Hello, I'm having this very annoying problem. I cannot right click anything in my dock, it just doesn't register. Before this started I was having another problem with my Applications folder on my dock. When I clicked on it my dock would disappear then reappear without opening the folder. I then deleted the folder and made an alias of the Applications folder and placed it on my dock. But when I clicked on it it would not open in a stack like it did before, so I went to right click it to make the change and I found out that I couldn't. Please tell me how to fix this!
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Can't right click in dock!!
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GGJstudios
macrumors Westmere
Are you running Snow Leopard? Ever since I've upgraded, it freezes up my computer for a good few minutes when I right click the dock. I have never experience what you have, though.
Thanks for posting but it didn't fix the problem, the dock just disappeared for a second then came back.
Yes I'm running snow leopard. I got my mac in May, i havent upgraded anything but a week ago my mac wouldn't turn on so i had to reinstall my OS and i lost everything
GGJstudios
macrumors Westmere
That's the point of quitting it so it will restart. Still can't right-click on it? Make sure there's nothing wrong with your mouse/trackpad and that you can right-click everywhere else. If you can, delete your
Users/~username~/Library/Preferences/com.apple.dock.plist file.
ok i deleted that and reset the dock, the only things there were terminal, safari, and an invisible trash can. So i put the file back where it was, reset again and now my finder, dashboard, and trash can icons are invisible. 😡
GGJstudios
macrumors Westmere
dude everything was gone when i deleted it, how long does it take to make a new one, will everything go back after the new one is made?
GGJstudios
macrumors Westmere
No, when you delete the plist and Mac OS X builds a new one, your Dock should be restored to its default status. Any customization or modifications you made will be lost, but the Dock functionality should be restored. If it's working OK and you can now right-click on the Dock, then re-add the items you want to the Dock.
ok when i deleted that file, i logged out and back in, the dock only had the finder and trash can (both invisible) and i put safari in the dock and still couldn't right click on anything. so i don't know what to do
GGJstudios
macrumors Westmere
Create a new user profile and log into that. See if the Dock problem exists there. If it does, delete the Macintosh HD/Library/Preferences/com.apple.dockfixup.plist.
It did the same thing in the other account so I deleted that file, logged out and in, and nothing changed. Its the same without that file
GGJstudios
macrumors Westmere
dude, that's not an option. I literally just did that 2 days ago, I've re-downloaded so many programs you have no idea. ill give you a picture to help... as you can see the finder and dashboard (left) are invisible and so is the trashcan (right). Also, i don't have an external hard drive to back up everything, if i did i would reinstall the OS
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GGJstudios
macrumors Westmere
It looks like you've possibly installed an app to customize/modify your Dock. Have you? Also, you can install Mac OS X without affecting your apps and user files.
yea, i installed something called 'CandyBar' to customize my icons because i thought they were boring. if i reset them all would that fix the problem? And i thought it deleted everything when you reinstall, that's what happened to me. Don't you need a backup?
GGJstudios
macrumors Westmere
When you have any problem you're troubleshooting, it's best to look first at anything you've installed or modified from the standard OS. We all know the Dock works in Mac OS X, so you should ask yourself, "What is it about my Dock that's different from the standard Dock?" While that's not always the source of the problem, it's more likely than something being wrong with the standard installation. Yes, I'd remove any apps or mods that you've done that affect your Dock.
Ok restored all icons back to normal, logged out and in, reset the dock, and it's the same. Can't right click and the same icons are invisible. Heres what it looks like now. Oh and if i reinstalled Mac OS X would everything still be there? I thought reinstalling makes you start from scratch
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Success!!! After hours and hours I finally found something called 'Pacifist' and I extracted Dock.app from the Mac OS X install disk and replaced the one I had. Then I just reset the dock and no more invisible icons and I can right click again!!! I'm so happy! Thanks GGJstudios for all your help. If anyone else has this problem just do what I did.