The 
Pattern 
List 

You can select a pattern from the list either by clicking on it with the mouse, or by typing the up and down arrow keys on the keyboard.  When a pattern is selected, the buttons that had been dimmed are now enabled.

Installing a Pattern

To place a pattern in the menu bar, simply select the desired pattern in the list and click on the Install button.  A copy is made of the selected pattern and the previously installed pattern is removed.  The miniature menu bar in the control panel window will immediately reflect the change.  If Menu Bar Pattern is installed and turned on, the menu bar at the top of the screen will also change immediately.

Note that Install and Transparent are mutually exclusive.  Clicking either one will cancel the effect of the other.

Editing Patterns

You can edit any pattern by selecting in the list and clicking the Edit button, or by simply double-clicking it in the list.  This takes you to a Pattern Editor window, described in the next chapter.  Exiting the Pattern Editor with OK will replace the updated pattern in the list.  Since Install makes a copy of the selected pattern, Edit has no effect on the current menu bar.

Creating New Patterns

Clicking on the New button creates a new blank pattern and takes you to the same Pattern Editor window as the Edit button.  Exiting the Pattern Editor with OK adds the new pattern to the end of the list; exiting with Cancel will discard the new pattern.

The Duplicate button works similar to New, but instead of creating a blank pattern, it creates a new copy of the selected pattern.

Importing Patterns

If you have color patterns in another file (including applications or the System file), you can import them to Menu Bar Pattern.  Clicking on the Import button brings up a standard Open File dialog.  When a file is selected, all patterns in that file will be added to the end of Menu Bar Pattern’s list.

Note that Menu Bar Pattern can only handle patterns up to 64 pixels wide by 32 pixels tall.  If any imported pattern is taller or wider than this, it will be truncated, and you will be notified that patterns were truncated.

Removing Patterns

A pattern may be permanently removed from the list by selecting it and clicking the Delete button.  Caution:  This cannot be undone!

Keyboard Shortcuts

The following keystroke commands are available:
  N   selects the New button.
  O   selects the Import button (that’s O as in Open).
  D   selects the Duplicate button.
  E   selects the Edit button.
  I   selects the Install button.
  T   selects the Transparent button.