How to Add an Item to the Apple Menu

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By eHow Contributing Writer

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The Mac OS (7.0 or higher) makes it easy to launch an application or favorite document by simply pulling down the Apple menu and clicking on the "alias" of that application.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

Macintosh Computers
Mac OS
Mac OS 9.0

Step 1

Make sure you're in the Finder (look for the icon and the word "Finder" on the right end of the title bar).
Step 2

Find the application or document (icon or name) in its folder and click once on it to select it.
Step 3

Pull down the File menu and choose Make Alias. (An alias is a small file that points to the original icon and automatically finds it.)
Step 4

Drag the alias (its name will be in italics) to the desktop and close all windows.
Step 5

Open your start-up drive and open the System Folder.
Step 6

Locate the Apple Menu Items folder and drag the alias onto its icon. The alias will drop inside.
Step 7

The alias of your application or document is listed under the Apple menu in alphabetical order. Choose the alias to open the application or document.

Tips & Warnings

Instead of using the Make Alias menu command, you can simply use the key combination Command-M.
You can find the location of the original application or document by clicking on the alias you made and choosing Show Original from the File menu (or type Command-R).
The Apple menu is for frequently used applications and documents. You should keep the number of Apple menu items to 24 or less, unless you like scrolling through a long list.
Three items should always be under your Apple menu: Chooser, Control Panels and Sherlock.
If you move or rename the original file, the alias will no longer work, and you'll need to make a new one.
You could put the program or document itself in the Apple Menu Items folder, but sometimes programs need supporting files in their folders in order to work properly, so it's usually better to use an alias.