Earlier it was believed that Mac OS was more smoothly designed operating system than Windows, but its no longer true. Mac OS certainly has many eye candy features, but the latest version of Windows – Windows 7 has proved that Microsoft Windows is not far behind. If you are a Mac user who has switched to Windows, then the first thing you would be missing is the dock in Mac OS. Fortunately, there is a freeware application called RocketDock that emulates the Mac OS dock in Windows.
RocketDock is a Mac OS dock inspired application launcher that stays along the top edge of your screen. By default, it shows the shortcuts to basic folders, rocketdock settings and recycle bin. But you can customize it and add even more shortcuts as you desire. You can customize its looks by choosing from preset color schemes. You can also customize its position, behavior and auto-hide feature.
You can download it from the RocketDock website. The download is around 6.3 megabytes and after the installation you can launch it from the desktop shortcut. It would immediately show the dock along the top edge of your screen. You can open the RocketDock settings by clicking on the settings icon in the RocketDock bar. In this settings window, you can choose if you want to start it automatically at startup. You can choose quality of icons and other related settings in the Icons section. In the Position section, you can choose which edge of your screen you want the RocketDock to stick along – left, right, top or bottom. In the Style section, you can choose various themes or skins for the RocketDock. You can even download more themes from their website. In the Behavior section, you can choose if you want to auto-hide the RocketDock when not used after some time. It would appear again, if you hover you mouse cursor near the dock edge of your screen.
If you want to add a new shortcut to an app or folder, then just drag and drop it on the RocketDock bar. You can also right-click on the RocketDock and choose Add Item from the context menu to add a new shortcut to a file or folder. You can also add special items like separater, blank icon or the quit button etc. Similarly, you can right-click on an icon in the RocketDock and delete it by choosing Delete Item from the menu. From this right-click context menu you can also quickly toggle auto-hide feature on or off, open dock settings or change the dock position.
So if you want to have a Mac OS like dock inside Windows, then you can use the free RocketDock for Windows. It works in Windows XP, Vista and 7. Even if you have never used Mac OS, you are going to love the RocketDock. It can make a good replacement for the missing quick launch bar in Windows 7. You can download it from http://rocketdock.com/.