Managing the Dock content (incl. Stacks)
The Dock is one of the main parts of your Mac OS X desktop. It consists of two major parts - the applications area and Stacks. They are divided, by a “highway strip”.
We already looked at, how to add a running application to the Dock. Now let’s see , how to add applications, without starting them at all. Furthermore we will learn how to manage Stacks.
Adding applications
To add an application, without starting it first, simply do the following:
1) Locate the application in the Applications directory in Finder.
2) Drag the applications icon to the Dock and place it where you want it to have. Be sure to drag the application between two icons. They will slide to the side and make space for the new application (aren’t they good neighbors?).
3) Done, no step 3!
Hint: This also works for “special applications”, like Spaces or Dashboard, in case you removed them from the Dock. Just locate them in the Applications directory and drag them back to the Dock.
Rearranging the icons
To change to order of the icons in the Dock, simply drag them around in the Dock. Make sure not to drag them off the Dock, since this will make them vanish in a puff of smoke.
Adding a Stack
To add a new Stack to the Dock, drag any folder you like, to the Stacks area and it will appear there as new Stack. Depending on the number of items inside the folder, it will automatically be displayed in grid, fan or list view.
For example, you could drag the Applications folder to the Stacks area, so you have all your applications ready with one click. Therefore, navigate to Macintosh HD in Finder and drag the Applications directory to your Stack.
This will result in a list of all of your applications, accessible through one click.
Customizing a Stack
If you control-click on a Stack, you can see all the options you have. We recommend you to update to the newest Version of Mac OS X, as described here, to have all options available. Just play around with the options to see how they change the behavior of a Stack.
Especially to view content as List (new in Leopard after the 10.5.2 Update) is a nice option, since it allows you to browse directories within the directory directly from the Stack.
Removing a Stack
To remove a Stack, just drag it off the Dock and it will vanish in a puff of smoke, just as the application icons do.
Note: Removing a Stack does not delete the directory, it just removes it from the Dock. So does removing an application icon not remove it from your Mac.
Now you can customize your Dock, according to your needs. Add, remove, rearrange applications and stacks just as you need it. Enjoy!
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Tags: dock, productivity, Stacks
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