Your Mac comes with a small panel along the edge of the screen called the Dock: It lets you quickly access your favorite apps, files, and folders, as well as any actively-running apps. When you save an item to the Dock, you can access it at any time by clicking on it.
Removing apps from Dock Quit the app you want to remove from Dock. Right-click on the app’s icon. Open your Mac Look for the app icon you want to remove Click and hold on the icon Now drag the icon aside the dock by holding the click until you see the “Remove” text on top. To remove an item from the Dock, just drag its icon onto the Desktop. It disappears with a cool poof animation, as shown in Figure 2. Figure 2: To remove an icon, drag it off the Dock and POOF — it’s gone. Dec 23, 2019 Locate the app you want to remove the Mac Dock Click and hold on the app icon Now drag the app icon out of the Dock while holding the click, continue holding as you drag until you see the “Remove” text appear on the icon Let go of the click to remove that app icon from the Mac Dock. Click on the Apple menu and select System Preferences. Click on the Dock icon. Locate the Position on screen section and select, Left, Bottom or Right. You might also be interested in Apple’s Dock overview article. Read more about add, applications, Dock, edit, folders, rearrange, remove. Dec 23, 2019 ? Post? Your Phone Today?. ?See How Fast? It's Returned.↗️ ? Chat? With A Human? Not A Bot↗️ ️ ?️ Better Than iTunes.Buy iMazing Software Now↗️, 20% Discount Code: iMazing20SydneyRepair ️ ️ ️Now Use Sydney Light Rail - Please Get Off ️Chinatown ️ Stop ️ ️ ️ ? The Shop has Opened As Usual.
By default, most of Apple's built-in apps start with shortcuts saved in the Dock, but you can also remove those shortcuts and add your own. You can also customize the Dock to fit your preferences. Here's how.
What is the Dock, and what gets displayed there?
The Dock has been with the Mac for over a decade, now: It offers you a quick way to access the Finder (your Mac's underlying filesystem) as well as your currently running applications, favorite apps, favorite files or folders, and the Trash.
When you first set up your Mac, your Dock lives along the bottom of your screen in a translucent rectangle; if you don't like its positioning, you can move it to the left or right of the screen, or have it automatically hide whenever you're not interacting with it. Items are organized as follows, left to right:
- The Finder
- Favorite app shortcuts
- Currently-running apps (you can also choose in the Dock preferences whether you want to view an indicator (a little black dot) for currently-open apps)
- Favorite files or folders
- The Trash
Though you can shuffle the position of app shortcuts in the Dock, you can't move the Finder or Trash — they live on opposite ends of the Dock, respectively — nor can you mix file shortcuts with apps in the same section.
How to add apps to the Dock on your Mac
- Launch a Finder window from your Dock.
- Click on Applications in the sidebar.
- Select an app and drag it to the Dock.
- Let go of the app while it hovers over the Dock.
If you want to permanently add a currently-running app to your Dock:
- Right-click or Control-click on the app icon in the Dock.
- Select Options under the drop-down menu.
- Click on Keep in Dock.
You can alternatively just drag the icon to a different position in your Dock, which will automatically save it as a favorite shortcut.
How to add files and folders to the Dock on your Mac
Files and folders can also be saved to your Dock, but they can only be stored on the far right of the Dock, after your app shortcuts. The Dock has a demarcating line that separates apps from files and folders, so you won't mix them up.
- Launch a Finder window from your Dock.
- Select a file or folder from its location on your Mac and drag it to the right side of the Dock.
- Let go of the file or folder while it hovers over the right side of the Dock.
How to remove apps, files, and folders from the Dock on your Mac
If you don't want a particular app, file or folder in your Dock anymore, you can remove it with just one gesture. Note that this doesn't remove the item from your computer, it just removes the shortcut from the Dock; you can always re-add the app or folder by following the steps above.
- Select an app, file, or folder and drag it out of the Dock.When it is hovering over your desktop, you will see the word Remove appear above the app, file, or folder.
- Let go of the app, file, or folder. It will disappear from the Dock.
- Repeat the steps above to remove all items you no longer want to kept in the Dock.
Note: If you do this on a currently-open app, it will continue to stay in the Dock until you Quit the application, at which point it will disappear.
How to organize the Dock on your Mac
You can rearrange the placement of apps, files, and folders in your Dock so they are in alphabetical order, color-coordinated, or however you like.
Note: You can't move the Finder or Trash icons to the far left and right of the Dock respectively. They are anchored to the Dock because of their importance to the system.
- Select an app, file, or folder in the Dock.
- Drag it to a new location in the Dock.
- Let go of the app, file, or folder while it hovers over the new location in the Dock.
How to change the Dock's size on your Mac
You can adjust the size of the dock so that icons are larger or smaller on your screen.
- Click on the Apple icon in the upper left corner of your Mac's screen.
- Select System Preferences from the drop down menu.
- Click on Dock.
- Drag the Size slider to the left or right to increase or decrease the size of the Dock.
- Tick the box for Magnification to enable an animation that makes the items in the Dock that your cursor hovers over larger.
- Drag the Magnification slider to the left or right to increase or decrease how large the icons grow when your cursor hovers over them.
How to change the Dock's orientation on your Mac
You can display the Dock on the bottom, right, or left side of your screen.
- Click on the Apple icon in the upper left corner of your Mac's screen.
- Select System Preferences from the drop down menu.
- Click on Dock.
- Select Left, Bottom, or Right to change the orientation of the Dock.
How to automatically hide or show the Dock on your Mac
On smaller laptop screens, every bit of screen space is valuable. If you don't want the Dock getting in the way of your productivity, you can keep it hidden until you want to access it, at which point, you can call it back up by hovering your cursor over the place where it normally resides.
- Click on the Apple icon in the upper left corner of your Mac's screen.
- Select System Preferences from the drop down menu.
- Click on Dock.
- Tick the box for Automatically hide and show the Dock.
How to hide recent applications on the Dock on macOS Mojave
Much like iOS on the iPad, macOS Mojave puts users' recently-used applications in a special section of the Dock. If this doesn't sound like your cup of tea, it's easy enough to turn off.
- Open System Preferences from your Dock or Applications folder.
- Click Dock.
- Click the checkbox next to Show recent applications in Dock so that the check disappears (it's on by default).
You can check the box if you decide you want to use this feature.
Bonus: Pro tips for using the Dock
- You can change the size of the Dock by positioning the cursor over the Dock divider that separates apps from files and folders. The cursor will change to a double-sided arrow; click and drag to increase or decrease the size of the Dock.
- You can change the location of the Dock by holding down the shift key, clicking on that divider, and dragging the Dock to the left, bottom, or right sides of the screen.
- If you'd like to keep an app that's open in the Dock permanently, right or control-click the icon in the Dock, select Options and select Keep in Dock.
- If you want to add spacers between apps, there's a Terminal command to do so.
macOS Catalina
Main
Mac Dock Icons
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New Mac users might wonder how to put often-used apps, documents, and folders down into the Dock for quick access. Luckily, it’s quite easy. Here’s how.
How to Add an App Icon From the Mac Dock
1.) Open the Applications folder and find the icon of the app you wish to add to your Mac’s Dock. (This also works with folders and documents.)
2.) Hover your mouse pointer over the app, document, or folder icon you wish to add to the Dock, and click and hold your mouse button or trackpad.
3.) Drag the icon down to the Dock, to the location where you want to move it. (Note: You’ll notice the Dock has a dividing line. Applications need to be dropped on the left side of this line, while documents and folders should be dropped to the right side of the line.)
4.) Hover the icon over the spot you wish to drop to. You should see the icons move over to make room for the new icon.
5.) Release your mouse button, the app will drop into place on the Dock.
How to Remove an App Icon From the Mac Dock
There are two ways to remove an icon from the Dock.
Note: You can only remove an application icon from the Dock if the app is closed. If the Dock icon shows a dot beneath the icon, the app is currently running. Close the app before attempting to remove its icon from the Dock.
Method One
Method one is to right-click the icon while it sits in the Dock. You’ll see a pop-up menu appear. Hover your mouse over the “Options” menu item. A new menu will appear. Click “Remove from Dock.” The icon will disappear from the Dock.
Method Two
Method two is to hover your mouse pointer over the icon you wish to remove, and then click and hold. Begin dragging the icon up and away from the Dock to an empty space on your Mac’s Desktop. You’ll soon see a bubble with the word “Remove” in it. You can now release the mouse button. The icon will be gone from the Dock.
For more tips and tricks that can help you make better use of your Mac, iOS device, Apple Watch, or Apple TV, be sure to visit the “How To” section of our website.