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How do I move icons on the Dock

I am trying to rearrage the icons on my Dock and have forgotten how. I believe there is a key+click and drag option, but what key?

iMac, Mac OS X (10.7), MacBook Air, IPad v1, Apple TV v2

Posted on Mar 19, 2012 7:16 PM

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Posted on Mar 31, 2017 9:29 AM

I had the same issue. No matter what I tried from the DOCK, click, hold, move up, whatever the icon remained fixed in place.


Finally out of desperation I open Launchpad, selected the troublesome icon there and dragged it to the DOCK where I wanted it.


It placed the icon where I wanted it and it also removed the icon from the location I didn't want it to be in.

23 replies
Question marked as Best reply

Mar 31, 2017 9:29 AM in response to jimhaynes

I had the same issue. No matter what I tried from the DOCK, click, hold, move up, whatever the icon remained fixed in place.


Finally out of desperation I open Launchpad, selected the troublesome icon there and dragged it to the DOCK where I wanted it.


It placed the icon where I wanted it and it also removed the icon from the location I didn't want it to be in.

Mar 7, 2014 1:36 AM in response to jimhaynes

There is no trick or key or don't even bother about dialogue box,


Simply click on the icon that you want to move and move your finger on trackpad like you are pulling that icon out of the Dock, it'll come out and then drag it to its new location and put it back in the Dock like you are pushing it in the Dock.


When you'll pull it out, you'll see side icons letting it go and when you'll push it back in, you'll see the two icons making space for it to fit in.


🙂

Apr 9, 2014 7:41 AM in response to Gwen Kelley

Gwen,

It is a little tricky. Follow try what Zeeshan.A says above,

"Simply click on the icon that you want to move and move your finger on trackpad like you are pulling that icon out of the Dock, it'll come out and then drag it to its new location and put it back in the Dock like you are pushing it in the Dock.


When you'll pull it out, you'll see side icons letting it go and when you'll push it back in, you'll see the two icons making space for it to fit in."


When you first click on the icon, quckly push if up and out of the dock. If you hesitate the app will open. Then drag it down all the way to the gray shelf that the icons rest on and between the two icons where you want to move it. Then release.

May 2, 2014 6:44 AM in response to jimhaynes

There are a lot of "that doesn't work". I have personally seen it work and not work those that claim "it does work" are correct to a degree, however, there are times when it does not work. Here is what I think is the definitive solution, and it contains some of the explanations above, my credit to them.


I have been able to "break" the ability to move icons by dropping an icon directly on top of another one. It gets put back to where it was. The more times I do this, the more "broken" it becomes - meaning the more icons stop moving out of its way. This is always fixed by completely removing the icon from the dock.


I will assume you know how to drag and drop icons. If you did not already know, you can click and hold an icon with one finger, then move it with another finger, probably using both hands.


When moving an icon works - you will see the other icons "make room" for the icon you are moving - they move aside to the left and right leaving a gap - that is where you can drop your icon.


If the icons do not "make room", that is, they stay as close together when you drag your icon over them, then, as Zeesah.A phrased, you need to remove your icon completely from the dock and then try to place it, the icons should then make room for your icon. Removing your icon complete means dragging it away from the dock so that it is no longer near the dock.

May 3, 2014 10:13 AM in response to leroydouglas

This works unless something is wrong. It's fixing the "something that's wrong" that's the issue. Here is my situation:


Click and hold icon: it won't move side to side. Let go and the application launches.


Click and drag upwards: it doesn't budge.


Right click: the options for keep in dock and remove from dock are missing from the context menu.


The Dock is unchangeable, immutable, frozen, now and forever, world without end. How do you fix that?

How do I move icons on the Dock

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