Take control of the Mac Dock

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The Dock for the Mac is like the start button for Windows. Its the “go to” when we want to go into an app quickly.

But did you know that you have more control over the Dock then you realize, and its easier then you think.

System Preferences:

Move the Dock to another position on the Desktop:
You can move the Dock from the bottom to the right or left side. Just go to System Preferences > Dock & Menu Bar > Position on Screen.

Magnify the Dock’s icons:
Can’t see the icons on the Dock? Go to System Preferences > Dock & Menu Bar > Put a checkmark in the Magnification option. Then use the slider to choose how large or small you want the Dock and the icons to be.

Auto show and hide the Dock:
Does the Dock get in the way? Auto hide it. Go to System Preferences > Dock & Menu Bar > Put a checkmark next to the Automatically show and hide the Dock option.

Show Recently opened Applications:
Like the iPad, you can show recently used apps for easy retrieval. Just go to System Preferences > Dock & Menu Bar > Enable the Show recent Applications in Dock option.

DOCK BASIC TIPS:

Drag Application icons to the Dock:
One of the most handy features is to drag and drop apps on to the Dock that you use all the time. Just open Finder > Applications, find the app that you use, and drag it to the Dock.

Hold-Click on a Dock icon for more options:
Each Dock icon has more options that you can do. Just click and hold on an icon to see a drop-up menu.

DOCK ADVANCED TIPS:

Only show active apps:
Did you know that you can only show the active app(s) in the Dock? Open Terminal and type the command:
defaults write com.apple.dock static-only -bool TRUE; killall Dock

Add Spacers between the Dock icons:
If you want to further organize the Dock, you can add spacers in between the icons. Open Terminal, and type:
defaults write com.apple.dock persistent-apps -array-add '{"tile-type"="spacer-tile";}'; killall Dock

Reset the Dock:
Although rarely, you may have to reset the Dock for one reason or another. Open Terminal, and type:
killall Dock

Make the Dock’s applications “Suck”:
This little tidbit will enable the suck animation when you maximize or minimize an app. Open Terminal, and type:
defaults write com.apple.dock mineffect suck; killall Dock

Quickly reset the Dock to the default settings:
If you’ve made too many changes, and just want to start over, you can reset the Dock to factory settings. Open Terminal, and type:
defaults delete com.apple.dock; killall Dock

It’s YOUR Mac. Make it your own!