Navigating the Finder is just too much of a hassle for me. I've found that I like to have single-click access via the Dock to all my applications, but given limited space, that's just not feasible. Neither the launcher nor folder tabs were perfect and neither is this hint, but they accomplished a task somewhat efficiently: easy access to all applications. If the OS X Dock is getting you down, or you want multiple docks or specialized docks, give DragThing a try.One thing that I've always missed from Classic was the Launcher (or folder tabs with button icons). It makes a great alternative to the OS X Dock and offers a lot of options and customizability that really make it useful for more than just application launching. This is a nice way to pin an often-used dock to the corner of the desktop, always visible.ĭragThing is really nice software that I’ve used for years. General tab of the dock preferences, you can pin a dock to the desktop wherever you like and it will not move. These docks can be accessed via the Window menu option of the DragThing menubar.ĭocks can be only be dragged by their title bar, so by toggling the Show Window Title Bar option to off in the The next is the Disk Dock which shows you the physical disks on the system, and the last is the window Dock, which displays all open windows on the desktop. Unlike the OS X Dock, you can position and customize this all you like. The first is the Process Dock, which shows a list of all running programs, similar to the OS X Dock. Placing a folder in the dock will open the Finder with that folder when accessed.ĭragThing also comes with special docks. Unlike the Applications stack in the OS X Dock, which shows everything in the Applications folder, you can create docks for your most-used or favourite applications, commonly-used files or spreadsheets, and so on. Right-clicking allows you to add more rows or columns to the dock, so you can put more stuff in it. By default the tabs are not visible, so you need to enable Show Layer Folder Tabs in the dock preferences, in the General section.Įach dock has a number of rows and columns, and this is where you can place the files you wish to use. This allows one dock to have multiple tabs (DragThing calls these Layers). Here you can change colors, sizes, how to view the dock (text, icon sizes), arranging items by criteria such as name or label, change layer options, and so on. Right-clicking on the dock itself offers even more ways to customize it. The preferences have a number of options you can change - many are for the appearance of the dock (DragThing offers a lot of options with how the dock looks), and some are functional: how many clicks required to open an item, position locking, and so on. In the Appearance section you can change the dock’s theme there are a number to choose from. To have a minimizing dock, turn the dock into a drawer by going to the Drawer section of the dock’s preferences. You can drag this new Dock wherever you like if dragged close to the edge of the screen, it will snap to it. This will create a new floating DragThing dock. Open DragThing and select File | New Dock | Default. With this dock, VMware files that make up the specific virtual machine are placed into the appropriate tab of the dock, so when any tab is moused over, I can quickly choose which virtual machine I want to load, double-click it, and have VMware launch it. This dock auto-hides, so it is tucked away at the top of the screen, and when it is moused over, expands to show its contents. I work with different operating systems, so I use DragThing to have a dock specifically to reference their virtual machines. This little shareware gem is a different kind of Dock for OS X that lets you have as many docks as you want, with different themes and styles, and also lets you store any type of content that you like.įor instance, I have a lot of virtual machines. As well, the Dock only allows you to store applications, not any other type of file, unless it is in a Stacks folder.įor a more versatile Dock, look to DragThing. But the Dock is still primarily an application launcher and rudimentary application switcher, with very little customization potential beyond resizing and repositioning it. It’s moderately useful, particularly in 10.5 and later which featured Stacks: a means to expand and view the contents of your Applications, Documents, and Downloads folders. The OS X Dock is one of those things I can’t decide if I love or hate. If you are a Mac user who has grown to appreciate the dock functionality, Vincent Danen recommends the shareware app called DragThing, which allows you to do much more with the dock and customize it to your liking. Get customized docks with DragThing for the Mac
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