How To Create Custom Dock Menus Using Ace for macOS

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How To Create Custom Dock Menus

Ace - Jump Lists for macOS - Help

Everyone agrees, the Dock Menu is the fastest way to access content on macOS systems, because the Dock is always there, but Dock Menus are dependent on recent files and folders that serve the app ONLY. Ace - Jump Lists changes that by allowing for customizable Dock Menus! Users can now place whatever Files, Folders, or even website URLs they want in the Dock Menu. This changes everything!

Ace - Jump Lists App Help for macOS Ace - Jump Lists for macOS Info Button

How To Use Ace - Jump Lists to Create Custom Dock Menus:

  1. To utilize Ace - Jump Lists’ Dock Menu features, the Ace - Jump Lists app MUST be running. It CAN be minimized or hidden though, so it appears out of sight.
  2. Click the '+' button to add a new Jump Item. Jump Items can be a Group, File/Folder, or a URL. If adding a Group, click Group, enter in a Group Name, then click Add button. \r\nIf adding a File/Folder, click File/Folder, if you have already created a Group, you can select a 'Parent' (Group). This will nest your new File/Folder under that Group. If you've selected a Group and change your mind, click on Group or URL to clear the UI selections, then you can click File/Folder again and the Parent field should be cleared. To browser to a File/Folder, click 'Add' button. This will launch the macOS Finder File/Folder picker. Choose whatever items needed. You can also select multiple Files/Folders. Click 'Open' when complete. New items are added to the main view list.
  3. Ace - Jump Lists supports drag/drop for Files and Folders from macOS Finder. Locate desired File/Folder, then drag to Ace - Jump Lists. Drop either over the blank UI canvas, or existing Files/Folders, or drop on top of a Group. Dropping over canvas or existing Files/Folders will place the content at the root level of the list. Dropping over a Group will nest the content under the Group.
  4. Ace's primary mechanism to usefulness is the Dock menu. Any content built out (Groups, Files/Folders, URLs) will be ported automatically over to the Dock menu. Access the Dock menu by right-clicking the Ace app icon. There, all items mirroring the Ace main UI list will be present. You can click on whatever item you want to 'launch' the content.
  5. In Ace's main view list, double-click a File/Folder/URL 'name' to launch the content. Clicking on the icon or path will NOT launch the content. From the Dock menu right-click app icon, click any item to launch the content. For Groups, hovering over the menu item will expand its list of children (if it has any).
  6. From the main view list, right-click any item and choose 'Edit' menu item. This will launch the item's appropriate type editing view. For Groups, there will be the 'name' field. Type in appropriate name and click 'Done' button. If you want to revert to original value, use 'Edit>Undo Typing' (or CMD-Z shortcut). \r\nFor editing File/Folder parents', the Editing view will show a list of available Groups. Select a Group or click the 'Clear Parent' to not nest item in a Group. \r\nURLs can be edited in the same manner, enter in a label and URL. URLs are NOT verified, so be sure to enter in valid website URLs.
  7. Click the Delete Button (trash can icon) to remove a Jump Item. To bypass the Delete confirmation prompt - hold down the 'option' key and click Delete Button. Delete is also available from each Jump Items' right-click menu. Hold 'option' key while clicking that Delete menu will also bypass the Delete Confirmation prompt.