System 1

The menu bar was a new and revolutionary part of the OS. Similar to the one found on Lisa OS, the System 1 Finder had five menus: the Apple menu, File, Edit, View, and Special. When in an application, the menus would change to ones defined by the application, but most software retained at least the File and Edit menus.[4]

While within the Finder, the Apple menu contained the "About the Finder" information, along with the desktop accessories. "File" menu items included Open, Eject, and Close. "Edit" had entries for cutting, copying, and pasting. "Special" was used for managing the hardware and other system functions, and was always the rightmost entry on the menu bar in the Finder. In System 1, the menu had items related to emptying the Trash, cleaning up the desktop, and disk options. By System 1.1, the menu allowed the user to choose an alternate startup program to be run instead of the Finder at boot time; the feature was replaced in System 7 by the "Startup Items" folder in the System Folder.

System 1 came with multiple desk accessories (DA). These included an Alarm Clock, Calculator, Control Panel, Key Caps, Note Pad, Puzzle, and Scrapbook. A difference between desktop accessories and applications is that multiple desktop accessories could be run at once but only one application could run at a time. Desk accessories could also run on top of an application.

• Alarm Clock: This DA could be used just like an alarm clock, as the computer would beep, and the menu bar would flash when the alarm's set time was reached. It could also be used as an easier way to change/set the time and date on the computer. When opened, it would show the time and date set on the computer.
• Calculator: A basic calculator capable of addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. It featured the basic 18 buttons for input.
• Control Panel: The control panel was used to adjust some of the settings on the computer. What made the original control panel unique from subsequent Mac OS control panels was the intended absence of any text. This was chosen to demonstrate the graphical user interface. Representation was achieved by using symbols. It could be used to adjust settings such as volume, double click speed, mouse sensitivity, and desktop background. On the Macintosh 128K, Macintosh 512K, and the Macintosh Plus, the screen brightness was controlled by a mechanical adjustment wheel beneath the screen.
• Key Caps: A DA used to show the layout of the original Macintosh keyboard. It showed which special characters could be produced when normal keys were pressed along with modifier keys (Command, Shift, Option).
• Note Pad: A note taking DA that would save text entered into it on the floppy disk. Multiple note pages could be written when using the folded corner symbol in the bottom left corner of the note page.
• Puzzle: A basic 1–15 slide puzzle, similar to the picture puzzle found in later versions of the Mac OS.
• Scrapbook: This DA was similar to a cut, copy, and paste library. In it, one could store text selections and photos which could then be transferred to other applications.