Mac Dock Layout

I’m curious about where others keep their dock in Mac OS. Up until this year I was a Windows user so I like my dock on the bottom of my screen. I noticed @Leo seems to keep his dock on the left side of the screen. Wondering if there is a benefit to this layout versus the other and wanted everyone’s thoughts?

Where is your mac Dock?
  • Left Side of Screen
  • Bottom of Screen
  • Right Side of Screen

0 voters

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I think it’s because he’s left handed. I’m right handed, and mine is on the right side.

I keep mine on the left. Provides more vertical space on the desktop.

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I keep mine on the bottom Phil, that way it’s always in my immediate line of sight, instead of having to glance left or right - at least that’s what I’ve convinced myself :grin:

I don’t have a Mac yet, but bottom for the dock. Last time I had a Mac some ten years ago I had the dock at the bottom too.

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I keep mini on the bottom. Mostly because this means that I have a dock on each of my external displays. If I put the dock to the left or right then only the leftmost or rightmost monitor will have a dock.

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Just in case you are unaware of this feature, the dock on a Mac can also be hidden. It only moves up or out from the side when you move the curser to the edge of the screen where you chose it to be docked. In my case, it is at the bottom, but generally, I have a clean display until I want to see the dock.

Most Mac users I know have a very busy dock, lots of permanent icons. Personally, I like to use the full hand pinch to bring up Launchpad, which temporarily displays all apps on your machine, iPad style. And I only keep the apps I use all the time on the dock. Not saying that is the way to go, but nice to know the options MacOS provides.

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I knew about the hidden dock feature, but I turned that off many moons ago. Maybe too many accidental pop ups. But given I never use the external monitor, only the 13" screen, maybe I should give it another chance.

I prefer on the left side. It may be in my mind but I feel I have more useable screen real estate. The on left doc is less intrusive to me than a bottom dock.

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Yes, we keep making screens wider but not taller, so putting the task bar or Dock on the bottom makes less and less sense.

It is the same as having the browser tabs at the top of the window instead of on the left. There your can show the title of the tab more easily and the tabs one beneath the other, instead they are across the top and barely wide enough to click on, let alone see what you are clicking on…

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I use the Touch Bar as a application chooser most of the time so dock is minimised at the bottom of the screen.

Leo says he uses Linux. Ubuntu has the sidebar layout on the left as the default layout. Many Linux users like that paradigm even in other Window Managers and distros. It’s sorta like how Windows users are used to the taskbar at the bottom - It’s the default.

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I am also a Linux user, and I never liked the bar on the side. I always change it to the bottom. I think that people who designed gnome 3 copied the Mac concept but did not want to make it too similar.

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Like I did on Windows i keep mine on bottom and only the apps i need the most says their.

On Windows I keep it on the bottom.

For some reason, on the Mac I prefer it on the left. However, I may have done that due to screen real estate at one point (got more vertical space with it on the left). Now its just force of habit.

But, whatever works for one person doesn’t necessarily work for another.

I’m looking forward to vertical tabs on the new Edge. :+1:t3:

Thank you so much for everyone’s feedback. I tried using the dock on the left side of the screen but my brain just couldn’t get use to it. Since I’m a windows guy for 20 years, I’m gonna keep it where it feels comfortable.

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As big_D and others noted, the screen is landscape so it makes sense to keep the dock on the side so that it does not occupy valuable vertical space. I imagine one places it either on the left or the right depending upon one’s handedness. I am right handed so it goes on the right.

I use a 27" iMac so there’s lots of space and no need to hide the dock. On my old 13" MacBook I also place the dock on the right as muscle memory simplifies life.

By the way, I find it most annoying that I cannot move the ribbon in Microsoft Office apps to the side. It really makes no sense to force it to be horizontal.

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