Is there an app that can make another app run solely from the menubar?

Question

I've got an app that I need to leave running, but I never do anything with - it's essentially a server. I'd like some way to either hide it completely from the dock and (if possible) put it up in the menubar (top-right) out of the way of CMD+Tab.

Are there any apps that can do this for me?

Answer 1

You can use Spirited Away - it can automatically hide inactive applications or you can hide them yourself whenever you wish:

You can also hide it with AppleScript:

tell application "System Events"
    set visible of process "Your App Name Here" to false
end tell

...or run it as a daemon.

Answer 2

I don't know of any apps, but to do it manually isn't too hard:

1. Find the app you want to open in the Finder.
2. Right click » Show Package Contents
3. Open the Contents folder.
4. Open Info.plist in a text editor.
5. Change the last two lines:

   </dict>
   </plist>
   

   To look like this:

   <key>LSUIElement</key>
   <true/>
   </dict>
   </plist>
   

6. Reboot.

I think there's a drawback to this under certain situations, but I can't remember what it is. I'm sure someone would be happy to oblige…

Answer 3

Dock Dodger, and one other I can't remember at the moment. I like Dock Dodger better, though.