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Does anyone have any advice for making the most of the Dock? I find it pretty unhelpful coming from an older Windows / Linux background: I just want easy access

Does anyone have any advice for making the most of the Dock? I find it pretty unhelpful coming from an older Windows / Linux background: I just want easy access to the windows that are open on my current workspace on my current monitor, and it seems ill-suited to that. I usually have it on auto-hide because it takes up space without providing much value. I'm aware that I can do the three finger swipe to look at all of my windows, but that takes over my full screen and the previews constantly move location, so I can't build any muscle memory for it. Really, I'm just looking for a classic, unobtrusive task switcher that lets me quickly navigate through what's on my screen without having to muddle through anything else (i.e. the Windows taskbar with all collapsing turned off) Edit: I appreciate the suggestions about using Cmd+Tab or Raycast or Exposé or such, but I'm really just looking for a taskbar equivalent that doesn't require me to use a hotkey or switch "visual contexts". I want something that's persistent and shows the visible applications and their windows, and lets me click on them to raise them. A big part of this for me is being able to see what I have open at a glance, especially due to macOS's historically poor window management. Edit edit: This is on me for using the words "task switcher" - that brings to mind Alt-Tab when I really meant to refer to the taskbar.

p_ing 2y ago
You can try dockdoor to get Windows-style hover previews. https://github.com/ejbills/DockDoor/ https://github.com/ejbills/DockDoor/
ricardonunez 2y ago
The main thing for me was the windows previews, I used to have hyperdock but stopped showing the windows previews. Right now I am trying DockDoor, so far is ok but you need to speed up the fade animation or it has some annoying behavior (reopens preview if pointer gets hover).
chii 2y ago
You can try https://alt-tab-macos.netlify.app/ https://alt-tab-macos.netlify.app/ See if that suits your needs
kbutler 2y ago
I autohide the dock when I get a new mac, and usually manage to forget it exists. Command-Tab to switch apps, Command-Space to open apps. Why would I want the Dock?
- crazygringo 2y ago
  I suddenly realize the only thing I use the dock for is to right-click the trash to empty it. How do you empty the trash? It's never even occurred to me... how do you get to the trash except via the dock?
  - fiddlerwoaroof 2y ago
    I empty the trash with command-shift-backspace. I use the dock icon to open it, but I think there’s an entry in the Go menu
  - danaris 2y ago
    It's in the File menu of the Finder, towards the bottom.
  - aheckler 2y ago
    IIRC Finder has an option to delete files from the Trash 30 days after they're put there. I just enable that option and forget about the Trash completely.
    - crazygringo 2y ago
      You clearly aren't regularly deleting tens of gigabytes of files at a time... ;)
      - kbutler 2y ago
        You can generally permanently delete with one action - but be sure you want to! GUI: select item(s) and Option-Command-Delete Command-line: rm -rf folder-or-file-path (or srm to securely remove)
  - 2y ago
mathieuh 2y ago
The dock just annoys me. I’ve been a Mac user for almost 15 years and it has never seemed useful for me. I cmd+tab or use Alfred to switch apps. To switch between windows of one application it’s cmd+`. Note that you can also use cmd+tab and then while continuing to hold the chord use the pointer to select an application switch to.
- CharlesW 2y ago
  > Note that you can also use cmd+tab and then while continuing to hold the chord use the pointer to select an application switch to. You also do things like (for example) start a drag, ⌘+tab to show running apps, then drop on an app icon without using the dock.
  - fiddlerwoaroof 2y ago
    The command-tab switcher has a lot of hidden functionality: I always only use cmd-tab to open the switcher, then I use arrow keys to pick an application, up/down arrows to view an application’s windows (arrow keys and enter to select a specific one) You can also hit Q to quit an application from the switcher and probably more things I’m currently forgetting.
    - eszed 2y ago
      Wait... What? That application-window trick is awesome. How have I been using been using Macs for twenty+ years and never found that? Discoverability = not-awesome. As repetitive as these top-tips threads can be, we need one every now and again. Someone's guaranteed to learn something from them, and I'm grateful it was my turn today.
      - fiddlerwoaroof 2y ago
        I have mixed feelings about discoverability. I'd usually rather functionality be available in a non-discoverable fashion than unavailable because designers couldn't figure out how to surface it in the UI. And, one of the things I like about vim and emacs is the interface can be extremely minimal with all the functionality I need behind key shortcuts and the like. (Although, emacs has a nice solution of `C-x C-b` list all the available shortcuts for the current window and `M-x` listing all the available commands. The way I learned these shortcuts was reading macOS's help back in 2007, but the quality of documentation bundled with macOS has gone downhill quite a bit.
mig39 2y ago
For me, the dock is a drop target for files. Got a PNG and want to open it in Photoshop? Drag it to photoshop on the dock, for example.
cadamsdotcom 2y ago
You should use Exposé for that. To swap between applications, use Cmd-Tab. To swap between open windows of the current application you can use Cmd-Backtick.
- fiddlerwoaroof 2y ago
  So, the easiest way to swap between windows: Cmd-Tab, up arrow, arrow keys to the window you want, enter
  - Philpax 2y ago
    which is a lot of steps compared to just clicking the relevant window in a taskbar :(
    - fiddlerwoaroof 2y ago
      I never use the taskbar on any system because it’s slower than shortcuts like this.
jacurtis 2y ago
I hide the dock and basically never use it. Install Alfred or Raycast and Command+Space your way to everything. Its 100x faster. I can launch any app in about 3 key strokes, which takes < 2 seconds and often less than a second with muscle memory. For example cmd+space+c will launch or switch to chrome. cmd+space+py is pycharm, cmd+space+go is goland, cmd+space+fi is finder, cmd+space+me is messages, cmd+space+1 is 1Password. cmd+space+1p+space will start searching 1Password. That launches apps. You can also just start doing math problems (calculator) by just cmd+space and start typing out a math equation. cmd+space+ai+space and just start asking a question to AI. These only scratch the surface. But cmd+space, which is an easy modifier combo that you can do anytime, will basically unlock unlimited power. Once you get the muscle memory down you can literally launch any app in less than a second without even looking. If the app is already open, it just brings that app to foreground. Once you have that, you can use alt+tab to switch between apps that are already open. This is useful if you are just swapping between two or three apps for reference quickly. Furthermore alt+tilde (the squiggle key above tab and below escape on most latin keyboards) will switch between open windows of the same type. FOr example if you have 2 chrome windows open, it will switch only between those windows.
- rcarr 2y ago
  I also take this same approach on my phone. I'm on Android atm so I can use Nova Launcher for a completely blank home screen and then set a swipe gesture to bring up the search panel. On iPhone you can achieve similar by enabling removing everything from the home screen and using the app libary or search although it does look weird with the empty dock section at the bottom so I tended to just leave stuff like the browser in there.
- andelink 2y ago
  I feel like I achieve the same app opening speed with built-in Spotlight e.g. `cmd+space me` opens Messages for me too, without any third party software
- SkiFire13 2y ago
  > cmd+space+1 is 1Password FYI shift+cmd+space is also 1Password's quick access shortcut
steezeburger 2y ago
I like uBar a lot with Raycast or Alfred, but Spotlight works well enough too.
BenFranklin100 2y ago
It’s interesting hearing you say this. I come from Windows and thought it was just me. I started using an app called Sidebar: https://sidebarapp.net/ https://sidebarapp.net/ I find it superior to the dock. The applications on the task bar are persistent and only those active on the current desktop are shown. It handles multiple monitors too. It has a few quirks I haven’t sorted out yet, but the overall experience is much closer to Windows 11. Pro Tip: I use it conjunction with the dock by putting the dock on the side and shrinking the dock down to its smallest size and increasing the magnification effect.
- Philpax 2y ago
  This looks much closer to what I was looking for, thank you! Will try when I can :)
- baal80spam 2y ago
  My God, only on a Mac you can find a _sidebar_ app that has a subscription. How I hate that.
  - niek_pas 2y ago
    Not trying to be snarky: why do you hate paying a regular fee for regularly updated software? Wouldn't the alternative be upgrade pricing, which is essentially just subscription pricing with extra steps?
Rury 2y ago
I mean, it does work pretty similar to the windows task bar? If an application is open, it is listed there in the dock with a mark under it. You can pin applications to the dock or remove them via right clicking it. Right clicking on one will provide a list the windows which are open to which you can select from, as well as a "show all windows" option which will hide everything else, and visually show just the windows for that application (you can also just force-click on the app icon to do this). The only difference I see is that the windows taskbar provides a preview thumbnail when hovering over the icons. In which case, there's apps you can get for that.
- edelhans 2y ago
  The big difference for me is that there is no way to quickly jump between multiple windows of the same application. I often have multiple different projects open in vscode and would love a way to switch between them without having to right-click and selecting one from the list. All I want is something like the windows taskbar with auto-grouping disabled.
  - sbuk 2y ago
    The App Exposé gesture works really well for that purpose. It's gesture-based, but you can configure a hot corner to trigger it too.
  - Rury 2y ago
    > there is no way to quickly jump between multiple windows of the same application Except that there is, and with multiple ways to do so: 1) CMD+Backtick 2) ALT+Tab + down/up arrow 3) force clicking the app icon 4) Clicking on "Show all windows" 5) Exposé As far as I can tell, the only thing that's different between the windows task bar and the mac dock is the preview thumbnails.
jachee 2y ago
Have you tried Stage Manager mode? It kinda does what you want, but with the windows on the side rather than the bottom.
- Philpax 2y ago
  Way, way too obtrusive, and not dense enough. I like it in concept, but it's just not practical, especially on a laptop screen.
  - jachee 2y ago
    I get that. I use it on a pair of 27” 1440p monitors. It really supports my preferred method of multitasking, which is really rapid-switched single-tasking. It will get out of the way on smaller screens, though. As soon as a window gets close to the previews, they get out of the way, unlike the dock.
gedy 2y ago
You may like uBar: https://ubarapp.com/ https://ubarapp.com/
- Philpax 2y ago
  This also looks like a great option! I have a vague memory of trying this before and finding it lacking, but I might need to re-evaluate.
com2kid 2y ago
Contexts has both hotkeys and a visual side bar that may do what you are asking.
treetalker 2y ago
- +1 for Stage Manager - check out Witch (https://manytricks.com/witch/ https://manytricks.com/witch/) - you could also use Keyboard Maestro and build your own interface
ttepasse 2y ago
John Siracusa has an app which is extra and opinionated Dock, although not directly for windows: https://hypercritical.co/switchglass/ https://hypercritical.co/switchglass/ There's a detailed FAQ.
emadda 2y ago
I wrote https://robata.app https://robata.app for getting an overview of my open windows a while back. Let me know of any changes you would suggest. Thanks.
- Philpax 2y ago
  That looks really nice, but it's not quite what I'm looking for - thanks anyway, though!
akrz 2y ago
https://contexts.co/ https://contexts.co/ is the best alt+tab switcher I've ever used and it also provides a taskbar like you want.
butlike 2y ago
I basically use it to see which programs are open. Also when you get into macOS window hell, it can be helpful to see at a glance if anything on the dock isn't open (programs opened which are not in the dock will appear on the other side of the | )
exac 2y ago
I'm a fan of learning the defaults and using them (verse having an environment that takes time to setup). As others have said, CMD+Space is sufficient, just hide the dock.

p_ing 2y ago

You can try dockdoor to get Windows-style hover previews. https://github.com/ejbills/DockDoor/ https://github.com/ejbills/DockDoor/

ricardonunez 2y ago

The main thing for me was the windows previews, I used to have hyperdock but stopped showing the windows previews. Right now I am trying DockDoor, so far is ok but you need to speed up the fade animation or it has some annoying behavior (reopens preview if pointer gets hover).

chii 2y ago

You can try https://alt-tab-macos.netlify.app/ https://alt-tab-macos.netlify.app/ See if that suits your needs

kbutler 2y ago

I autohide the dock when I get a new mac, and usually manage to forget it exists. Command-Tab to switch apps, Command-Space to open apps. Why would I want the Dock?

crazygringo 2y ago
I suddenly realize the only thing I use the dock for is to right-click the trash to empty it. How do you empty the trash? It's never even occurred to me... how do you get to the trash except via the dock?
- fiddlerwoaroof 2y ago
  I empty the trash with command-shift-backspace. I use the dock icon to open it, but I think there’s an entry in the Go menu
- danaris 2y ago
  It's in the File menu of the Finder, towards the bottom.
- aheckler 2y ago
  IIRC Finder has an option to delete files from the Trash 30 days after they're put there. I just enable that option and forget about the Trash completely.
  - crazygringo 2y ago
    You clearly aren't regularly deleting tens of gigabytes of files at a time... ;)
    - kbutler 2y ago
      You can generally permanently delete with one action - but be sure you want to! GUI: select item(s) and Option-Command-Delete Command-line: rm -rf folder-or-file-path (or srm to securely remove)
- 2y ago

mathieuh 2y ago

The dock just annoys me. I’ve been a Mac user for almost 15 years and it has never seemed useful for me. I cmd+tab or use Alfred to switch apps. To switch between windows of one application it’s cmd+`. Note that you can also use cmd+tab and then while continuing to hold the chord use the pointer to select an application switch to.

CharlesW 2y ago
> Note that you can also use cmd+tab and then while continuing to hold the chord use the pointer to select an application switch to. You also do things like (for example) start a drag, ⌘+tab to show running apps, then drop on an app icon without using the dock.
- fiddlerwoaroof 2y ago
  The command-tab switcher has a lot of hidden functionality: I always only use cmd-tab to open the switcher, then I use arrow keys to pick an application, up/down arrows to view an application’s windows (arrow keys and enter to select a specific one) You can also hit Q to quit an application from the switcher and probably more things I’m currently forgetting.
  - eszed 2y ago
    Wait... What? That application-window trick is awesome. How have I been using been using Macs for twenty+ years and never found that? Discoverability = not-awesome. As repetitive as these top-tips threads can be, we need one every now and again. Someone's guaranteed to learn something from them, and I'm grateful it was my turn today.
    - fiddlerwoaroof 2y ago
      I have mixed feelings about discoverability. I'd usually rather functionality be available in a non-discoverable fashion than unavailable because designers couldn't figure out how to surface it in the UI. And, one of the things I like about vim and emacs is the interface can be extremely minimal with all the functionality I need behind key shortcuts and the like. (Although, emacs has a nice solution of `C-x C-b` list all the available shortcuts for the current window and `M-x` listing all the available commands. The way I learned these shortcuts was reading macOS's help back in 2007, but the quality of documentation bundled with macOS has gone downhill quite a bit.

mig39 2y ago

For me, the dock is a drop target for files. Got a PNG and want to open it in Photoshop? Drag it to photoshop on the dock, for example.

cadamsdotcom 2y ago

You should use Exposé for that. To swap between applications, use Cmd-Tab. To swap between open windows of the current application you can use Cmd-Backtick.

fiddlerwoaroof 2y ago
So, the easiest way to swap between windows: Cmd-Tab, up arrow, arrow keys to the window you want, enter
- Philpax 2y ago
  which is a lot of steps compared to just clicking the relevant window in a taskbar :(
  - fiddlerwoaroof 2y ago
    I never use the taskbar on any system because it’s slower than shortcuts like this.

jacurtis 2y ago

I hide the dock and basically never use it. Install Alfred or Raycast and Command+Space your way to everything. Its 100x faster. I can launch any app in about 3 key strokes, which takes < 2 seconds and often less than a second with muscle memory. For example cmd+space+c will launch or switch to chrome. cmd+space+py is pycharm, cmd+space+go is goland, cmd+space+fi is finder, cmd+space+me is messages, cmd+space+1 is 1Password. cmd+space+1p+space will start searching 1Password. That launches apps. You can also just start doing math problems (calculator) by just cmd+space and start typing out a math equation. cmd+space+ai+space and just start asking a question to AI. These only scratch the surface. But cmd+space, which is an easy modifier combo that you can do anytime, will basically unlock unlimited power. Once you get the muscle memory down you can literally launch any app in less than a second without even looking. If the app is already open, it just brings that app to foreground. Once you have that, you can use alt+tab to switch between apps that are already open. This is useful if you are just swapping between two or three apps for reference quickly. Furthermore alt+tilde (the squiggle key above tab and below escape on most latin keyboards) will switch between open windows of the same type. FOr example if you have 2 chrome windows open, it will switch only between those windows.

rcarr 2y ago
I also take this same approach on my phone. I'm on Android atm so I can use Nova Launcher for a completely blank home screen and then set a swipe gesture to bring up the search panel. On iPhone you can achieve similar by enabling removing everything from the home screen and using the app libary or search although it does look weird with the empty dock section at the bottom so I tended to just leave stuff like the browser in there.
andelink 2y ago
I feel like I achieve the same app opening speed with built-in Spotlight e.g. `cmd+space me` opens Messages for me too, without any third party software
SkiFire13 2y ago
> cmd+space+1 is 1Password FYI shift+cmd+space is also 1Password's quick access shortcut

steezeburger 2y ago

I like uBar a lot with Raycast or Alfred, but Spotlight works well enough too.

BenFranklin100 2y ago

It’s interesting hearing you say this. I come from Windows and thought it was just me. I started using an app called Sidebar: https://sidebarapp.net/ https://sidebarapp.net/ I find it superior to the dock. The applications on the task bar are persistent and only those active on the current desktop are shown. It handles multiple monitors too. It has a few quirks I haven’t sorted out yet, but the overall experience is much closer to Windows 11. Pro Tip: I use it conjunction with the dock by putting the dock on the side and shrinking the dock down to its smallest size and increasing the magnification effect.

Philpax 2y ago
This looks much closer to what I was looking for, thank you! Will try when I can :)
baal80spam 2y ago
My God, only on a Mac you can find a _sidebar_ app that has a subscription. How I hate that.
- niek_pas 2y ago
  Not trying to be snarky: why do you hate paying a regular fee for regularly updated software? Wouldn't the alternative be upgrade pricing, which is essentially just subscription pricing with extra steps?

Rury 2y ago

I mean, it does work pretty similar to the windows task bar? If an application is open, it is listed there in the dock with a mark under it. You can pin applications to the dock or remove them via right clicking it. Right clicking on one will provide a list the windows which are open to which you can select from, as well as a "show all windows" option which will hide everything else, and visually show just the windows for that application (you can also just force-click on the app icon to do this). The only difference I see is that the windows taskbar provides a preview thumbnail when hovering over the icons. In which case, there's apps you can get for that.

edelhans 2y ago
The big difference for me is that there is no way to quickly jump between multiple windows of the same application. I often have multiple different projects open in vscode and would love a way to switch between them without having to right-click and selecting one from the list. All I want is something like the windows taskbar with auto-grouping disabled.
- sbuk 2y ago
  The App Exposé gesture works really well for that purpose. It's gesture-based, but you can configure a hot corner to trigger it too.
- Rury 2y ago
  > there is no way to quickly jump between multiple windows of the same application Except that there is, and with multiple ways to do so: 1) CMD+Backtick 2) ALT+Tab + down/up arrow 3) force clicking the app icon 4) Clicking on "Show all windows" 5) Exposé As far as I can tell, the only thing that's different between the windows task bar and the mac dock is the preview thumbnails.

jachee 2y ago

Have you tried Stage Manager mode? It kinda does what you want, but with the windows on the side rather than the bottom.

Philpax 2y ago
Way, way too obtrusive, and not dense enough. I like it in concept, but it's just not practical, especially on a laptop screen.
- jachee 2y ago
  I get that. I use it on a pair of 27” 1440p monitors. It really supports my preferred method of multitasking, which is really rapid-switched single-tasking. It will get out of the way on smaller screens, though. As soon as a window gets close to the previews, they get out of the way, unlike the dock.

gedy 2y ago

You may like uBar: https://ubarapp.com/ https://ubarapp.com/

Philpax 2y ago
This also looks like a great option! I have a vague memory of trying this before and finding it lacking, but I might need to re-evaluate.

com2kid 2y ago

Contexts has both hotkeys and a visual side bar that may do what you are asking.

treetalker 2y ago

- +1 for Stage Manager - check out Witch (https://manytricks.com/witch/ https://manytricks.com/witch/) - you could also use Keyboard Maestro and build your own interface

ttepasse 2y ago

John Siracusa has an app which is extra and opinionated Dock, although not directly for windows: https://hypercritical.co/switchglass/ https://hypercritical.co/switchglass/ There's a detailed FAQ.

emadda 2y ago

I wrote https://robata.app https://robata.app for getting an overview of my open windows a while back. Let me know of any changes you would suggest. Thanks.

Philpax 2y ago
That looks really nice, but it's not quite what I'm looking for - thanks anyway, though!

akrz 2y ago

https://contexts.co/ https://contexts.co/ is the best alt+tab switcher I've ever used and it also provides a taskbar like you want.

butlike 2y ago

I basically use it to see which programs are open. Also when you get into macOS window hell, it can be helpful to see at a glance if anything on the dock isn't open (programs opened which are not in the dock will appear on the other side of the | )

exac 2y ago

I'm a fan of learning the defaults and using them (verse having an environment that takes time to setup). As others have said, CMD+Space is sufficient, just hide the dock.