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Window Previews#

Open Settings → Previews and enable Window Previews. It is off by default.

Window Previews show an application's open windows when you hover over a running application in ExtraDock. The sections below stay visible but are disabled until the feature is on.

Permission#

Preview thumbnails need Screen Recording access; the page offers Request Access and Open System Settings. Without it, previews fall back to a plain icon-and-title list with no thumbnails. Window actions can also depend on Accessibility. See Permissions in ExtraDock 5.

Window Sources and Filters#

  • Show only the current Space's windows — Off by default.
  • Include minimized windows — On by default.
  • Include hidden windows — Under Advanced; on by default.
  • Excluded App Names — Apps that never show previews. Names must match exactly.
  • Window Title Filters — Windows whose title contains the text are left out. Both filters ignore case.

Sorting and timing#

  • Sort windows by — Most Recent First (the default), Alphabetical, By Creation Time, or By Screen Position.
  • Show delay — Instant, Short (the default), Medium, Long, or a custom value up to one second.
  • Hide delay — Short (the default), Medium, Long, or a custom value.
  • Keep panel open if the app quits — Off by default; otherwise an open preview hides the moment its app terminates.
  • Under Advanced: Fade out (Off, Quick, Smooth, or custom) and Distance from dock (4 to 32 pt).

Size and layout#

  • Lock aspect ratio (16:10) — On by default. While it is on, Card height follows Card width.
  • Card width — Small, Medium (the default), Large, Huge, or a custom value from 100 to 600 pt.
  • Max rows and Max columns — 1 to 8 each; both default to 3.

Appearance#

  • Show app name with App name style: Plain, Shadowed, or Popover.
  • Show window title with Window title visibility: While Hovering or Always Visible.
  • Plain window controls drops the capsule background behind each card's traffic-light controls.

Compact Mode#

  • Always use compact list replaces the thumbnail grid with a list.
  • Auto-switch at N windows switches to the list when an app has at least that many windows; 0 (the default) never switches automatically.
  • Compact row label — App Name & Title, Title Only, or App Name Only.
  • Compact row size — Extra Small to Extra Large.
  • Hide traffic lights in compact rows.

Thumbnails#

Capture quality is Standard or Best. If previews are slow, keep Standard and reduce the card size or the number of rows and columns before disabling the feature entirely.