FacebookTwitterLinkedIn

How to Manage Dock on Mac?

How to Use And Customize Dock on Mac?

One of the things that differentiate macOS from other operating systems is the Dock. If you are a first-time Mac user, you might not know what Dock is. It is a small panel along the edge of your Mac's screen that lets you quickly launch and switch between running applications and more.

How to Use And Customize Dock on Mac

The Dock is an important part of Mac as it makes the user experience much more enjoyable. It can help you save time, work more efficiently, and organize your apps, folder, and files.

Below you will find how to add and remove items, manage the Downloads folder and the Launchpad, lock application in Dock, and hide Dock, and more.

Video on How to Use And Customize Dock on Mac?

Table of Contents:

How to Add And Remove Applications, Files, And Folder From Dock

Adding and removing apps, folders, and files to Dock is a very easy process. Keep in mind that Applications and folders or files are kept in different sections of the Dock. Just follow the steps below.

Add applications to Dock:

1. Click on the Finder icon in the Dock to open a Finder window.
2. In the left sidebar, click on "Applications".

Go to Applications

3. From the app list, select an application you want to add to the Dock and drag it to the left section of it.
4. Let go of the app when you see the Dock expand to make space for the app.

Add app to Dock

Add folders and files to Dock:

1. Click on the Finder icon in the Dock to open a Finder window.
2. Locate your folder or file that you want to add to the Dock.
3. Select it and drag it to the right section of the Dock.
4. Let go of the app when you see the Dock expand to make space for the folder or file.

Add folder to Dock

Supposedly you want to add a running application to the Dock. To do that, follow the steps below.

1. Right-click on the running application that is in the Dock.
2. In the menu, hover over "Option".
3. Then click on "Keep in Dock".

Add opened item to Dock

The same goes for any folder or file.

Remove apps, folders, or files:

1. Right-click on the application, folder, or file that is in the Dock.
2. In the menu, hover over "Option".
3. Then, click on "Remove from Dock".

Remove item from Dock

Or you can remove it by simply dragging it from the Dock to the desktop. Hover over the desktop until you see the option "Remove" appear. Click on it, and you will remove the app, folder, or file from the Dock.

Drag item to Desktop to remove it from Dock

The app, folder, or file must be closed to remove it from the Dock.

[Back to Table of Contents]

How to Add And Remove The Downloads Folder to Dock

Usually, the Downloads folder is kept in the Dock for faster access to your downloaded files. It is more convenient than to go looking for them in the Finder each time you download something. If you do not see it in the Dock, you can easily add it by following the steps below.

1. Launch Finder.
2. In the upper menu, click on "Go".
3. Then click on "Home".
4. Find the Downloads folder in the pop-up Finder window, select it, and drag it to the Dock's right section.
5. Let go of the folder when you see the Dock expand to make space for the folder or file.

Add Downloads folder to Dock

Or you can simply open Finder and, from the left sidebar, locate the Downloads folder, select it and drag it to the Docks right side.

Drag Downloads folder to Dock

Add Downloads folder to Dock

Remove the Downloads folder:

1. Right-click on the Downloads.
2. Then click on "Remove from Dock".

Remove Downloads folder from Dock

[Back to Table of Contents]

How to Add And Remove Launchpad From Dock

Launchpad is a handy tool that can help you find and open applications faster. You can easily add or remove it from the Dock.

Add Launchpad:

1. Click on the Finder icon in the Dock to open a Finder window.
2. In the left sidebar, click on "Applications".

Go to Applications

3. From the app list, find and select Launchpad and drag it to the Dock's left section.
4. Let go of the Launchpad when you see the Dock expand to make space for the app.

Add Launchpad to Dock

Remove Launchpad:

1. Right-click on the Launchpad.
2. Then click on "Remove from Dock".

Remove Launchpad

[Back to Table of Contents]

How to Lock Applications, Files, And Folder to Dock

You can lock the Dock so no one can rearrange and add or remove apps, folders, and files you have added.

1. Open Terminal from Launchpad, Finder, or with Spotlight.
2. In the Terminal window, enter the command line: defaults write com.apple.Dock contents-immutable -bool true; killall Dock

Lock items in Dock

Now you will not be able to move content in the Dock. Also, the "Remove from Dock" option is gone, so you can not remove anything from it.

Can't remove items from Dock

You can undo the lock by opening the Terminal window and entering the command line: defaults write com.apple.Dock contents-immutable -bool false; killall Dock

Disable item lock

[Back to Table of Contents]

How to Hide Recent Applications, Files, And Folder on Dock

The Dock not only shows the items that you added, but it also shows the recently opened apps, folders, and files in a separate section. If you do not want that, you can have the recently opened items disappear after closing them.

1. In the upper menu, click on the Apple logo.
2. Go to "System Preferences".
3. Find and click on "Dock".

Go to Dock settings

4. Uncheck the box next to "Show recent applications in Dock".

Uncheck Show recent applications in Dock

[Back to Table of Contents]

How to Change Finder Icon

The default icon for Finder is a smiley face with a half-blue, half-white background. But if you want to customize your Mac to the fullest, you can change the Finder icon with your own. To do that, we will have to momentarily disable SIP (System Integrity Protection).

1. Choose a picture you want to use and make sure it is in a PNG format.
2. Rename the picture to "finder". If your Mac has a retina screen, then rename the picture as "finder@2x".

Name PNG image as finder.png or finder@2x.png for retina screen Mac

3. Shut down your Mac and wait for about 30 seconds.
4. Then turn on your Mac and, at the same time, simultaneously hold down Command + R keys on your keyboard to load the Recovery mode.
5. When you see macOS Utilities in the upper menu, click on "Utilities".
6. In the drop-down menu, click on "Terminal"

Open Terminal in Recovery Mode

7. In the Terminal window, enter the command line: csrutil disable.

Disable System Integrity Protection

8. Then, in the upper menu, click on the Apple logo and then on "Restart".
9. Wait for your Mac to restart and log into your user.
10. Open Terminal from Launchpad, Finder, or with Spotlight.
11. In the Terminal window, enter the command line: sudo mount -rw /
12. Enter your user password. The password characters will not be shown in the Terminal window.

Enter sudo mount -rw / command line and enter passord

13. Then remove the Finder icon. In the Terminal window, enter the command line: sudo rm /System/Library/CoreServices/Dock.app/Contents/Resources/finder.png or sudo rm /System/Library/CoreServices/Dock.app/Contents/Resources/finde@2x.png (for retina Mac)

Remove Finder icon

14. Add your selected image. In the Terminal window, enter the command line: sudo cp /Users/your_username/Desktop/finder.png /System/Library/CoreServices/Dock.app/Contents/Resources/ or sudo cp /Users/your_username/Desktop/finder@2x.png /System/Library/CoreServices/Dock.app/Contents/Resources/ (for retina Mac)

Add selected image to Finder icon

15. Then, remove the Dock's icon cache. In the Terminal window, enter the command line: sudo find /private/var/folders/ -name com.apple.dock.iconcache -exec rm {} \;

Remove Finder icon cache

16. And kill the Dock. In the Terminal window, enter the command line: killall Dock

Kill Dock

Your Dock will now refresh, and you should see your picture as the Finder icon. Now you need to enable SIP. To do that, follow the steps from 3 to 8. But instead, in step 7, enter the command line "csrutil enable".

Enable System Integrity Protection

[Back to Table of Contents]

How to Change And Lock Dock Position

You can change the position of the Dock on your screen. You can position it at the bottom, the left or the right corners of your Mac's screen.

1. In the upper menu, click on the Apple logo.
2. Go to "System Preferences".
3. Find and click on "Dock".

Go to Dock settings

4. Next to "Position on screen", you can choose "Left", "Bottom", or "Right".

Change Dock's position

If you share your Mac with other people, you can lock the Dock so no one can change its position.

1. Open Terminal from Launchpad, Finder, or with Spotlight.
2. In the Terminal window, enter the command line: defaults write com.apple.Dock position-immutable -bool true; killall Dock

Lock Dock's position

Now the option to change position in settings will be grayed out and unresponsive.

Can't change Dock's position

To allow Dock repositioning, in the Terminal window, enter the command line: defaults write com.apple.Dock position-immutable -bool false; killall Dock

Enable poition change

[Back to Table of Contents]

How to Change And Lock Dock Size

You can change the size of the Dock, depending on your preferences. If it is too small for you, you can make it bigger and vice versa.

1. In the upper menu, click on the Apple logo.
2. Go to "System Preferences".
3. Find and click on "Dock".

Go to Dock's settings

4. Next to "Size", set the slider as you wish.

Change Dock's size

You can also lock the Dock so no one can change its size.

1. Open Terminal from Launchpad, Finder, or with Spotlight.
2. In the Terminal window, enter the command line: defaults write com.apple.Dock size-immutable -bool true; killall Dock

Lock Dock's size

Now the option to resize in settings will be grayed out and unresponsive.

To allow Docs resizing, in the Terminal window, enter the command line: defaults write com.apple.Dock size-immutable -bool false; killall Dock

Enable size change

[Back to Table of Contents]

How to Add More Space Between Items on Dock

By default, all Dock items are next to each other with the same amount of space between them. But you can add more space between preferred items and separate them more.

1. Open Terminal from Launchpad, Finder, or with Spotlight.
2. In the Terminal window, enter the command line: defaults write com.apple.dock persistent-apps -array-add '{"tile-type"="spacer-tile";}'; killall Dock

Add space to Dock

3. Space will appear in the Dock. You can click on it and drag between any items you prefer.

Space added to Dock

If you want to add space between other items as well, just retype the command line again.

More space added

If you decide that you do not want the space anymore, you can drag it outside the Dock and hover with it on the desktop while you see a "Remove" option appear. It is the same process as removing an item.

[Back to Table of Contents]

How to Automatically Hide or Show Dock

If you prefer to see the Dock when you need it, you can choose to hide or show the Dock on your screen automatically.

1. In the upper menu bar, click on the Apple logo.
2. Go to "System Preferences".
3. Find and click on "Dock".

Go to Dock's settings

4. In the Dock settings, check the box next to "Automatically hide and show the Dock".

Automatically hide Dock

This will keep the Dock hidden until you hover your cursor over the place where it is positioned.

[Back to Table of Contents]

How to Reset Dock

Suppose you have many apps and folders added to the Dock and just want to remove everything or reset it to default settings. In that case, you can do that with the Terminal command. This method will remove existing customization.

1. Open Terminal from Launchpad, Finder, or with Spotlight.
2. In the Terminal window, enter the command line: defaults delete com.apple.dock; killall Dock

Reset Dock

The Dock will relaunch itself with the default icons.

Dock reseted

You can explore more Dock features in the Dock settings. The features that the Dock can offer you will also differ depending on the item. You can explore the suggested options of each item you add to the Dock by right-clicking on them.

We hope the information above was helpful!

[Back to Top]

▼ Show Discussion

About the author:

Karolina Peistariene

Author of how-to guides for Mac users. Responsible for collecting, analyzing, and presenting problem-solving solution articles related to macOS issues. Years of macOS experience combined with solid research and analyzing skills help Karolina provide readers with working and helpful solutions as well as introduce various features Mac has to offer. Contact Karolina Peistariene.

Our guides are free. However, if you want to support us you can send us a donation.

About PCrisk

PCrisk is a cyber security portal, informing Internet users about the latest digital threats. Our content is provided by security experts and professional malware researchers. Read more about us.

Malware activity

Global malware activity level today:

Medium threat activity

Increased attack rate of infections detected within the last 24 hours.