Change Desktop & Dock settings on Mac

On your Mac, use Desktop & Dock settings to change the appearance of the Dock, and to choose settings for the desktop, Stage Manager, widgets, windows and Mission Control.

To change these settings, choose Apple menu > System Settings, then click Desktop & Dock in the sidebar. (You may need to scroll down.)

Open Desktop & Dock settings for me

Dock

Option				Description
Size				Drag the slider to change the Dock size.
Magnification				Magnify icons when you move the pointer over them. Drag the slider to choose the magnification size.
Position on screen				Locate the Dock along the left, bottom or right edge of the screen.
Minimise windows using				Choose the visual effect used when you minimise a window.
Double-click a window’s title bar to				Choose what happens when you double-click the title bar of an app window: Minimise: Minimise an app window to the Dock. Zoom: Expand a window to fill the space between the Dock and the menu bar. If the Dock is along the side of the screen, the window fills the space below the menu bar and to the side of the Dock. Do Nothing: Don’t do anything when the title bar is clicked.
Minimise windows into application icon				Minimise an app window to the app icon in the Dock. If the option isn’t turned on, the window is minimised to an area in the Dock.
Automatically hide and show the Dock				Hide the Dock when you’re not using it. To show the hidden Dock, move the pointer to the edge of the screen where the Dock is located.
Animate opening applications				Make icons bounce when you open apps.
Show indicators for open applications				Show a small dot below an app’s icon in the Dock when the app is open.
Show suggested and recent apps in Dock				Show suggested and recently opened apps (if they aren’t already included in the Dock) toward one end of the Dock.

Desktop & Stage Manager

Option				Description
Show Items				Choose whether to show desktop items. On Desktop: Show items on the desktop. In Stage Manager: Show items on the desktop when Stage Manager is turned on. If this option is turned off, items on the desktop are hidden — click the desktop to show the items when you want to access them.
Click wallpaper to reveal desktop				Choose when clicking the wallpaper moves windows out of the way. Always: Clicking the wallpaper moves all windows out of the way to show your desktop items and widgets. Only in Stage Manager: When Stage Manager is turned on, clicking the wallpaper moves all windows out of the way to show your desktop items and widgets.
Stage Manager				Turn on Stage Manager.
Show recent apps in Stage Manager				Show recent apps in Stage Manager. If this option is turned off, recently used apps are hidden — move the pointer to the left edge of the screen to briefly show them.
Show windows from an application				Choose which windows to show when using an app. All at Once: Show all available windows for an app when you switch to it. One at a Time: Show only the most recently used window for an app when you switch to it. To switch to a different window when this option is turned off, click the app on the left again to open the next available window.

Widgets

Option				Description
Show Widgets				Choose whether to show widgets. On Desktop: Show widgets on the desktop. In Stage Manager: Show widgets on the desktop when Stage Manager is turned on. If this option is turned off, items on the desktop are hidden — click the desktop to show the items when you want to access them.
Widget style				Choose a style for widgets. Automatic: Automatically switch between monochrome and full-colour. Monochrome: Always show widgets in monochrome. Full-colour: Always show widgets in full-colour.
Use iPhone widgets				Show iPhone widgets in the widgets browser.
Default web browser				Safari is the web browser in macOS and is used by default when you click a link in an email or text message. To learn about the Safari app, see the Safari User Guide. You can choose another web browser you have installed on your Mac as the default.

Windows

Option				Description
Prefer tabs when opening documents				Choose when you want documents to open in a tab (instead of in a new window): Never, Always or In Full Screen.
Ask to keep changes when closing documents				By default, unsaved changes are automatically saved when you close documents. If you prefer to be asked whether to save changes, turn on this option.
Close windows when quitting an application				Close app windows when you quit an app. The windows don’t reopen automatically the next time you open the app.

Mission Control

Option				Description
Automatically rearrange Spaces based on most recent use				Get quicker access to the desktops you used most recently (if you created additional desktops using Spaces). See Work in multiple spaces.
When switching to an application, switch to a Space with open windows for the application				If you use Spaces, have your desktop scroll to a space with open windows for an app when you switch to that app.
Group windows by application				If you have several windows from multiple apps open simultaneously, have the windows organised by app in Mission Control.
Displays have separate Spaces				Set up separate spaces for each display (if you use Spaces and have multiple displays). This option must be selected if you want to use apps in Split View on your other displays.
Shortcuts				Choose shortcuts for showing and hiding Mission Control, open windows for the current app and the desktop. Depending on your mouse or trackpad, two columns of pop-up menus may be shown in this section. To display additional available keyboard shortcuts, press and hold the Control, Option, Shift or Command key, or a combination of these keys, while viewing the pop-up menus.
Hot Corners				Choose actions to perform when you move the pointer to screen corners. See Use hot corners. To set up a hot corner, click the pop-up menu for a corner, then choose an action. To use a modifier key with the hot corner, press and hold the Command, Shift, Option or Control key or a combination of these keys, while viewing the pop-up menus.

Helpful?

macOS User Guide