How do I keep the Mac dock on my main display when extending to an iPad?

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Level 1

46 points

How do I keep the Mac dock on my main display when extending to an iPad?

Extending my main display (Dell 24" monitor connected to Mac Mini) to my iPad, it works fine - I can drag windows there and my mouse and keyboard work there seamlessly. The frustrating part is my Mac's dock only displays on my iPad, which is rather small and cramped. How do I force the dock to only display on my main monitor, truly making my iPad like a secondary display?

On my Mac, in Control Center > Screen Mirroring > Display Settings, my Mac Mini is set as the main display and my iPad is set as the extended display. My iPad is positioned directly below my main display.

It's a bit frustrating, as in the Windows world it is simple to choose which display shows the "dock". 🫤

Mac Mini M2 / macOS Sequoia 15.3.1

iPad Pro 3rd Gen (M1) / iPad OS 18.3.1

[Re-Titled by Moderator]

Mac mini, macOS 15.3

Posted on Mar 8, 2025 7:50 AM

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Answer 1

Ukiman0714 Author

Level 1

46 points

Mar 8, 2025 10:39 AM in response to Ukiman0714

After some experimentation, I discovered that if the iPad is arranged on the same side as your dock it will move to the iPad. In my situation, I normally have my dock on the bottom. So if my iPad is below my monitor the dock jumps to the iPad. If I move my dock to the right of the screen, it suddenly reappears back on my main monitor. This also means that if my dock is on the right side of my monitor and I arrange my iPad to be on the right side, the dock jumps to my iPad.

I wish there was a way to force the dock to remain on my main monitor, no matter the location of my iPad. 🫤

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Answer 2

Apr 3, 2025 12:27 AM in response to Ukiman0714

Yes, macOS only allows the Dock to move to a screen if the bottom edge of that screen is not overlapping with any other screen on its full width.

If you re-arrange screens the way your target screen has at least a few pixels not overlapped with another screen at bottom, you can move the Dock there. Also you can use DockLock Lite app to stick the Dock to that screen permanently.

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Answer 3

Ukiman0714 Author

Level 1

46 points

Mar 9, 2025 6:12 AM in response to Ukiman0714

Quick thought: I assume Apple decided to do this to prevent folks from dragging windows or other items over the dock on their way to the iPad.

I'd rather they leave that up to me.

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How do I keep the Mac dock on my main display when extending to an iPad?