How do I adjust the dock response time

J

jsavoor

Registered
Hi

I have just switched from Windows to Mac and am using the latest Tiger OS.

One annoying thing is when using an app that requires you to access the horizontal scroll, you invariably tend to move the mouse over a dock item. This causes the item to raise its head and sometimes run if you should click acidentally.

Is there anyway to adjust the dock response timing??

Jay
 
As far as I know: No, no way to adjust that.

But, you could auto-hide the dock (like it is possible with the Windows TaskBar), as it has some respones time before the Dock apears, you would not accidently start programs
 
You might also want to turn off the magnification (Apple menu > Dock > Turn Magnification Off).

And maybe move it to the right of the screen rather than the bottom. I personally can't stand it at the bottom.
 
You can make it really small, take out most of the apps and shrink it on the divide line.
 
Mikuro said:
You might also want to turn off the magnification (Apple menu > Dock > Turn Magnification Off).

And maybe move it to the right of the screen rather than the bottom. I personally can't stand it at the bottom.
Click to expand...

Can I ask why? I have always wondered if there would be much of a benefit having it else where.
 
Convert said:
Can I ask why? I have always wondered if there would be much of a benefit having it else where.
Click to expand...
A few reasons. None really major, but enough to make a crotchety interface nitpicker like me hate it at the bottom :) :

1. Vertical screen real estate is generally more valuable than horizontal. Most things, like web pages and text files, scroll vertically, and do not need to fill the entire width of the screen. I want to be able to view as much of my stuff at a time as possible. Also, screens are wider than they are tall, especially with Apple's wide screens. This was more important on my old smaller monitor, but even on my current 1280x1024 LCD, it's worth something.

2. I usually don't want my windows going all the way to the right, anyway, because I like my desktop icons to be visible. The bottom of the screen is just more useful to applications than the right (see 1.)

3. Force of habit, I guess. When I used OS 8/9, I put my Application floater at the top-right (for reasons 1 and 2), and since I use my Dock pretty much like an Application Floater on crack (more like Application Floater + FinderPop substitute, really), I like it in the top-right, too. Back in OS 8/9, the Control Strip always drove me crazy at the bottom, too. :)

And a bonus reason :) :

4. At the bottom, it's too close to my windows' resize boxes and, as jsavoor mentioned, scroll bars. I don't find this a problem at the right, because as I said, most windows don't demand the full width of the screen anyway. On the other hand, most windows will benefit from all the height you can give them, so you'll usually have them pressed right up against the Dock if it's at the bottom.


BTW, one thing I hate about the dock, no matter which side it's anchored to, is the way it stays in the center, so everything moves around as items are added to it. Using a third-party program like TinkerTool, you can access the Dock's hidden feature that lets you anchor it to a specific corner. I find it much more efficient this way, because my application icons will always stay exactly where I put them. It requires less time and attention to get what you want when it's always in the same place. Try it; you'll like it!
 
There is an AppleScript thing called "KnockOutDock" that places the dock on the top of the screen. It also seems to slow it down, as you have to hover just under the menu bar for about a second or so before the dock appears.

It executes the following shell commands (I removed a couple that aren't of interest here):

Code: 
cd ~/Library/Preferences/
defaults write com.apple.dock launchanim -bool no
defaults write com.apple.dock magnification -bool no
defaults write com.apple.dock autohide -bool yes
defaults write com.apple.dock orientation -string top
defaults write com.apple.dock pinning -string end
defaults write com.apple.dock tilesize -int 16
defaults write com.apple.dock mineffect -string scale

The only two things of the above that you can't do in the Preference Pane are "orientation -string top" and "pinning -string end". They place the dock at the top and makes it start in the right corner respectively. None of the commands actually affect the speed directly, it is probably a side effect of the placement, or just an illusion. You be the judge, try it and see if you like it. After you've issued the commands you want to try, you have to restart the dock. Use "Activity Monitor" to do that. Just force quit the "Dock.app" process, it will automatically restart.
 
ooh i've found a simple way of "adding" a pause - set the dock to be about small enough to be about 3mm away from the bottom of the window
 
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