MacDailyNews - Where Mac news comes first

 MacDailyNews Poll

Deal of the Day

5 Day Most Commented

Opinion Archive

Current Headlines

Latest Joy of Tech

  • Latest Joy of Tech!

MacNN

AppleInsider

Macworld UK

TUAW

MacRumors

Yahoo! Finance AAPL

iTunes Top 10 Albums

Mac OS X Downloads

Sat, Nov 07, 2009 - 07:53 PM EST  —  AAPL: 194.34 (+0.3099, +0.16%)  |  NASDAQ: 2112.44 (+7.12, +0.34%)

Safari 4: How to move tabs back to their rightful place, enable blue loading bar behind URL, more
Tuesday, February 24, 2009 - 05:19 PM EST

Random Genius' "Caius" offers some hidden gems on how to alter Apple's Safari 4 Public Beta via the Terminal.

The simple commands allow Safari users to move the tabs back where you expect them to be, restore the blue loading bar behind the URL, switch off the new URL autocomplete menu and revert back to the original one, turn off the new Google suggest menu, removes CoverFlow from the Bookmarks view entirely, disable the dimming when you click on a Top Site and it scales the screenshot up to fill the screen, completely disable the Top Sites feature, and, of course, how to undo the changes, too.

Full article here.

MacDailyNews Take: Once we returned Safari 4's Tabs back under the Bookmarks Bar and turned on the blue loading bar behind the URL address box (that's all we're touching, the rest can stay as is), it was like returning home after a long day. Ahhh!

[Attribution: Macworld. Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader "iSurfThereforeIAm" for the heads up.]

Bookmark and Share

Always -- Free ground shipping with orders over $50 at the Apple Store.

Reader Feedback: = registered.
Unregistered users: Feedback from multiple usernames are subject to deletion. Off-topic and posts from suspected astroturfers will be removed.

Feb 24, 09 - 05:25 pm Comment from: ProtoDAda

i think the new tab positioning, though need some getting use to, is brilliant! less space wasted.

Feb 24, 09 - 05:29 pm Comment from: since1985

Mmm... SnapBack is not so snappy anymore.

Feb 24, 09 - 05:29 pm Comment from: Logan

Why would you want to do this?

The new Safari is great.

For the record, you need to disable Google Gears in Safari 4. It jacks with websites that try to use it (aka, Gmail, Wordpress, etc.).

Feb 24, 09 - 05:30 pm Comment from: Bob

@ProtoDAda

Totally agree. The "page-grid" overview is frick'n awesome.

Feb 24, 09 - 05:31 pm Comment from: LTD

Loving the new Safari!

What a visual improvement! The new tab positioning is great, looks very economical. And the Top Sites feature is pure win.

Feb 24, 09 - 05:32 pm Comment from: JAYGEE

Hotmail doesn't work with safari 4. Looks like I will have to use firefox for hotmail mad

Feb 24, 09 - 05:34 pm Comment from: The Dude

I like the new Safari. Been running it all day... snappiness abound. Actually love the new tab location.

The Dude abides.

Feb 24, 09 - 05:41 pm Comment from: HMCIV

With any luck, Apple will make the tab location a preference.

Feb 24, 09 - 05:43 pm Comment from: LTD

Some of the Hotmail features work, some don't. I'm able to check my inbox but unable to switch folders.

Hotmail is shit anyway, but I use that as my Facebook/junk account.

Feb 24, 09 - 05:44 pm Comment from: JadisOne

I kinda like the new tabs. I do miss the blue progress bar. I also like the special effects. Most importantly, I love how fast pages render now.

Feb 24, 09 - 05:45 pm Comment from: xx

@ ProtoDAda I agree. I like it.

Feb 24, 09 - 05:48 pm Comment from: Steve

+++


Apple


LOVE THE NEW TAB POSITION.


++

Feb 24, 09 - 05:49 pm Comment from: since1985

SnapBack is not so snappy anymore cuz the feature is now gone from the toolbar. I remember when Steve was touting it. oh well, guess i never used it that much anyway.

however, there is now a menu item under the History menu. it's not the old SnapBack for any site, but rather Search Results SnapBack that only activates after you click on a link in a Google SERP.

at least there's a button now for creating new tab. there was an old third-party safari plug-in that created new tabs but broke in safari 3 and never got updated. glad to see apple implement it.

see that the "open in dashboard" button got relegated to an optional button in Customize Toolbar... interesting over the years to see what Apple touts as a great Safari feature, and then over time what gets demoted for one of various reasons.

Feb 24, 09 - 05:50 pm Comment from: LTD

Where's the refresh button?

Feb 24, 09 - 05:54 pm Comment from: Gil

I'm going back to Internet Explorer. I miss the animated "E".

Feb 24, 09 - 05:55 pm Comment from: msr

I just hate where they put the reload button. It's like an IE 7 type of thing.. why the fsck move it there?

Feb 24, 09 - 05:57 pm Comment from: Spudly

yeah the new tab position has been somewhat disarming to a power tab user like myself...but after half a day it's starting to grow on me and definitely does save about 30px of vertical real estate! I'll give it a week before I *hastily* give up on it...shame on you MDN.

Feb 24, 09 - 05:57 pm Comment from: Richie

LTD:

Refresh button is next to the google search button, beside the "RSS" blue button.

Feb 24, 09 - 05:58 pm Comment from: Darkfire

To the Hotmail fans:
This IS a beta, guys, cut 'em some slack.

Love the new speed, ƒeh on the rest. Tops is nice, but the cover flow is a little much.
Haven't decided on the tab positioning yet, but It'll probably be back to it's old place soon enough smile
~

Feb 24, 09 - 05:59 pm Comment from: Richie

Used the 4 all day today, can't get cover flow to work right or the curved history part- I'll use this for a week or so to see how the general feel comes around.

Feb 24, 09 - 06:12 pm Comment from: The Other Steve

As much as I'm use to where the tabs were, the new UI does make more sense to a new user. (or a new user of tabs)

I agree with JadisOne, I know it loads pages faster but, why get rid of the blue progress bar? Did it slow down pages THAT much or is it just a beta thing?

Feb 24, 09 - 06:19 pm Comment from: tagisit1

There needs to be a hot key to go to the tops view. Then it would be perfect.

Feb 24, 09 - 06:21 pm Comment from: Tabs on Top

Is great!

Much more efficient!

Feb 24, 09 - 06:22 pm Comment from: Nathan

if you want to reload, hit command-R. works like a charm...

this new safari is super quick. looking great for a beta. and it works with webkit still!

Feb 24, 09 - 06:25 pm Comment from: Nathan

i just noticed the reload button does go away if you set your blue loading bar up. a bit annoying imo. still beta though. i'm sure that it will be fine in the full version of Safari 4…at least one can hope.

Feb 24, 09 - 06:28 pm Comment from: Gabriel

As much as I like the tabs-on-top UI change, the fatal flaw in Apple's implementation, I think, is that they didn't leave any space *above* the tabs, the way Google Chrome does.

Feb 24, 09 - 06:32 pm Comment from: JadisOne

4 has been working fine all day for me until I went into a Flash heavy website. Go figure.

Feb 24, 09 - 06:36 pm Comment from: JFF

How does one actually enter the scripts to do this...please explain!

Feb 24, 09 - 06:48 pm Comment from: freebeer

Google "borrowed" the concept of the tab above the address bar from Opera I think. If you've been using Opera the new design are not all that alarming.

Overall pretty sweet. I think giving up the fake Mac style min/max/close buttons in Windows is good since it's always buggy on the Winslow version anyway. And I think Chrome is now even less likely to displace any Safari users on the Mac.

Feb 24, 09 - 06:48 pm Comment from: Ebriel

New tabs: GREAT! Give 'em a chance before you decide. The downside of any change is immediate. The upside comes later.

New load indicator: not so much. No advantages. Provides less information, less distinctly. A beta experiment that should be abandoned.

Feb 24, 09 - 06:57 pm Comment from: koffie

anyone gotten 1password to work in Safari4? Doesn't seem to show up in the toolbar for me.

Feb 24, 09 - 07:17 pm Comment from: TowerTone

koffle
In 1Password preferences, updates, enable 'include beta versions' and download update.

Worked fine for me

Feb 24, 09 - 07:40 pm Comment from: MacSmiley

Here's the fix for 1Password:
http://www.crunchgear.com/2009/02/24/want-to-enable-1password-in-the-safari-4-beta-heres-how/

Meanwhile, putting the tabs back on the bottom removes the Add Tab button and goes back to Add tab by double-clicking behavior. It also puts back the active page title in the top of the chrome.

Feb 24, 09 - 07:46 pm Comment from: drmacnut

I am getting used to the new position of the tabs. But I really do miss the blue loading indicator and hope they put it back. (Send to apple/feedback so they know).

Don't forget also to use Shift-Command-Left/Right Arrow shortcut to move from one tab to the other; quite handy and saves mousing around. (That won't work, BTW, if you are in a text box).

Unlike MDN, I think I'm going to give it a good week before making final judgement. One thing I love are the developer bits, inspectors, time/size charts, and the like.

Feb 24, 09 - 09:23 pm Comment from: james73

installed this morning and gave it a whirl. damn, safri 4 is quick! launched firefox and went to the same site and it took sooooooo long.

love top sits, don't quite get how it determines the top sites: are they bookmarks, history? so i'm playing around with that feature.

thank god for history search, and in coverflow! the way apple is implementing coverflow is starting to become very intriguing. i wonder what else coverflow will be integrated into over the next few years.

Feb 24, 09 - 09:26 pm Comment from: AppleMacMan

Wow! The new Safari 4 really rocks!!! I love all the new changes Apple has made to this browser. So far it has been very stable and fast. This is the way browsing should be.

By the way, why are people complaining that the SnapBack feature is gone? I just tried it at google and it works as it always has with no problems. 

Feb 24, 09 - 09:28 pm Comment from: Sheesh

I love the tabs on top. Actually, I always thought tabs under the address bar was awkward, but couldn't see a good way that someone could do it otherwise. Leave it to the Apple engineers to come up with a great way to do it -- which is why they're working at Apple, and I'm not.

Love Safari 4!

Feb 24, 09 - 09:32 pm Comment from: Harvey

I have already read several articles by people who, after five minutes of experience with Safari 4, have all sorts of ideas how to change it. These are the same people who brag about how much care Apple gives to UI design. (How these two attitudes fit in the same skull, I don't know.)

I have been using Safari 4 as my sole browser ever since this morning. Unlike these geniuses who were experts in the Safari 4 UI within five minutes of downloading it, I haven't had enough time to be an expert yet. I guess I'm just slow. I'm going to give it at least a month before I decide whether I want to change anything. By then, I might want to change anything at all.

In short, give the UI a chance before you muck around with it. You might actually end up preferring it.

Feb 24, 09 - 10:10 pm Comment from: Crunch n Munch Cheese Wafflez

Exactly. Why is the world would you wanna do this? I love my brand new shiny Safari 4 the way it is.

Feb 24, 09 - 10:19 pm Comment from: KenC

Wow, sounds like he wanted Safari with WebKit speed. Perhaps, he should have just stuck with WebKit?

Feb 24, 09 - 10:40 pm Comment from: Michael

While I like the reclamation of window real estate, I just can't get used to the position of the tabs after a day of using it, so I switch it back. Maybe when the final release is available, I'll give it another try.

Feb 24, 09 - 11:13 pm Comment from: redc

I like the new Tabs too! But I think Safari 4 broke the GrowlMail plug-in for me or vice versa. It was the only change I made and now Mail crashes if Growl is enabled. I guess that particular plug-in is an input manager hack. But it's nice to know click-to-flash still works and I still have a flash free web

Feb 24, 09 - 11:16 pm Comment from: Acid3

It passes the Acid 3 test. Let's hope that the release version does too.

Feb 25, 09 - 12:01 am Comment from: Always Right

Can you say, "ASS-KICKER".

Feb 25, 09 - 12:02 am Comment from: MM

Apple should give the choice as to where we want the Tab! Hate it in the new place.

Feb 25, 09 - 12:22 am Comment from: Always Right

Quit whining, faggots!

Tabs on top is great.

Feb 25, 09 - 12:45 am Comment from: jjjj

@ JAYGEE - please, get off Hotmail. What a piece of J U N K.

Feb 25, 09 - 01:08 am Comment from: $80.86

Old tab location now looks really dumb. And you would be really dumb to want them there instead of on top. Old way is redumdant.

Feb 25, 09 - 01:41 am Comment from: Simon van Gool

I don't like the tabs at the top, it messes with the page titles, and goes against standard OSX layout of not messing with the top bar of any application window.

Feb 25, 09 - 03:04 am Comment from: freebeer

If you do not like the tabs at the top, just install and run WebKit, which can run side by side with Safari on Mac just fine. You can have both and need not be cramped in only one style.

Feb 25, 09 - 05:26 am Comment from: koffie

@TowerTone, MacSmiley:
Thanks guys; I have 1password going on Safari4 and loving it.

Reader feedback page 1 of 2 pages:  1 2 >

Always -- Free ground shipping with orders over $50 at the Apple Store.

Add Your Feedback:

Register or Login

Name:

Email: (optional)

Emoticons | Allowed HTML Tags

Remember my info   Notify me of follow-up comments?

Please enter the "MDN Magic Word" you see in the image below: