{"id":47006,"date":"2019-01-02T13:58:19","date_gmt":"2019-01-02T19:58:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/eshop.macsales.com\/blog\/?p=47006"},"modified":"2019-01-03T17:13:26","modified_gmt":"2019-01-03T23:13:26","slug":"quick-tip-get-the-mac-dock-to-only-show-running-apps","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/eshop.macsales.com\/blog\/47006-quick-tip-get-the-mac-dock-to-only-show-running-apps\/","title":{"rendered":"Quick Tip: Get the Mac Dock to Only Show Running Apps"},"content":{"rendered":"

The macOS Dock<\/a> is designed to make launching applications and switching between them as easy as finding the app\u2019s icon and clicking on it. Sometimes the Dock can be a bit confusing if you have selected \u201cKeep In Dock\u201d for a lot of apps and you\u2019ve accumulated many static Dock icons as well as those that show up when you have other apps \u2014 launched from the Applications folder \u2014 running. In today\u2019s Quick Tip, we\u2019ll show how easy it is to change the Dock Settings to only display apps that are currently running.<\/p>\n

Setting the Dock To Display Only Apps That Are Running<\/b>
\nWarning! This tip makes use of the Terminal and the macOS command-line interface. If you don\u2019t feel comfortable running commands in Terminal, you may wish to have a more experienced Mac user set this up for you. Here we go:\"\"1)<\/strong> Launch the Terminal app, which is found in Applications\/Utilities. To quickly open the Utilities folder, either select Utilities from the Finder Go menu or click on the Mac desktop to enter the Finder and type the shortcut Shift-Command-U.<\/p>\n

2)<\/strong> Once the terminal prompt is displayed, enter the following command exactly as shown (you can also copy the command from here and paste it at the terminal prompt):<\/p>\n

defaults write com.apple.dock static-only -bool true; killall Dock<\/i><\/p>\n

After typing the command, press the Return key to enter the command.<\/p>\n

3)<\/strong> The Dock disappears and is quickly reloaded, this time around showing only those apps that are currently running as well as the Mac\u2019s Trashcan.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Setting the Dock Back to Default<\/b>
\nWant the Dock back to running both running and non-running apps? No problem! There\u2019s a Terminal command for that, too. Warning! you will have to re-order your dock the way it was before as this command does not revert to your customized icon order.<\/p>\n

1)<\/strong> Launch Terminal again if it\u2019s not already running (check the first step of the process listed near the top of this article if you\u2019re not sure how to do this).<\/p>\n

2)<\/strong> At the Terminal prompt, type the following command and press Return:<\/p>\n

defaults write com.apple.dock static-only -bool false; killall Dock<\/i><\/p>\n

3)<\/strong> The Dock reboots into the default settings, showing both running and non-running apps.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s a very reliable third-party utility called GhostTile<\/a> (US$9.99) that provides even more flexibility with the macOS Dock. GhostTile is useful if you wish to hide only certain apps, but want to see other running apps and standard Dock icons.<\/p>\n

Master the macOS dock:<\/strong><\/p>\n