Wikipedia

Stacks (Mac OS)

This article is about the macOS software feature. For other uses, see Stacks (disambiguation).

A Dock stack shown in grid view.

Stacks are a feature of the Dock in Apple's macOS that lets a folder placed in the Dock display its contents directly from the Dock. A folder in the Dock can be displayed either as a folder icon or as a “stack” of items, and its contents can be shown as a fan, grid, or list, with multiple sorting options.[1]

History

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Stacks were introduced in Mac OS X Leopard (10.5) and were previewed at Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) in 2007. Apple demonstrated a default Downloads stack in the Dock to provide quick access to downloaded files.[2]

In the initial release of Leopard, Stacks supported fan and grid views. Mac OS X 10.5.2 added a list view and additional options such as displaying a Dock item as either a folder icon or a stack.[3]

Reviews of Mac OS X Snow Leopard (10.6) noted that Stacks in grid view became scrollable and could display the contents of subfolders within the stack interface, reducing the need to open a separate Finder window for navigation.[4]

Operation

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A stack is created by dragging a folder to the right side of the Dock (the side that contains folders and the Trash). Selecting the stack displays the folder’s contents; users can open items directly, or choose an option to open the folder in Finder.[1]

Using the stack’s shortcut menu (for example, by Control-clicking the stack), users can change the stack’s view style (fan, grid, or list), choose a sort order, and switch the Dock item’s appearance between a folder icon and a stacked-items icon.[1]

Desktop Stacks

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In macOS Mojave (10.14), Apple introduced a separate feature also called Stacks (often described as “Desktop Stacks”), which automatically groups files on the desktop into expandable piles to reduce clutter.[5] Desktop stacks can be enabled from the Finder “View” menu when the desktop is active, and can group items by kind and other attributes.[6]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c "Use folders in the Dock on Mac". Apple Support. Apple Inc. Retrieved February 12, 2026.
  2. ^ "WWDC News: iPhone, Leopard, Apple TV". TidBITS. June 11, 2007. Retrieved February 12, 2026.
  3. ^ "Mac OS X 10.5.2 Update". Macworld. February 11, 2008. Retrieved February 12, 2026.
  4. ^ "Review: Mac OS X Snow Leopard". PCWorld. August 26, 2009. Retrieved February 12, 2026.
  5. ^ "Apple introduces macOS Mojave". Apple Newsroom. Apple Inc. June 4, 2018. Retrieved February 12, 2026.
  6. ^ "Use desktop stacks on Mac". Apple Support. Apple Inc. Retrieved February 12, 2026.
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