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How-To: Hide the menu bar in OS X [Video]

If you’re running OS X El Capitan, it’s possible to hide the menu bar on your primary display. Hiding the menu bar works very much like a hidden Dock in OS X, in that when you move your cursor to the edge of the screen, the menu bar reappears from its hidden state. In this post we’ll show you how to hide your menu bar, and why you might consider doing so.

How to hide the menu bar on your Mac

Step 1: Open System Preferences

Step 2: Click General

Step 3: Check the check box next to Automatically hide and show the menu bar

Once you check the box in step 3, you’ll notice that the menu bar immediately hides from view. It won’t reappear until you move your cursor to the top of the screen where it normally resides.

Video walkthrough

Why would you want to hide the menu bar on OS X? There are a couple of valid reasons that I can think of. For one, it provides you with additional precious vertical real estate, because a hidden menu bar, when exposed, overlaps content instead of pushing it down.

Notice the extra bit of vertical real estate (right) acquired by hiding the menu bar

A hidden menu bar also simplifies the look of your Mac’s desktop, especially if you use it in combination with a hidden Dock. Overall, it just makes for a cleaner look, especially if used in combination with an aesthetically pleasing wallpaper.

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Avatar for Jeff Benjamin Jeff Benjamin

Jeff is the head of video content production for 9to5. He initially joined 9to5Mac in 2016, producing videos, walkthroughs, how-tos, written tutorials, and reviews. He takes pride in explaining things simply, clearly, and concisely. Jeff’s videos have been watched hundreds of millions of times by people seeking to learn more about today’s tech. Subscribe to 9to5Mac on YouTube to catch Jeff’s latest videos.