# Use the Dock and an app grid together

Keep a short Dock for your most immediate tools and use CubbyPad’s pages and folders for the wider app library.

By [Rudra Satani](https://cubbypad.com/about/), maker of CubbyPad · 26 October 2026

## Give each opening route a purpose

The Dock is useful for a small set of apps you want continually in view. A separate grid offers more room to browse the rest of an installed library. You do not need to make the Dock represent every tool you own to keep those tools reachable.

## Choose the always-visible group

Start with the apps you open repeatedly throughout the day, rather than everything you might use in a month. Keep that group in the Dock and organize occasional tools in CubbyPad folders.

CubbyPad’s Add to Dock command provides a route from a discovered app to a Dock entry. The icon can remain in the launcher as well; the two entrances do not require separate installations.

## Use the grid for context

1. Make a folder for a task that uses several apps.

1. Keep its position stable while you learn it.

1. Use search for a known name when browsing is unnecessary.

1. Leave the Dock visible under full-screen CubbyPad if that presentation suits you.

## Judge a real repeated task

Try returning to a daily app and then finding an occasional utility. If both routes are clear, the split is doing useful work. Add another Dock icon only when it makes that everyday sequence easier, rather than treating unused empty space as something to fill.

## Sources and further reading

- [Apple: Use the Dock on Mac](https://support.apple.com/guide/mac-help/open-apps-from-the-dock-mh35859/26/mac/26)

Published by CubbyPad’s maker. See [about CubbyPad](https://cubbypad.com/about/) for the author and product details. For corrections, [get in touch](https://cubbypad.com/contact/).

## Put it into practice.

[Guide

### Move apps and make folders

Drag apps into place, move a group together, rename a folder and hide an app without removing it from your Mac.

Read guide ↗](https://cubbypad.com/guides/folders/)[Guide

### Choose how to open the app grid

Set up the keyboard shortcut, F4, a three-finger pinch, a hot corner, or the Dock and menu bar icons.

Read guide ↗](https://cubbypad.com/guides/opening/)

## More on launchpad and tahoe.

[### Applications folder or app launcher: what is the difference?

Applications holds installed software in Finder. CubbyPad provides a separate arrangement of icons used to find and open that software.

Read article ↗](https://cubbypad.com/blog/applications-folder-vs-app-launcher/)[### Spotlight app categories or your own launcher folders?

Built-in app browsing and a custom grid solve different organization needs. Choose by whether you want categories supplied for you or groups you maintain yourself.

Read article ↗](https://cubbypad.com/blog/spotlight-categories-vs-custom-app-folders/)[### Set up a trackpad-first app launcher on a MacBook

Choose a deliberate pinch, learn page swipes, and keep a fallback shortcut so app browsing remains comfortable away from a desk.

Read article ↗](https://cubbypad.com/blog/macbook-trackpad-app-launcher-setup/)

## Make room for your apps.

Every feature. One-time purchase. Made for macOS 26.

[Find your plan](https://cubbypad.com/pricing/)

Source: https://cubbypad.com/blog/dock-and-app-grid-on-mac/