How to configure the share menu with the best options in OS X

We take many features in OS X on the Apple Mac for granted. Take the Share options for example. Are they the best? The only ones? Are there more? Have you configured them? Here is a guide.

The Share menu is something you probably have not thought about when using OS X on the Mac. There is a Share button in Safari for example and if you click it, you can share the web page URL using the services provided on the menu.

Select a photo in the Photos app and click the Share button. There are options to share it on social networking sites and it just works. What more is there to it?

There are two things you can do and one it to remove items on the Share menu that you never use. They add to the clutter and are distracting. A short menu with just the options you need it better than a long one with items you never use.

The other thing you can do is to add extra share options to the menu to enable you to share web content, photos and other items to more places than you can right now.

There may be sharing features on your Mac you just aren’t showing up and they may be useful. When did you last look? Never?

Let’s see how to configure the Share menu options. I will be using El Capitan, but other versions of OS X are similar.

1 The Share menu

Open Photos, Safari or some other app that has a Share button at the top. Here is the share menu in the Photos app. It enables the selected photograph to be shared on Twitter, Facebook, via Messages and so on.

2 More options

Click the More option at the bottom of the Share menu and System Preferences opens with Extensions selected. Some items cannot be changed, like Mail and AirDrop, but the others with the blue ticks can be deselected.

Clear the ticks against any item you never use. For example, if you never share anything on LinkedIn, clear the tick box and it will be removed from the Share menu (you can easily add ity again if you ever change your mind).

3 Add extra options

Scroll down the list of Share options and you might find extra items you didn’t know you had. It all depends on the software you have installed on your Mac. I have OneNote and Wunderlist and ticking the boxes adds them to the Share menu. I don’t have Aperture, so that can be removed by clearing the tick box.

4 View the Share options

Run Safari or Photos or some other app with the Share button and click it to see the new menu. Now I have options to share on OneNote and Wunderlist. There were not there before.

After configuring the Share options, the menu is more useful. It has fewer options you don’t need and more of the ones you use most.