode, colours and wallpaper<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"#dock-barre\">Dock and menu bar<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"#bureau-widgets\">Desktop and widgets<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"#finder-personnalisation\">Customise the Finder<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"#coins-actifs\">Active corners and trackpad gestures<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"#raccourcis\">Customised keyboard shortcuts<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"#apps-tierces\">Third-party applications to go further<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"#faq\">Frequently asked questions<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n\n<h2 id=\"apparence\">Appearance: dark mode, colours and wallpaper<\/h2>\n\n<p>Customizing a Mac starts with the visual appearance of the system. macOS offers a surprising level of customization for those who take the time to explore the settings - far beyond the simple choice of wallpaper.<\/p>\n\n<h3>Light, dark or automatic mode<\/h3>\n\n<p>Go to <strong>System Settings \u2192 Appearance<\/strong> to choose between three modes. Light mode is the classic macOS look with white windows. Dark mode transforms the entire interface into shades of grey and black - more relaxing for the eyes in the evening and particularly elegant on the OLED screens of recent MacBook Pros. Automatic mode switches between the two depending on the time of day, tracking sunrise and sunset.<\/p>\n\n<h3>Accent and highlight colour<\/h3>\n\n<p>The accent colour defines the hue used for buttons, checkboxes, drop-down menus and selection elements throughout macOS. By default set to \u00abMulticolour\u00bb (each Apple application uses its own colour), you can set it to blue, purple, pink, red, orange, yellow, green or graphite. The highlight colour, which is independent, defines the shade of the text selection. It's a subtle detail, but one that gives visual coherence to the whole system.<\/p>\n\n<h3>Dynamic, personalised wallpaper<\/h3>\n\n<p>macOS offers dynamic wallpapers that change throughout the day - some follow the position of the sun and change lighting between morning, afternoon and night. For a personalised wallpaper, you can use any image: right-click on a photo in the Finder \u2192 Set desktop image. The optimum resolutions correspond to the native resolution of your screen (checkable in System Settings \u2192 Displays).<\/p>\n\n<div class=\"info-box tip\">\n<strong>Tip:<\/strong> To create a truly unified look, choose a wallpaper whose dominant tones complement your accent colour. A bluish wallpaper with a blue accent gives a remarkably consistent result, especially in dark mode.\n<\/div>\n\n<h2 id=\"dock-barre\">Dock and menu bar<\/h2>\n\n<h3>Customise the Dock<\/h3>\n\n<p>The Dock is the most visible part of macOS, and it's completely customisable:<\/p>\n\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Position:<\/strong> System Settings \u2192 Desktop and Dock \u2192 Position on screen. The Dock can be at the bottom, on the left or on the right. Placing it on the side frees up valuable vertical space, especially on a 13-inch MacBook.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Size and magnification :<\/strong> use the slider to adjust the size of the icons and activate the magnification function to enlarge the icons when the mouse hovers over them.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Hide automatically :<\/strong> activate this option so that the Dock disappears when you're not using it, reclaiming screen space. It reappears when you move the cursor to the edge.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Minimise windows in the application icon :<\/strong> tick this option to avoid an accumulation of thumbnails in the Dock.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n<p>To organise the Dock, drag and drop the icons in the desired order. Remove an application by dragging it out of the Dock until you see \u00abDelete\u00bb appear - this does not uninstall the application, it remains in the Applications folder.<\/p>\n\n<h3>Customise the menu bar<\/h3>\n\n<p>The menu bar at the top of the screen can be cluttered with third-party application icons. Hold down the <strong>Cmd<\/strong> and drag the system icons to rearrange them or remove them from the bar. Some third-party icons resist this manipulation - which is where tools like Bartender (see third-party applications section) come in handy.<\/p>\n\n<p>Since recent versions of macOS, you can also automatically hide the menu bar in System Settings \u2192 Desktop and Dock \u2192 Hide and show menu bar automatically.<\/p>\n\n<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/personnaliser-dock-barre-menus-mac.webp\" alt=\"Customising the Dock and menu bar on the Mac\" title=\"Customisation options for the Dock and macOS menu bar\" width=\"1200\" height=\"568\" loading=\"lazy\">\n\n<h2 id=\"bureau-widgets\">Desktop and widgets<\/h2>\n\n<p>Since macOS Sonoma, the Mac desktop has welcomed interactive widgets - a major change in the personalisation of the workspace. Click on the desktop to reveal the widgets, or add them by right-clicking on the desktop \u2192 Edit widgets.<\/p>\n\n<h3>Useful widgets to consider<\/h3>\n\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Weather forecast :<\/strong> current conditions at a glance, without having to open a browser.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Timetable:<\/strong> your next events directly on the desktop.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Reminders and Notes :<\/strong> your to-do lists and quick notes always visible.<\/li>\n<li><strong>World clock :<\/strong> essential if you work with contacts in other time zones.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Batteries :<\/strong> charge level of your AirPods, Magic Mouse, Magic Keyboard.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n<p>Widgets can be resized (small, medium, large, extra-large) and positioned freely on the desktop. They become semi-transparent when an application is in the foreground, so they remain visible without distraction.<\/p>\n\n<div class=\"info-box tip\">\n<strong>Tip:<\/strong> if you use an iPhone, iPhone widgets are also available on your Mac - even if the corresponding application is not installed on the Mac. Your iPhone simply needs to be on the same network or within Bluetooth range.\n<\/div>\n\n<h2 id=\"finder-personnalisation\">Customise the Finder<\/h2>\n\n<p>The Finder is the application you use most on the Mac, often without thinking about it. Customizing it correctly can considerably improve your productivity.<\/p>\n\n<h3>Sidebar<\/h3>\n\n<p>Open Finder \u2192 Settings (Cmd + comma) \u2192 Sidebar. Tick the items you want to appear: Desktop, Documents, Downloads, AirDrop, hard drives, external drives, network servers. You can also drag and drop any folder into the sidebar for permanent quick access.<\/p>\n\n<h3>Default view<\/h3>\n\n<p>The Finder offers four display modes: icons, list, columns and gallery. Choose your preferred view, then go to Presentation \u2192 Use as default view. The column view is particularly effective for navigating deep trees, while the list view with sorting by date modified is ideal for quickly finding recent files.<\/p>\n\n<h3>Toolbar and path bar<\/h3>\n\n<p>Activate the <strong>path bar<\/strong> (Overview \u2192 Show path bar) to always see the exact location of the current folder at the bottom of the window. Activate the <strong>status bar<\/strong> (Overview \u2192 Show status bar) to see the number of items and disk space available. Customise the toolbar by right-clicking on it \u2192 Customise toolbar.<\/p>\n\n<p>For even more Finder productivity tips, see our article dedicated to <a href=\"\/en\/mac-finder-tips\/\">Finder Mac tips<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n<h2 id=\"coins-actifs\">Active corners and trackpad gestures<\/h2>\n\n<h3>Active corners<\/h3>\n\n<p>Active Corners (System Settings \u2192 Desktop and Dock \u2192 Active Corners) assign an action to moving the cursor to each corner of the screen. This is one of the most underrated features of macOS. Four corners, four quick actions - without clicking or keyboard shortcuts.<\/p>\n\n<p>Suggestions for efficient configuration :<\/p>\n\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Top left corner :<\/strong> Mission Control (overview of all windows).<\/li>\n<li><strong>Top right-hand corner :<\/strong> Desktop (clears all windows to access desktop files).<\/li>\n<li><strong>Bottom left corner :<\/strong> Screen saver (or lock screen).<\/li>\n<li><strong>Bottom right corner :<\/strong> Launchpad or Notification Centre.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n<div class=\"info-box tip\">\n<strong>Pro tip:<\/strong> if you accidentally trigger active corners, hold down a modifier key (Cmd, Option, Ctrl or Shift) while setting the corner. The action will then only be triggered when the cursor is in the corner AND the key is held down - eliminating accidental triggers.\n<\/div>\n\n<h3>Trackpad gestures<\/h3>\n\n<p>The Mac trackpad is the best on the market, and its multi-touch gestures are fully customisable in System Settings \u2192 Trackpad. The three tabs (Point and Click, Scroll and Zoom, Other Gestures) allow you to enable or disable each gesture and modify its behaviour. The most useful gestures to master: three-finger swipe up for Mission Control, four-finger pinch for Launchpad, and two-finger swipe from the right edge for Notification Centre.<\/p>\n\n<h2 id=\"raccourcis\">Customised keyboard shortcuts<\/h2>\n\n<p>macOS lets you create custom keyboard shortcuts for any menu command in any application - a little-known but extremely powerful feature.<\/p>\n\n<h3>Create a custom shortcut<\/h3>\n\n<ol>\n<li>Open <strong>System settings \u2192 Keyboard \u2192 Keyboard shortcuts \u2192 Application shortcuts<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<li>Click on <strong>\u00ab\u00a0+\u00a0\u00bb<\/strong> to add a shortcut.<\/li>\n<li>Choose the\u2019<strong>application<\/strong> (or \u00abAll applications\u00bb for a universal shortcut).<\/li>\n<li>Type the <strong>exact menu title<\/strong> you want to shorten (case and accent sensitive).<\/li>\n<li>Define the <strong>key combination<\/strong> desired.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n<p>For example, if you often export PDFs from Safari, you can assign Cmd + Shift + P to the \u00abExport in PDF format...\u00bb command. - a gesture that normally takes three clicks. To discover the essential keyboard shortcuts built into macOS, check out our guide to <a href=\"\/en\/essential-mac-keyboard-shortcuts\/\">Mac keyboard shortcuts<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n<h2 id=\"apps-tierces\">Third-party applications to go further<\/h2>\n\n<p>Native macOS settings cover the essentials, but some third-party applications unlock a higher level of customisation - without compromising system stability or security.<\/p>\n\n<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/applications-personnalisation-mac-tierces.webp\" alt=\"Third-party applications for in-depth customisation of macOS\" title=\"The best applications for customising your Mac\" width=\"1200\" height=\"568\" loading=\"lazy\">\n\n<table class=\"tg-table\">\n<thead>\n<tr>\n<th>Application<\/th>\n<th>Function<\/th>\n<th>Prices<\/th>\n<th>Why it's useful<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td><span class=\"cell-label\">Rectangle<\/span><\/td>\n<td><span class=\"cell-desc\">Window management<\/span><\/td>\n<td><span class=\"cell-desc\">Free<\/span><\/td>\n<td><span class=\"cell-desc\">Keyboard shortcuts for positioning windows as half-screen, quarter-screen, etc.<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><span class=\"cell-label\">Alfred<\/span><\/td>\n<td><span class=\"cell-desc\">Advanced application launcher<\/span><\/td>\n<td><span class=\"cell-desc\">Free \/ \u00a334 (Powerpack)<\/span><\/td>\n<td><span class=\"cell-desc\">Replaces Spotlight with custom workflows, clipboard history, snippets<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><span class=\"cell-label\">Bartender<\/span><\/td>\n<td><span class=\"cell-desc\">Menu bar management<\/span><\/td>\n<td><span class=\"cell-desc\">16 $<\/span><\/td>\n<td><span class=\"cell-desc\">Hide and organise menu bar icons<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><span class=\"cell-label\">Raycast<\/span><\/td>\n<td><span class=\"cell-desc\">Launcher and productivity<\/span><\/td>\n<td><span class=\"cell-desc\">Free \/ Pro 8 $\/month<\/span><\/td>\n<td><span class=\"cell-desc\">Modern alternative to Spotlight with community extensions<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><span class=\"cell-label\">Shottr<\/span><\/td>\n<td><span class=\"cell-desc\">Advanced screen capture<\/span><\/td>\n<td><span class=\"cell-desc\">Free<\/span><\/td>\n<td><span class=\"cell-desc\">Annotations, measurements, OCR, scrolling capture - replaces native capture<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><span class=\"cell-label\">TopNotch<\/span><\/td>\n<td><span class=\"cell-desc\">Hide notch<\/span><\/td>\n<td><span class=\"cell-desc\">Free<\/span><\/td>\n<td><span class=\"cell-desc\">Black background on the menu bar to visually integrate the notch of recent MacBooks<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n<p>For a fuller selection of must-have applications, see our article <a href=\"\/en\/essential-mac-apps\/\">essential Mac applications<\/a>. And if you're looking for even greater day-to-day efficiency, Apple's Shortcuts application lets you automate complex sequences of actions without any programming knowledge. Apple details the customisation possibilities of macOS in its <a href=\"https:\/\/support.apple.com\/fr-be\/guide\/mac-help\/mchlp2nominclature\/mac\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Mac user guide<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n<h2 id=\"faq\">Frequently asked questions<\/h2>\n\n<div class=\"faq-section\">\n\n<div class=\"faq-item\">\n<div class=\"faq-question\"><span>How do I change application icons on the Mac?<\/span><span class=\"faq-toggle\">+<\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"faq-answer\"><p>Right-click on the application in the Finder \u2192 Read information. Click on the icon at the top left of the information window to select it, then paste (Cmd + V) a new image you've previously copied. To return to the original icon, select it and press Delete. Note that some system applications resist this modification for security reasons.<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n<div class=\"faq-item\">\n<div class=\"faq-question\"><span>Can I install themes on macOS as well as Windows?<\/span><span class=\"faq-toggle\">+<\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"faq-answer\"><p>macOS does not natively support third-party themes like Windows. Visual customisation options are limited to what System Settings offers: light\/dark mode, accent colour, wallpaper and transparency. Third-party tools such as TinkerTool provide access to hidden settings, but profoundly modifying the appearance of macOS is not recommended - it can cause instabilities and compatibility problems.<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n<div class=\"faq-item\">\n<div class=\"faq-question\"><span>How do I move the Dock to the side of the screen?<\/span><span class=\"faq-toggle\">+<\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"faq-answer\"><p>Go to System Settings \u2192 Desktop and Dock \u2192 Position on screen and choose Left, Bottom or Right. Placing the Dock on the left or right is particularly useful on 16:9 or 16:10 aspect ratio screens, where vertical space is precious - you get back several centimetres of useful height.<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n<div class=\"faq-item\">\n<div class=\"faq-question\"><span>Do active corners consume resources?<\/span><span class=\"faq-toggle\">+<\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"faq-answer\"><p>No. Active corners are a native macOS feature with zero impact on performance. They work by simply detecting the position of the cursor and triggering system actions already present in memory. It's one of the best utility\/resource cost ratios in all of macOS.<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n<div class=\"faq-item\">\n<div class=\"faq-question\"><span>How do I customise notification sounds on the Mac?<\/span><span class=\"faq-toggle\">+<\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"faq-answer\"><p>Go to System Settings \u2192 Sound \u2192 Sound Effects and choose from the available alert sounds. For custom sounds, place .aiff files in ~\/Library\/Sounds\/ - they will appear in the list of available sounds. For application-specific notifications, visit System Settings \u2192 Notifications and select the relevant application.<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n<div class=\"faq-item\">\n<div class=\"faq-question\"><span>Can I have different wallpapers in each workspace?<\/span><span class=\"faq-toggle\">+<\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"faq-answer\"><p>Yes. Each workspace (virtual desktop) in Mission Control can have its own wallpaper. Switch to the space you want, then change the wallpaper via System Settings \u2192 Wallpaper or right-click on the desktop \u2192 Change Wallpaper. The setting only applies to the active space.<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n<div class=\"faq-item\">\n<div class=\"faq-question\"><span>How do I reset all my macOS customisations?<\/span><span class=\"faq-toggle\">+<\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"faq-answer\"><p>There is no single button to reset all customisations. You can reset the Dock to its default values via Terminal with the command <code>defaults delete com.apple.dock; killall Dock<\/code>. For a complete reset, create a new user account - it will have all the default settings. Or perform a <a href=\"\/en\/reset-mac-to-factory-settings\/\">complete reset to factory settings<\/a>.<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n<div class=\"faq-item\">\n<div class=\"faq-question\"><span>Rectangle or native macOS window management?<\/span><span class=\"faq-toggle\">+<\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"faq-answer\"><p>Recent versions of macOS include native management of tiled windows, which covers basic needs: half screen, quarter screen. Rectangle is still relevant if you need quick keyboard shortcuts, customised positions or advanced multi-screen configurations. If native tiling is all you need, Rectangle is not essential.<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n<div class=\"faq-item\">\n<div class=\"faq-question\"><span>Can customisation slow down my Mac?<\/span><span class=\"faq-toggle\">+<\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"faq-answer\"><p>The native macOS customisation options have no measurable impact on performance. Resident third-party applications (such as Bartender or Alfred) consume very few resources (a few dozen MB of RAM). The only setting that can have a slight visual impact is enabling transparency and animations - disabling them (System Settings \u2192 Accessibility \u2192 Display) can slightly smooth the experience on an older Mac.<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n<div class=\"faq-item\">\n<div class=\"faq-question\"><span>Can MAC Repair configure my Mac to my preferences?<\/span><span class=\"faq-toggle\">+<\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"faq-answer\"><p>Absolutely. With over 15 years' experience since 2010, our team configures and optimises Macs according to your needs: installing essential applications, configuring system settings, setting up backups and customising the working environment. All our services are covered by a 180-day guarantee.<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n<\/div>\n\n<div class=\"related-links\">\n<strong>Related articles<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"\/en\/essential-mac-keyboard-shortcuts\/\">Essential Mac keyboard shortcuts<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"\/en\/essential-mac-apps\/\">Essential Mac applications<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"\/en\/mac-finder-tips\/\">Finder Mac tips<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"\/en\/reset-mac-to-factory-settings\/\">Reset Mac to factory settings<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Personnaliser son Mac : le guide complet pour un macOS \u00e0 votre image Lecture : 13 min | Upgrades et Optimisation En r\u00e9sum\u00e9 : macOS offre de nombreuses options de personnalisation natives \u2014 fond d&rsquo;\u00e9cran, apparence claire\/sombre, couleur d&rsquo;accentuation, organisation du Dock, widgets sur le bureau, coins actifs et raccourcis clavier personnalis\u00e9s. Pour aller plus [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5034,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_breakdance_hide_in_design_set":false,"_breakdance_tags":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[314,311,307,312,59,309,308,306,313,310],"class_list":["post-5031","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-upgrades-optimisation","tag-applications-mac","tag-barre-menus","tag-coins-actifs","tag-dock","tag-finder","tag-fond-ecran","tag-mode-sombre","tag-personnalisation","tag-raccourcis-clavier-2","tag-widgets"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/reparationmac.be\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5031","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/reparationmac.be\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/reparationmac.be\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/reparationmac.be\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/reparationmac.be\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5031"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/reparationmac.be\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5031\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/reparationmac.be\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5034"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/reparationmac.be\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5031"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/reparationmac.be\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5031"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/reparationmac.be\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5031"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}