Adding folders to the Dock?

[ledzepfan1981]

I am trying to add folders to the Dock and then put apps in them to tidy up my Dock.

I realise that I cannot create folders directly on to the Dock, so I have tried adding them to the desktop, renaming them, changing their icon and then finally adding aliases of the apps into the folders.

I have then dragged the folders onto the Dock. I have found that this just copies the folders onto the Dock and doesn't move them. So then I have deleted the folders from my Desktop and so they go in the Bin. This is fine until I empty the Bin! If I do that, the folders won't open.

What am I doing wrong please? Thank you.

 

[galad]

That's how it works. The dock isn't an actual place on the filesystem where to store things. It just displays existing folders.

 

[ledzepfan1981]

That's how it works. The dock isn't an actual place on the filesystem where to store things. It just displays existing folders.

Thank you for your reply. So if I want it on the Dock, I have to have it elsewhere on my MacBook too?

 

[chown33]

Think of the Dock as a list of aliases to several things. You can't open an alias to an app if the app was deleted. Likewise, you can't open an alias to a folder if the folder was deleted.

 

[Fishrrman]

I'm going to assume that all your apps are in the "Applications" folder or the "Utilities" folder (which is inside the applications folder).

Want to see that in the dock?
Then do this:

Go up to the icon for your internal drive.

Double click on it so you can see "the top level" of folders inside (this will include the Applications folder).

Now, "grab" the icon for the Applications folder, and drag it into the dock.

IMPORTANT: you want to put it right next to the trash icon. There's a thin "dividing line" in the dock -- and you want to keep it "on the trash side" of that line.

Now you have a representation of the Applications folder in the dock.
But we need to do something more.

RIGHT CLICK (or control-click) on the new Applications icon in the dock, and set it up like this:

Now, just click on the Applications icon, and you should get a list of all apps inside it.

Alternate viewing:
Change from "list" to "grid", and when you click on it, you'll see icons instead of a list.

 

[ledzepfan1981]

I'm going to assume that all your apps are in the "Applications" folder or the "Utilities" folder (which is inside the applications folder).

Want to see that in the dock?
Then do this:

Go up to the icon for your internal drive.

Double click on it so you can see "the top level" of folders inside (this will include the Applications folder).

Now, "grab" the icon for the Applications folder, and drag it into the dock.

IMPORTANT: you want to put it right next to the trash icon. There's a thin "dividing line" in the dock -- and you want to keep it "on the trash side" of that line.

Now you have a representation of the Applications folder in the dock.
But we need to do something more.

RIGHT CLICK (or control-click) on the new Applications icon in the dock, and set it up like this:
View attachment 2286629
Now, just click on the Applications icon, and you should get a list of all apps inside it.

Alternate viewing:
Change from "list" to "grid", and when you click on it, you'll see icons instead of a list.

Thank you for your detailed help, that was so kind of you. All I was trying to do was tidy up the Dock. For example, my idea was to create a folder, put it on the Dock, call it Browsers and put my browser apps (that were already on the Dock) inside it, so I don't have too many icons on the Dock.