Documents and Folders in the Dock

In this lesson for macOS Mojave on the Mac, I look at how to work with documents and folders in the Dock. With documents, we can place documents we need easy access to in the Dock, and with folders, we can easily access the contents of a folder when it is in the Dock.

Documents and Folders location in the Dock
As you learned in the previous lesson, the Dock is divided into three areas – applications, recent applications (new in macOS Mojave), and documents and folders. You’ll see vertical lines separating these three areas. Documents and folders are located on the right side of the Dock.

Placing a Document or Folder in the Dock
To place a document or folder in the Dock, just drag it to the right side of the Dock and put it where you want. You cannot place them where the applications are. When you place a document or folder in the Dock, it does not move the original location of the document or folder, it just gives you easy access to that document or folder.

Accessing Files and Folders from a Folder in the Dock
To access the files and folders in a folder you have placed in the Dock, you just click on the folder icon in the Dock. You will see the contents of the folder show as a popup. The view of the folder contents will change depending on how many items are in the folder.

Changing the Folder Icon in the Dock
When you place a folder in the Dock, you will see it represented by an icon. You can change what that icon is by control-clicking (holding down the control key and clicking) on the folder in the Dock. From there you will see Display As, you can display the folder icon as a folder or a stack. The folder is just a simple icon or image of a folder. The Stack option shows the items in the folder stacked.

Changing the View of the Documents in a Folder
When you click on a folder while it is in the Dock, you will see the folder’s contents. The way you see them will change depending on how many items are in the folder. You can also select how you want to view them yourself. Again control-click on the folder in the Dock, you’ll see a popup with View Content As.

• Fan: This will display all the items in a fan. If you have a lot of items, to see all of them, you will have to click on the arrow at the top of the documents listed in your folder. This view is generally used when you have fewer items in the folder.
• Grid: The Grid view is better for folders with a lot of items. You see all the items in the folder as a larger icon. You can quickly scroll through the items while in the view.
• List: The List view shows all the items in the folder in a list. Similar to Grid view, this view works with folders with a lot of items.
• Automatic: This option will change the view automatically based on the number of items in the folder.

Changing the Sort Order
You can also change the sort order of the items in a folder when you click on the folder while in the Dock. Again, control-click on the folder in the Dock and select how you want the items to be sorted.

Showing the Folder in the Finder
If you want to show the folder in a Finder window, control-click on the folder in the Dock and select Show in Finder under Options. The folder will open in a new Finder window.

See this Lesson Action
To see this lesson in action, take a look at the video above.