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by chongli 103 days ago
The native solution to this is to hold the command key and drag unneeded icons out of the bar to remove them. If the programs you’re using refuse to let you remove those icons (or they keep re-adding them against your wishes) then those programs are bad citizens and you should probably stop using them!
1 comments
gundewa 103 days ago
That's not really a solution. I don't want the icons permanently gone, I want them accessible because they are there to provide essential functionality.

If I delete my Dropbox icon out of the menu bar how am I supposed to know that it's running, click on it to see its status, quit the program, etc.

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chongli 103 days ago
I just uninstalled the Dropbox app to get rid of that icon because it was annoying me. I guess we have different priorities!
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gundewa 102 days ago
Same issue for my password manager, my VPN, etc.

Sure, I could also uninstall all the programs I use but that does seem to defeat the purpose of having the computer.

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chongli 102 days ago
I use the password manager built into the OS (iCloud Keychain) which doesn’t put an icon into that bar.

We’re talking about a limited resource (a few inches of screen real estate at the top of the screen) that tons of app developers feel entitled to occupy. Now we could have some kind of system whereby excess icons get dumped into a … menu, but that defeats the entire purpose since they’re no longer on the screen all the time!

There are plenty of apps out there which do not feel entitled to a slice of this precious screen real estate. I think it’s worth supporting them!

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awepofiwaop 101 days ago
> Now we could have some kind of system whereby excess icons get dumped into a … menu, but that defeats the entire purpose since they’re no longer on the screen all the time!

This is just not true. The purpose is not necessarily to have the icon on the screen all the time. If the menu doesn't exist, the buttons don't exist either, and plenty of applications are built assuming that you have access to their bar icons while they're running.

If the icon is missing there is _literally_ no other way to use the relevant functionality. If the icon is hidden in a menu, you can use the functionality, it's just an extra click.

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