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Tweaking Mac Login Window

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In my previous articles, I've touched on three interesting login window tweaks, which are:

  1. Transparent Login Picture
  2. Add Welcome Message
  3. Changing Login Background

Applying these three killer tricks, I am sure that your Mac can stand out from the crowd since its booting up. Before throwing you with new trick on login window: changing Apple logo, let me review a bit on the past three tweaks.

Use Transparent Login Picture

By applying this tweak, you will be able to use PNG image (with its beautiful transparency) as your login icon, replacing that old JPEG icon (with its ugly-looking white-box boundary). Only several Terminal commands need to be executed here, but it's quite tedious, so always be careful.

Here are the steps:

  1. dscl . -read /Users/[your username] Picture
    Return Path → Picture: [current path]
  2. sudo dscl . -delete /Users/[your username] JPEGPhoto
  3. sudo dscl . -change /Users/[your username] Picture '[current path]' '[new path]'

Example

$dscl . -read /Users/Wendy Picture
Picture: /Users/blacky/Desktop/Nest.tif
$sudo dscl . -delete /Users/Wendy JPEGPhoto
$sudo dscl . -change /Users/Wendy Picture '/Users/blacky/Desktop/Nest.tif' '/Users/blacky/Desktop/smiley.tif'

Add Welcome Message

With this tweak, you can show a welcome message on add your Mac login window. Perhaps, if you always forget your password, you can also put your it as welcome message (but it's not recommended). Only one line of code is required to be executed:

sudo defaults write /Library/Preferences/com.apple.loginwindow LoginwindowText "[msg]"

Example

$sudo defaults write /Library/Preferences/com.apple.loginwindow LoginwindowText "Hello, I am a Mac!"

Change Login Background

This is an old trick, but some people might find it difficult to dig up this tweak from piles of archives, so I decide to bring it up again. With three simple steps, you will be able to change your login window background, i.e. replacing the original Vortex background (if you're using Leopard, of course).

  1. Open Finder and Hit Command-Shift-G
  2. Enter Path: '/System/Library/CoreServices/'
  3. Replace 'DefaultDesktop.jpg' with New JPEG Image

Change Apple Logo

And for the last touch, let's change our big silver Apple to shiny-black Apple.

  1. Open Finder and Choose Go → Go to Folder… (Command-Shift-G)
  2. Enter Path: /System/Library/CoreServices/SecurityAgentPlugins/loginwindow.bundle/
    Contents/Resources/
  3. Replace 'applelogo.tif' with this one: 'applelogo.tif'
    It's a bit tricky to replace with new image as it involves system file. At first, you need to delete the old file. And after that, you can drag in new file.

Now you can go to your login window and see the changes. I am unable to provide your with screenshots here, because I have found no way to capture screen of my login window. Perhaps, you can suggest me a way to capture my login window, I'd be very happy to know about it.

Categories: Tweak
Tags: Login, login, Tweak

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20 Comments

Rob 

How do you "Replace" the desktop image with the new one? Do I delete the original file and then put the new one I want in?

Alberto Ravasio 

"Perhaps, you can suggest me a way to capture my login window, I'd be very happy to know about it."

If you have two Macs you can enable "Screen sharing" on the target and connect to the target Mac with the other one. You can capture whatever screen you need with the usual combination of key Command-Shift-4 or Command-Shift-4-Spacebar.

Andrea 

Or you could just use the old fashioned way: a photocamera ;)

Wendy 

@Rob

Yes, you should replace the old with new one. But beforehand, please backup the original file first, in case you want to revert back.



@Alberto

Thanks for your suggestion, I will try out this one.



@Andrea

With my current photography skill and 'economic' camera, I doubt I can produce a fine photo compared to take screenshot :-)

Rob 

Thanks:)

ScottB 

FYI, this will not work on Mobile, or "external" accounts.
We use Active Directory-bound Macs.
It seems you can't make this edit unless it's a local account.
There may be a way around that, but I have not yet discovered it.

SB

Pierre L 

Visage Login does all this but the trasperancy but you can probably just save a trasnsperant one. Google it.

Wendy 

I've asked uncle Google. Indeed, there is an application to do all of these login window tweak called Visage Login. But, you will need to spend extra $4.95 for this app.


Anyway, saving a transparent icon will not give transparent login icon. Instead, it will give you a white box as background.

Phoomphet 

Change apple logo

I forgot to delete it first. I just replace it and it doesn't work what should I do? 

Thank for you help

Phoomphet

Wendy 

Phoomphet, you should double-check it. As far as I know, we can't replace system file, we can only delete the original first and put in new one. Most probably is that your "applelogo.tiff" hasn't been changed, i.e. it's still the original version.

Phoomphet 

I don't know. I can replace it and it doesn't work. After that I was delete it (did't put the new one in Resources) Nothing happen!!!

Alex 

What does "Return Path" mean?
I mean, after I writing "dscl . -read /Users/[your username] Picture" on Terminal, what keys exactly should I press?

(I know that after steps 2 and 4 I'm supposed to press "Return", to execute the command, but I'm unsure about number 1..)
thanks for the help! great post!

Wendy 

Return Path is what you will get after executing that line of command (i.e. dscl … line); it gives you the path to your current login icon. Hope this helps you.

Alex 

Oh ok, got it! Looks great now, thanks Wendy =]

Ajan 

Its not accepting the exclamation mark with the quotes for me. (!") .This is what I get after I hit return.

-bash: !": event not found

Oliver 

Help! I cannot change the apple on the login screen. No matter what I seem to do, when I log out, it doesn't change.  I first went to the correct folder and dragged the new apple in, it asked me to authenticate the replacement, which I did. Everything looked fine, but when I logged out; No Change.

I read your comments and changed the apple back to what it was before, and dragged that into the trash, and added the black apple. Still no change. What to do?

Mouse 

Aww, I can't get the changing background log in thing to work.  I'm using a Macbook Pro, any advice?

Muhajir 

     i changed the moved the old applelogo.tif to the trash. then i inserted the new one. no difference. however. the link for the black logo you gave ended in '.tif.tiff". should i change that?

Adam Porrata 

Here's a discussion about getting the Login screen capture your looking for. There's even a reference a REALbasic application that was written to do it. Enjoy.

http://macdevelopertips.com/system/login-screenshot-challenge-part-2.html

Dan 

Are you asking to change your login background?

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