Live Dock and Running Apps#

ExtraDock 5 separates two concepts that were modes of one V4 widget.

Live Dock#

Live Dock mirrors the apps and spacers in the native macOS Dock, then includes running apps that are not pinned there. It does not mirror the native Dock's files and folders; use Native Dock Copy in Items for those. Only one Live Dock can be added to a particular dock.

Accessibility permission is required to read the native Dock's exact visual order. Without it, Live Dock still shows pinned and running apps, but uses a rough order with pinned apps first.

Running Apps#

Running Apps displays applications that are currently running and are not pinned elsewhere in the dock. It can be used multiple times and is the better choice for a taskbar-style or activity-focused dock.

Settings#

Both widgets open the same settings sheet from the Items list or from Live Dock Settings in the context menu of any app they show. Space between icons and Show running indicator dots apply to the whole dock. Running Apps adds Show apps with no windows; turn it off to hide apps that currently own no windows. Hidden Items lists the apps you removed with Hide from Live Dock; use Show or Show All Items to bring them back.

App-wide exclusions, the indicator color, and the attention style live in Settings → Behavior. Per-dock badge behavior lives in that dock's Behavior section. Window Previews are configured separately in Settings → Previews.