Modding Mac OS X

Finding and Changing Images

As you’re about to find out, it’s just as easy to customize application images as it is to alter their sounds. Follow these directions to add a personal touch to iPhoto’s About box.

1. Make sure that iPhoto isn’t running before you start experimenting with its contents. If it is, select iPhoto → Quit iPhoto from the menu bar, or use the standard ⌘-Q keyboard shortcut to quit iPhoto.

2. Open a Finder window and go to the Applications folder (Shift-⌘-A) Select iPhoto, Control-click (right-click) on the application icon, and select Show Package Contents from the context menu.

3. Navigate to the Contents/Resources directory. To speed up the process, hit the C key, then ⌘-3 to switch the Finder window to Column View mode.

4. Look inside the Resources folder for a file named AboutImage.tif.

5. Create a duplicate copy of AboutImage.tif by selecting the file in the Finder and then selecting File → Duplicate (⌘-D) from the menu bar. This creates a copy of the file in the same directory and names it AboutImage copy.tif.*

6. Now open the original image (AboutImage.tif) in your favorite image editor, such as Adobe Photoshop Elements or Lemke Software’s GraphicConverter (http://www.lemkesoft.com).

   Since most applications will not open files from within an application bundle, either drag the original TIFF image file to an application icon in the Dock, or make an alias (File → Make Alias, ⌘-L) and then drag the alias to the Desktop.

7. Edit the image and let your imagination run wild. Make sure ...