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Mac tips and productivity guides
How to hide the Dock, organise your apps into groups and launch anything from the macOS menu bar, plus what is new in ShortcutDock.
Productivity
11 articles
The Best Bartender Alternatives for Mac in 2026
Looking for a Bartender alternative to hide and organize your menu bar icons? We compare the free, open-source and paid options, and cover what macOS can already do without any of them.
Organise Your Mac Files Automatically with Smart Folders
Smart Folders are saved Finder searches that file themselves. Build one in four steps, copy five recipes worth keeping, and learn why an empty Smart Folder is almost always a scope problem.
How to Stop Context Switching on Your Mac
Refocusing after an interruption takes far longer than the interruption itself. Define two or three work contexts, batch-launch each one as a group, and back them with Focus modes and Spaces.
How to Get the Downloads Folder Back on the Mac Dock
Dragged the Downloads folder off your Dock by accident? Drag it back from your Home folder to the right of the Dock divider, then set how the stack sorts and opens.
How to Hide Mac Dock (And Fix Hiding Problems)
Press Option, Command and D to hide the Dock instantly. Then tune the reveal delay and animation in Terminal, and work through the reasons a Dock refuses to disappear.
Mac Dock Replacement: The Best Alternative Launchers in 2026
Spotlight, Raycast, Alfred, an Applications stack or a menu bar launcher: what each one replaces about the Dock, what it does not, and how to switch without regretting it.
Why I Hide My Mac Dock (And You Should Too)
The Dock costs screen height all day and interrupts you with badges you did not ask for. Here is how to hide it properly, what breaks when you do, and what to use instead.
Best App Launchers for Mac in 2026: A Comparison
Spotlight, Alfred, Raycast, LaunchBar and ShortcutDock compared honestly: what each one is genuinely good at, what it costs you, and which to pick for how you actually work.
How to Organise Your Mac Apps With Smart Groups
Groups let you organise Mac apps by the work you are doing rather than by first letter, and launch a whole set in one click. Here is how to build them and where they fall down.
The Ultimate Mac Productivity Setup for 2026
Eight tools that turn a stock Mac into a fast one, most of them free and none of them subscriptions, plus the order to install them in and the ones you can safely skip.
7 Lightweight Mac Apps That Respect Your Resources
Seven native Mac utilities that stay out of the way: ShortcutDock, Maccy, Ice, Hand Mirror, Amphetamine, MonitorControl and AppCleaner. Plus how to check what an app really costs you.
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