technotes

If you're like me, you rely on your Mac's dock to access a lot of the applications and files you use the most. Sure, there are other ways to access your apps - Spotlight, Alfred, Quicksilver, Google Quick Search Box - but the dock is still commonly used for launching. And if you're like me, you have an annoying tendency to occasionally click on the wrong application icon. ARGH! So when I came across this solution, I thought it was worth trying.

Group Your Icons 

Group your applications by type and add spacers to separate the groups. The trick requires Terminal, but don't worry - it's two lines of code you can copy and paste.

1. Launch Terminal. You'll find Terminal under Applications/Utilities.

2. Enter this line of code. Don't be a hero - just make it easy on yourself and copy and paste this into your Terminal screen, then hit ENTER:

defaults write com.apple.dock persistent-apps -array-add '{tile-data={}; tile-type="spacer-tile";}'

3. Paste the code a few more times, hitting ENTER after each instance. Each instance will create another spacer tile.

4. Enter this line of code into your Terminal screen, to reset your dock:

killall Dock

Now you will see a large space on the right side of your dock. Mouse over the area and click-and-hold to move a spacer to a new spot on your dock. Do this with the other spacers. Removing spacers is just as easy as removing an icon on your dock. Just drag it out of the dock and POOF!



Add a Recent Applications Folder

Another way to add a little extra functionality to your dock is to add a Recent Applications folder, to sit alongside your Applications and Downloads folders. The instructions are very similar to adding spacers:

1. Launch Terminal. You'll find Terminal under Applications/Utilities.

2. Enter this line of code - make it easy on yourself and just copy and paste this into your Terminal screen, then hit ENTER:

defaults write com.apple.dock persistent-others -array-add '{ "tile-data" = { "list-type" = 1; }; "tile-type" = "recents-tile"; }'

3. Enter this line of code into your Terminal screen, to reset your dock:

killall Dock

Once the dock resets, you will see this new item. Right-click on the folder to change your view options. That's it!