Whenever you log in to your Mac, the first thing you probably see (depending on your settings) is the OS X Dock. The Dock is the quickest method to open apps on your Mac using your mouse cursor, and it is usually elegantly placed on the bottom of the screen.
By default, the OS X dock provides a fixed amount of application shortcuts as well as a “Recent Applications” stack. This stack provides a handy list of all of the recent apps you’ve opened which you can then open up again if needed.
In addition to customizing the Dock to your liking by adding / removing application shortcuts, you can also add a “Recent Items” stack to it. This allows it to feature other recent items, too, like Recent Files, Recent Items, Recent Servers, etc.
To add the Recent Items stack option to your OS X Dock, simply follow the steps outlined below:
1. Open Terminal on your Mac, either by navigating to “Applications -> Utilities” or by opening it from Spotlight.
2. Simply copy and paste the following command into the Terminal window:
defaults write com.apple.dock persistent-others -array-add '{ "tile-data" = { "list-type" = 1; }; "tile-type" = "recents-tile"; }'
Make sure the command is in one single syntax line in Terminal, and press Enter to execute the action.
Once done, you’ll need to restart the OS X Dock for the changes to take effect. To do this, enter the following command into Terminal:
killall Dock
You should now see a new “Recent Applications” stack in the OS X Dock; it will be present right next to the Trash icon.
If you right-click on the stack, you can change the stack to display either Recent Applications, Recent Documents, Recent Servers, Favorite Volumes, or Favorite Items.
To remove the stack from your Dock, simply drag it out of the Dock and into the Trash. This will remove the stack from your OS X Dock completely.
Don’t hesitate to ask us any questions in the Comments section below.
Shujaa Imran is MakeTechEasier’s resident Mac tutorial writer. He’s currently training to follow his other passion become a commercial pilot. You can check his content out on Youtube
Subscribe to our newsletter!
Our latest tutorials delivered straight to your inbox
Sign up for all newsletters.
By signing up, you agree to our Privacy Policy and European users agree to the data transfer policy. We will not share your data and you can unsubscribe at any time. Subscribe