[DM-MUG] How to use stacks for fun and profit.

[Jon Thompson]

Greetings,

One of the things that I like to do with a new feature is understand  
_how_ it was intended to be used and try using it in this fashion for  
a period of time.  I've found that it allows me to progress through  
the variations of OSes much easier, and to support users with the full  
gamut of experiences and opinions.

With stacks, we have seen many, many users unhappy about them because  
they do not offer the same abilities that they have grown accustomed  
to.  I've come to understand a different perspective.

I now have my Dock in the best configuration that I've ever had.    I  
recognize that the way I use the Dock may or may not fit with the way  
others do, but I figure I would share in hopes that it might help  
someone else.  I'll give you a comparison of my Tiger Dock, to which I  
was perfectly content with a week ago.

Tiger Dock (applications in relatively exact order):

Finder
Mail
Address Book
Safari
Filemaker Pro
Terminal
iCal
Parallels
Lotus Notes
iTunes
iMovie
--
one excel spreadsheet
one folder full of server admin apps  (Workgroup Manager, Server  
Admin, ARD, MRD, QTSS Publisher)
documents folder
Trash

As you can see, I've kept my Dock fairly sparse to begin with.  My  
Tiger Dock philosophy is that if I use it often, and I don't have  
another way of accessing it, it goes in the dock.  iChat does not make  
the cut because I always access it from the menu bar.  Same with  
System Preferences.  I'll also note that on both systems, my Dock is  
located on the bottom, pinned to the right, a size that allows me to  
read the date on iCal and is only hidden via key command when it gets  
in the way, which is rare.  Magnification may be on slightly for the  
aesthetic, but nothing drastic. (I'll explain exactly why  
magnification is a problem in another email - hint, it's opposite of  
what you think.)

Another thing that you may notice is that I have a relatively sparse  
folder full of some of the "fringe" apps - things I use often enough  
to warrant quick access, but not often enough to stick in the dock.   
Please also note that these are things that I can, and do often leave  
running during the week, so they are dynamically in my Dock by  
default, but will go away during an "open process cleaning" at the end  
of the day.

Finally, I will often open my applications folder to find the app that  
I need this week, but didn't last.  I have ⌘⇧a ingrained in my  
brain.

Now on to my Leopard Dock:

Finder
Mail
Safari
Terminal
iCal
--
Home Apps (iLife apps, iChat made it in there, and a couple that were  
relegated to Applications, such as Photo Booth)
Work Apps (Filemaker, Notes, Office, Parallels)
Server Apps (same as above)
Downloads
Trash


I've shortened my Dock immensely, but have actually increased the  
usability of my computer at the same time.  I realize that I didn't  
use my documents folder at all in Tiger (the sidebar does a much  
better job, and is more convenient).  I also realized that using short  
stacks of apps allows me to minimize the number of non-running apps in  
my Dock, and works essentially how I used folders in Tiger.

I have made one "change" in that I have placed drawer icons in front  
of my stacks.  I think that it is much more elegant that way, as well  
as allowing the user to see what the folders represent.  I have a home  
drawer for my home apps, the apps drawer for my work apps, ⌘ drawer  
for my server apps, and a down arrow drawer for my downloads.

I can already tell that I am in favor of stacks, although I can  
appreciate that the ability to make a normal, hierarchal menu may  
appeal to others.

-- 
- Jon