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.
