ting sound (how to turn off)(growl?)

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Level 1

106 points

ting sound (how to turn off)(growl?)

i am getting a pint/ting sound and i am suspecting it is a growl notification but i checked the settings and i am not seeing anything.

also, can anyone help me understand where i go looking for /sounds/ emanating from my MacBookPro? I mean, i really wish they had a central location for this kind of thing (I also wish they had a central location for which apps open what files - like how to handle mail, rss etc, etc so i don't have to go hunting through all my programs trying to figure out which setting over-rides which other software settings for RSS, Mail etc).

anyway, if I check growl settings and don't see anything about sounds, where do i go in the Mac OS next?

TIA

Posted on Mar 16, 2012 8:58 AM

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Answer 1

fane_j

Level 4

3,704 points

Mar 16, 2012 6:40 PM in response to hotwheels22

System Preferences > Sound

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Answer 2

hotwheels22 Author

Level 1

106 points

Mar 16, 2012 8:20 PM in response to fane_j

thanks!

for some reason i keep forgetting about this section but if i think about it - in a sense i forget about it because it is sort of slack in some way.

i mean, i think i forgot to say - mostly because I was not thinking it through very well - that even when i know that it is a /sound/ coming from the machine, i don't have a way to know what it is /alerting/ me to. or what do i actually do in this section of preferences? i check to see if the "tink/ting" sound is an *OSX* alert and if it /is/ then i know there is some random OSX alert? is there a list of these somewhere? and if it /isn't/ the selected OSX alert in this section then - wel then i know that it 'isn't" and OSX alert.

you know what i mean...? it is sort of random trying to bungle around figuring out why this thing keeps squawking...

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Answer 3

X423424X

Level 6

14,271 points

Mar 16, 2012 8:35 PM in response to hotwheels22

Generally alarm sounds usually accompany something else like a dialog or bouncing dock icon so you can identify who posted that alarm. It seems rather pointless for an app to give an alarm without telling you who and why the alarm was sounded. I suppose apps that allow specific alarms could allow you to choose that alarm over some other kind of notification (for example, a mail program that could say "you have mail" -- used to do that with Eudora).

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Answer 4

fane_j

Level 4

3,704 points

Mar 16, 2012 9:11 PM in response to hotwheels22

There is no master list of sounds or software which makes them. In the Sound prefpane you can hear and test system alert sounds. If it's the (or a) system alert sound, then you have to find out which process is using it, presumably because it wants to notify you or alert you. Alerts and notifications aren't random. I can't speak to Growl, which I don't use, you'd have to consult its user guide for that.

There are other sounds (eg, system interface sound effects) and each piece of software may come with its own sounds. There is no set method to find out which sound belongs to which process -- you have to be aware and keep track of what you install and look for it systematically.

If you've exhausted all obvious avenues, you can use a tool such as Find Any File to locate all AIFF or WAV sounds on your hard disk, and check which one is the sound you hear; its location should tell you what app is using it. But I suspect the number of such files is in the hundreds, if not the thousands. (You might use a Spotlight query, but with Spotlight you can never sure that you get everything.)

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Answer 5

hotwheels22 Author

Level 1

106 points

Mar 17, 2012 8:19 AM in response to X423424X

thanks x.

yeah, i will keep an eye out for bouncing dock icons. appreciate it. i'm wondering if growl is doing something even though i am not seeing a checkmark to make it silent. i do see the visual notification which are fine.

i guess you did hit the nail on the head here and why it is making me a bit p.o'd. i mean, it is pointless to have a notification and for me not to quickly see what is going on.

i'd like to imagine that i would see a bouncing dock icon but appreciate the heads up as i will keep an eye out for it. short of that i feel a bit like the guy tasked with finding the proverbial needle in a haystack.

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Answer 6

hotwheels22 Author

Level 1

106 points

Mar 17, 2012 8:24 AM in response to fane_j

hi f.

thanks. i guess for me it is a bit frustrating to have to run a search for a AIFF or WAV which ideally the MAC OS could keep track of. I mean, for me to mentally keep track of what software i installed and what /might/ be making a sound is not realistic. I would say this is actually a weakness in the OS in terms of my management of it. a little util that kept track of it for me (even what was active) would be /great/. my iphone seems to have these all gathered up in one nice package if i am not mistaken.

anyway, i will search for TIFF or WAV if I cannot solve this but after i find them I guess i am trying to find the ting sound by playing it in the Settings you kindly directed me toward and then i am trying to find one of these that is somehow /outside/ of where the normal mac sounds get stored? i mean, it would be in the folder of the offending software ostensibly?

Also, while i am on this, where are the mac sounds stored and - i guess i can d/l my /own/ sounds and use /them/ to replace the ones that i am using for alerts now, is that right? I mean, i guess i can do a custom ring tone on my iphone too....?

THANKS

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Answer 7

X423424X

Level 6

14,271 points

Mar 17, 2012 10:07 AM in response to hotwheels22

Installed user local sounds are in ~/Library/Sounds. Global (across all accounts) installed sounces in /Library/Sounds. And the system sounds are in /System/Library/Sounds.

But an executable bundle (like an application) can have sounds of it's own within the bundle (usually in ...app/Contents/Resources). Take Mail.app for example. Control (right) click on Mail.app in the finder to bring up the Finder's contextual menu. The select Show Package Contents and navigate down into the Resources directory in the app bundle. In there you will see a few .aiff's like Mail Sent.aiff, No Mail.aiff, and so on.

So searching for what app produces what sound is a bit problematic since something like Find and File could find a lot more sounds than just the ones in the Sounds directories.

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Answer 8

fane_j

Level 4

3,704 points

Mar 17, 2012 10:31 AM in response to hotwheels22

hotwheels 22 wrote:

for me to mentally keep track of what software i installed and what /might/ be making a sound is not realistic.

Use a notepad.

a little util that kept track of it for me

You can find a list of installed software in ⌥ > System Profiler > Software.

i am trying to find one of these that is somehow /outside/ of where the normal mac sounds get stored? i mean, it would be in the folder of the offending software ostensibly?

I'm sorry, I do not understand what you're saying.

I guess your other questions have been answered by X423424X.

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Answer 9

hotwheels22 Author

Level 1

106 points

Mar 17, 2012 12:49 PM in response to X423424X

thanks. you guys are awesome.

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Answer 10

hotwheels22 Author

Level 1

106 points

Mar 17, 2012 12:52 PM in response to fane_j

hi. thanks. awesome.

just one thing though, don't you think i have a computer so i don't have to use a notepad...? i mean, i don't think i should have to go hunting around in various system folders or running spotlight searches or have to literally write down what i have installed to figure out why the thing is beeping.

i mean, the advice i get on the forum is always great but i think the os should give you a little bit more than it does on this one IMHO.

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Answer 11

fane_j

Level 4

3,704 points

Mar 18, 2012 12:08 AM in response to hotwheels22

hotwheels 22 wrote:

don't you think i have a computer so i don't have to use a notepad

I know software developers who go through more notepads and coloured pencils than a kindergarten at full capacity.

I think you should do whatever gets the job done fastest and with least effort. If you install so much software that you can't keep track of it, why not use a notepad?

i don't think i should have to go hunting […] to figure out why the thing is beeping.

Of course not. It should be obvious. If it isn't, the app responsible for it is poorly designed. But you installed it, not someone else, right? So find the sucker and dump it. And, if you have the time and you're in the mood, send a suitably worded feedback to its developer.

i think the os should give you a little bit more than it does on this one

The OS is there to provide facilities for apps to use, not to correct the design flaws of individual apps.

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Answer 12

hotwheels22 Author

Level 1

106 points

Mar 18, 2012 8:26 AM in response to fane_j

hey man. i do the same thing with design.

the thing is that i /don't/ want to do this with my laptop and i don't even want to have to take up your time asking about this.

i just want a place on the mac that tells me where the sounds it is making are coming from. passing this off to the software developers (if indeed this is an external app issue) seems to me like an existential question that is not practically solving the problem that it has been squawking.

i realize there are some good solutions on this thread (thanks) but that doesn't meant that they are not going to require troubleshooting time i don't have and require headspace that i don't have (because i am up to my neck in colored pencils and notepads actually getting something done).

it would be a lot more like a helpful mate (as most of the other mac products are) - if they let me know where the squawking was coming from, without having to embark on a project that requires me to pencil it into a critical path management chart.

that doesn't make sense?

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Answer 13

hotwheels22 Author

Level 1

106 points

Mar 18, 2012 8:29 AM in response to hotwheels22

one nice idea might be for them to have an option to turn on an audio voice alert that states where the sound is coming from instead of playing the sound itself...

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