OS X Dock really needs an update

[phexac]

I have been using various Mac products for a while, and as Windows went through versions and updated their interface and multi-tasking tools, the OS X Dock seems to have fallen behind in enabling solid multitasking. Currently we have an MBA that I bought for grad school in 2011 and my wife uses a 13" Retina MBP for work, which she connects to a Thunderbolt display at home. As a result, we still use Apple computers regularly alongside my main Windows desktop running Windows 10.

One thing that becomes clear to me when I work on a Mac device and then switch to my Windows 10 machine is that when I am working on something complex and have a lot of windows open, Windows does a far better job at helping me manage them better. Windows task bar responds a lot faster than the Dock and its ability to show all open application windows when you hover your mouse over that application icon is very helpful in selecting the right windows quickly. The dock simply lacks that functionality. Sure, you can have minimized windows on its right edge, but those miniatures are too small to tell windows apart and you have to actually minimize a windows in order for it to end up there. If you simply click away from something and it goes into the background, its window does not go into the dock.

This issue is compounded by the fact that the OS X equivalent of alt-tab only shows application icons, which is not useful for picking between multiple open windows or browser tabs within the same application.

For a while now, Apple has relied on its excellent Expose to manage multiple windows. That feature was (and still is) absolutely amazing in its idea and implementation. I also like that you can pick to view all open windows grouped by program or just windows from the same program.

However, as Windows 10 has shown, having an Expose-like feature does not mean that there is not additional benefit to be gained from also having a modern dock/task bar with additional multi-tasking features.

While the dock has started out as a great idea and far ahead of what Windows was offering at the time, I think it has stagnated and become more of a hindrance than an asset to the OS. I definitely hope that Apple does a major overhaul for the dock, because right now when I sit down at a Mac after Windows 10, I know my multitasking is taking a hit.

 

[TheStu]

You can install HyperDock to get the thumbnail peek feature.

 

[v-600]

And hyperdock gives you window snapping without going full screen.

Its invaluable. A must have on osx (I realise its inflammatory to make a comment like this but it really does add in functionality that is just plain missing from a modern OS).

 

[iluvdeal]

And hyperdock gives you window snapping without going full screen.

Its invaluable. A must have on osx (I realise its inflammatory to make a comment like this but it really does add in functionality that is just plain missing from a modern OS).

I'll give it a try. Any other must have add ons for osx you'd recommend?

 

[lefenzy]

You can right click (or two finger click) on an open application in the dock to see all open applications. You get a text listing, which works for me, but perhaps some of the 3rd party apps suggested above can give you a visual preview.

If I have multiple projects going on at once (i.e. each workflow needs web browser, preview, and other applications), I start separating them into workspaces.

I am fine with the cmd+tab, cmd+` model of working; it's comparable or superior to alt-tab only. One wish is that cmd+` would show an alt-tab like window instead of no visual indication of the windows I'm thumbing through.

Coming from windows, I am confused by expose. It becomes a mess once lots of windows are open. It's a lot easier for me to cmd+tab, cmd+`. Another useful shortcut is cmd+H, which sends the current application windows to the back.

 

[slashbinslashbash]

I recently started a job where I am forced to use a Windows 7 desktop machine for most of the day. After being pretty much a Mac-only guy for 10+ years, I have the opposite gripe about Windows 7 multitasking. Maybe it is better in Windows 10. I am very used to Exposé and I don't like the idea of having my multitasking all have to run through any kind of Dock/Taskbar thingy. I do use the Dock to switch tasks on occasion, but mostly it's Exposé.

Actually what I mostly do is a third thing: I initiate a Cmd-Tab in OSX and keep holding down Cmd; it pops up kind of a pseudo-Dock in the middle of the screen that shows all open applications. You can then use the mouse to choose which one you want And you don't even have to click, just position the mouse over the icon and let go of the Cmd button and it will switch to that app. I do this all the time on my Macbook and I really wish that it worked the same way in Windows.

Of course that is not my only gripe about my work PC. Multitasking on a 19" 1440x900 monitor sucks balls no matter what. And for me, a mouse of any kind is an RSI magnet.

 

[Tegeril]

Most of the functionality you're looking for sounds like it's part of Expose.

 

[iluvdeal]

And for me, a mouse of any kind is an RSI magnet.

What pointing device wouldn't be an RSI magnet?

 

[v-600]

A touchscreen? An ipad?

 

[GregGreen]

Most of the functionality you're looking for sounds like it's part of Expose.

Exactly, why would you mouse all the way down to the dock when you can use a "four finger swipe up motion" on a trackpad or "two finger double tap" on a magic mouse?

 

[TheStu]

I recently started a job where I am forced to use a Windows 7 desktop machine for most of the day. After being pretty much a Mac-only guy for 10+ years, I have the opposite gripe about Windows 7 multitasking. Maybe it is better in Windows 10. I am very used to Exposé and I don't like the idea of having my multitasking all have to run through any kind of Dock/Taskbar thingy. I do use the Dock to switch tasks on occasion, but mostly it's Exposé.

Actually what I mostly do is a third thing: I initiate a Cmd-Tab in OSX and keep holding down Cmd; it pops up kind of a pseudo-Dock in the middle of the screen that shows all open applications. You can then use the mouse to choose which one you want And you don't even have to click, just position the mouse over the icon and let go of the Cmd button and it will switch to that app. I do this all the time on my Macbook and I really wish that it worked the same way in Windows.

Of course that is not my only gripe about my work PC. Multitasking on a 19" 1440x900 monitor sucks balls no matter what. And for me, a mouse of any kind is an RSI magnet.

>Windows 10 has expose
I>n Windows 7, I /think/ you can hold alt and use the arrow keys to switch between the list there.
>Get the Logitech T650, it's 99% as good as an Apple trackpad. I use it at work, and it's amazing. You have to install their drivers to really make it great though, so I hope you don't want to switch to a mouse (I can not stand the Logitech Control Center for a mouse, it screws up scrolling in weird ways)
>And it doesn't help that IMO, Windows is worse the lower the resolution gets.

 

[Spineshank]

Most of the functionality you're looking for sounds like it's part of Expose.

This. Sounds like the OP just doesn't know about all the functionality features.

 

[stromborg]

You can install HyperDock to get the thumbnail peek feature.

I love HyperDock! It gives you the good features that iOS is missing in comparison to Windows (it actually makes your OS more like Windows), but still preserves what's good with iOS. Other than that, TotalFinder is amazing too.

 

[phexac]

Hyperdock definitely looks interesting--will try it out.

Expose is great, and I absolutely loved it on the Mac. I even remember how MSFT tried to do an Expose without copying it outright, and came up with the pathetic flip 3d. However, with the addition of the exact copy of Expose in Windows 10, combined with a more powerful Alt+Tab and the previews on mouseover in the taskbar, Win10 was definite ahead of OS X.

Hyperdock sounds cool--hopefully it can bring OS X to parity with Windows.