stop beeping

[John Crash]

Whenever I try to use the TAB button in the terminal (and there's more than one completion) or try to scroll above my first email in Apple Mail, I get an annoying beeping sound. This didn't happen before and I'm not sure why it's doing it now. Is there a way to turn this off? Thanks.

 

[nixgeek]

This is normal. It's a system beep that you get to let you know that you're doing something wrong or to inform you about something. Same thing happens in Linux and other Unix operating systems.

This can be disabled. I believe it's in the preferences for Terminal, or you could just go into the Sound properties in System Preferences and disable it, but that would disable it for the entire OS. You can also enable a "visual beep" where the screen flashes a soft white color instead of making the beep sound. I believe that option is available under Universal Access.

 

[John Crash]

I don't see anything in either the Terminal Properties or in the System Properties Sound that will let me turn off the beeping. Am I missing something obvious / are you sure it's there? Thanks.

 

[nixgeek]

1. Open up Terminal.
2. Head to menu bar and go to Terminal-->Window Settings.
3. Click on the drop down list within the Terminal Inspector window and select Emulation.
4. Uncheck the "Audible Bell" option.

Right below that, you'll see the option for "Visible Bell" which might be a better solution to the audible bell, unless you want it completely silent.