Launching Applications From a Dock Folder

You can drop a folder on the Dock and create aliases for some of your frequently used Applications inside. Then when you click-and-hold on the folder you’ll get a pop-up list of the Applications so you can click-and-launch. You can create subfolders too - they’ll show up as fly-out menus when you access the folder from the Dock. Sort of like the Windows Start Menu.

This is probably better than placing an alias for the entire Applications folder in the Dock because it will load more quickly. It’s also better than rearranging your Applications folder or moving its contents to other folders. Software Update expects certain applications to be in certain locations. And as we saw yesterday some applications can lose functionality if they’re moved from their default location.

Sometimes Murphy uses a Dock folder to launch applications. But usually he uses the Terminal, where he’s created a series of aliases for quickly launching applications. See the screencast Alias App Launcher for more details. Or take a look at Spotlight Application Launcher - that’s another screencast.

When you’re done adding your custom folder to the Dock you might want to change its icon.  Here’s a screencast for that.

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