Do you use Dock Hiding/Magnification? Yes or No? If Yes, why?

[Snowbound]

Yes hiding, no magnification. Hiding makes the screen feel bigger. Magnification annoys me because it makes the icons "move" so if I'm paying less attention I'll open the wrong program.

 

[Sneakz]

I would like to know how this is a MacBook Pro specific question and why its in this sub forum?

 

[mrj205]

13"MBP:

I use magnification as I have lots of icons in the dock. My vision is also pretty poor when uncorrected (20/380), so I like the added size when scrolling over icons.

I don't use hide though. I like the feature, but manage to expose the dock unintentionally all the time, so I keep it off. The miniscule loss of screen real estate doesn't bother me much.

 

[no.1 Apple Fan]

I use magnification, because it looks cool , but not hiding.

 

[Finlandboy]

i use both hiding and magnification...mainly because i can and it looks cool

 

[Higgs1]

i use magnification but not hiding, i like to be able to switch between programs fast and to me clicking the icon is fastest lol

 

[JamesGorman]

I use magnification but not hiding. I dont hide the dock because I think its one of the things that make my computer a "mac". I think its one of the main things people would associate with the OS, plus, it looks neat

 

[.Andy]

I use hiding. I hate having screen real-estate taken up by it. When I sit down at someone else's mac I instinctively apple option D.

I also have a very small amount of magnification as I like the dock being dynamic.

 

[dhd]

Hiding, yes. just for real state
Magnification, Yes. just for fun
anyway having spotlight i never use the dock...

 

[Nitrocide]

Very slight magnification just to make a bit more alive, and hiding is a must for screen estate, logic demands it really!

 

[winninganthem]

Hiding - Yes
Mag - Yes

I don't need to see what programs I have all the time , Quicksilver has replaced the dock for me. When I do use the dock though, I enjoy the magnification effect.

 

[Advil]

I have both on.

Magnification is very miniscule. I only use it so I know that i'm clicking the right thing for sure and because it looks cool.

Hiding is only on because my dock is to the left side on the bottom and I hated that when I fullscreened my firefox window it didn't go all the way to the left. I like my windows to use as much real estate as possible, especially when i'm browsing or multitasking. I like it simple.

 

[iBlue]

I don't use either. I find both sort of annoying. I can understand the usefulness but I get on fine not using it.

 

[masse]

hiding yes because removes clutter,
magnification yes because it looks cool and my powerbook couldn't do it with leopard smoothly.

 

[colmaclean]

I use magnification if there's a video which can't be viewed in full-screen mode. Also, it's handy for a close-up in Google Maps satellite view if the app has reached its maximum zoom.

Dock hiding is default on all my Macs!

 

[adamfishercox]

Neither, both create moving targets and slow down workflow.

 

[LizKat]

I use hiding. I hate having screen real-estate taken up by it. When I sit down at someone else's mac I instinctively apple option D.

LOL i turned hiding on while using a relative's machine one afternoon. I didn't even realize it, just hit those hide-keys on autopilot. Anyway she called me later.. she wasn't familiar with how hiding and cursor motion interact, and she thought I had busted the operating system while updating it for her.

I use magnification to make sure I get the app I mean to open, and I usually hide the dock when I'm browsing or using spreadsheets. Otherwise I might leave it visible. It's definitely about the real estate.

 

[hellfire88]

13" MBP and I use magnification (no hiding) since the vertical screen real estate is at a premium with only 800 res I figure I make my icons small to maximum my space and can magnify it larger to make it easier for me to click.

 

[Onay]

I have a 17" screen, so I don't use either considering the amount of real estate on the screen

 

[chrmjenkins]

I have a 13" macbook, so I hide both for space and the clean look it gives the desktop. I do use magnification, but purely because it looks cool.

 

[rick3000]

I find hiding very annoying and have it off, but I have magnification on so I can keep the dock small and out of the way until I need it and then I can see what I am clicking on. Plus is is easier to see what my mouse in hovering over with magnification on.

 

[vader1990]

It seems there does exist some sort of correlation between screen size and dock hiding. It makes sense, people with the 13'' screens probably need more space than do people with 15'' and 17'' models!

But if this is held true, then the poll results would imply that a much larger chunk of people own the 15'' and 17'' models over the 13''. I always thought there were more people with Macbook's or 13'' Pro's than 15'' or 17'' Pro's...this is interesting!!

Anyway, thanks a lot guys for responding to my Poll, I really appreciate it

 

[mrmayor92]

i do because i only have a 13 inch screen to work with and as a photographer i need all the real esate i can get.... i also hide my dock to the left side of the screen because if im working with the magnetic lasso at full screen in photoshop sometimes my dock pops up when it set to stay at the bottom

 

[m3coolpix]

I use dock hiding, mainly so that I never see it.

Other apps I use really negate the dock function for me. YouControl (Desktops and just YouControl) along with Objective Development's LaunchBar get apps launched and/or switched to very quickly for me. Very similar to Spaces, or another app I love called DragThing.

 

[Shake 'n' Bake]

I always have my Docks without hiding, even if it takes up a bunch of space. My G4, which is connected to a 15'' CRT, doesn't have Dock hiding. If I do eventually get a 12'' PB G4 it will not have hiding.