Looking For Docking Program for Win 10

[easysurfer]

Is there a decent docking program that works on Windows 10 and doesn't give a tight squeeze after about 20 or so added items?

I've been trying a free versus of Nexus, but after adding several items, get the tight squeeze like the task bar in Win 10 to the point of having to squint to see what icon is what .

Attachment compares Nexus vs Win 10 with Taskbar Tweaker 7+(which is better but starting to get tight also)

[Ready-4-ER-at-14]

No idea if this work around is to you liking but is how I do it.
I make shortcuts to the websites or programs and just have them on my desktop.

You can make files on desktop as well and put many in each one and thus only show the icons when you want them as well.

[easysurfer]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ready-4-ER-at-14 No idea if this work around is to you liking but is how I do it. I make shortcuts to the websites or programs and just have them on my desktop. You can make files on desktop as well and put many in each one and thus only show the icons when you want them as well.

Thanks for suggestion, but I'd be concerned of having too many shortcuts on the desktop.

As for now, the default Win 10 taskbar compresses the icons way too much (a terrible design, IMO).

With the Taskbar Tweaker 7+ program, this makes the taskbar work like good old Win 7, but I do notice as I add more launch items, the icons are starting to get smaller also.

With Nexus (I just started to play with today), one nice feature is it also can launch documents instead of just programs. But to my surprise, the icons get all compressed too (unless there is a setting I'm just not seeing, but I don't think so).

[W2R]

Quote:

Originally Posted by easysurfer Thanks for suggestion, but I'd be concerned of having too many shortcuts on the desktop.

Put them in folders! They'll be easier to find than they are on the taskbar. Granted, with six folders on it, my Windows 10 desktop is a little reminiscent of Windows 3.1...

On my taskbar, I have only these:

Windows Explorer
MS Paint
PaintShop Pro
Snipping Tool
Calculator
Open Office
Notepad
Wordpad
Chrome
Edge
SolSuite Solitaire

There's room for about 5-6 more but I put the rest in those six folders on my desktop, instead.

To make the taskbar icons and similar desktop features larger, go to Settings, System, Display, and then under Scale and Layout change the Size of Text, Apps, and Other Items.

[easysurfer]

Quote:

Originally Posted by W2R Put them in folders! They'll be easier to find than they are on the taskbar. Granted, with six folders on it, my computer desktop is a little reminiscent of Windows 3.1...

Thanks. But I'm not too crazy about the folder option.

I'd have a tendency to treat them like sweeping shortcuts under the carpet but in folders. But if I have enough shortcuts to launch, that may be the only sensible alternative.

I may have to put this exercise off a bit until the my eyes can't tolerate the squished icons anymore and revisit then.

[easysurfer]

Quote:

Originally Posted by W2R Put them in folders! They'll be easier to find than they are on the taskbar. Granted, with six folders on it, my Windows 10 desktop is a little reminiscent of Windows 3.1... On my taskbar, I have only these: Windows Explorer MS Paint PaintShop Pro Snipping Tool Calculator Open Office Notepad Wordpad Chrome Edge SolSuite Solitaire There's room for about 5-6 more but I put the rest in those six folders on my desktop, instead.

Actually, I do like your folder strategy . I'm visualizing perhaps categorized folders containing shortcuts on my taskbar.

[Ready-4-ER-at-14]

What she said (I visualized the picture of a folder that looks like a file (cabinet folder) when I typed that.)

I find it easier to find pictures than the names so each shortcut has a unique picture associated with it for the most part. I use a free program irfanview to save a picture file as an icon file to make that shortcut image.

[davebarnes]

Have you looked at this
https://www.stardock.com/products/odnt/
This company has been enhancing the Windows environment for 20 years.

[W2R]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ready-4-ER-at-14 What she said (I visualized the picture of a folder that looks like a file (cabinet folder) when I typed that.) I find it easier to find pictures than the names so each shortcut has a unique picture associated with it for the most part. I use a free program irfanview to save a picture file as an icon file to make that shortcut image.

What a cool idea!

My six folders are just regular Windows 10 folders, so they look like file folders. I keep two on the top, two to the right, and two on the left so they are easy to find.

[easysurfer]

Quote:

Originally Posted by davebarnes Have you looked at this https://www.stardock.com/products/odnt/ This company has been enhancing the Windows environment for 20 years.

This actually was my starting point. From reading their forum, I don't think ObjectDock works with Win 10 but only 7 and 8. That's when I started going on the path of looking for an alternative.

I swear by Stardock's Start10 program that hides those Win 10 tiles.

[easysurfer]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ready-4-ER-at-14 What she said (I visualized the picture of a folder that looks like a file (cabinet folder) when I typed that.) I find it easier to find pictures than the names so each shortcut has a unique picture associated with it for the most part. I use a free program irfanview to save a picture file as an icon file to make that shortcut image.

Great tip! Now I'm seeing a file icon for a folder on the task bar .

[easysurfer]

Quote:

Originally Posted by W2R Put them in folders! They'll be easier to find than they are on the taskbar. Granted, with six folders on it, my Windows 10 desktop is a little reminiscent of Windows 3.1... On my taskbar, I have only these: Windows Explorer MS Paint PaintShop Pro Snipping Tool Calculator Open Office Notepad Wordpad Chrome Edge SolSuite Solitaire There's room for about 5-6 more but I put the rest in those six folders on my desktop, instead. To make the taskbar icons and similar desktop features larger, go to Settings, System, Display, and then under Scale and Layout change the Size of Text, Apps, and Other Items.

I've counted 34 items on my taskbar for quick launching. Probably could remove a few, but I surely do like one click access to some of those programs.

[easysurfer]

Thanks to everyone for your tips and suggestions.

Not able to look as closely as I wish at the moment, but poking around at my go to software place, think I found a program that may fill my need.

The (freebie ) program is called FlashTrayPro and which resides on the system tray and is capable of launching programs added to the program.

Though not perfect, I think will work out.

My situation is I have programs that I use several times a day (email reader, browser, password manager to name a few). These can be placed on the taskbar launch.

Then there are niffy programs I may use once in a few years (a program called Resize! to resize image files, is one that comes to mind) but because of that, I may forget the name and if not readily available, I'd do some trying to remember the name. A program like Resize! would belong in that FlashTryPro program.

In theory, I'd have the best of both worlds. 1) Not too many icons on the taskbar that is getting smaller and smaller to see and 2) Pretty easy access to programs that I won't have to struggle and remember.

Here's that program I'm talking about in case others are interested:

Flashtray Pro : Application Launcher & Macro Tool for Windows

I'd still have a folder of shortcuts to point to and launch from with this program.

[easysurfer]

Quote:

Originally Posted by W2R Put them in folders! They'll be easier to find ....

Okay, after over thinking a bit, I get your drift .

Think I'll just place programs which I don't used every day but enough as shortcuts into a folder, then pin this folder to my start menu. When I bring up the folder, I get a nice list with associated icons. Tada!

No need to overthink and reinvent with a launcher program .

[davebarnes]

I have 45 icons in the dock at the bottom of my screen.
All look great.

[W2R]

Quote:

Originally Posted by easysurfer Okay, after over thinking a bit, I get your drift . Think I'll just place programs which I don't used every day but enough as shortcuts into a folder, then pin this folder to my start menu. When I bring up the folder, I get a nice list with associated icons. Tada! No need to overthink and reinvent with a launcher program .

I love having the flexibility to arrange our desktop and other things so that they are more or less the way we want.

Every now and then I come across something that makes me say "WOW!" and change my desktop a little. For the past 20+ years I have mostly used a solid color navy blue wallpaper for my computer desktop. But last week I found a terrific free wallpaper online (see below, although the resolution is less here than what I am using). I changed to it for both wallpaper and login background. So peaceful and serene. I can almost smell the sea breeze just looking at it. Ahh!!!!

[easysurfer]

Quote:

Originally Posted by W2R I love having the flexibility to arrange our desktop and other things so that they are more or less the way we want. Every now and then I come across something that makes me say "WOW!" and change my desktop a little. For the past 20+ years I have mostly used a solid color navy blue wallpaper for my computer desktop. But last week I found a terrific free wallpaper online (see below, although the resolution is less here than what I am using). I changed to it for both wallpaper and login background. So peaceful and serene. I can almost smell the sea breeze just looking at it. Ahh!!!!

That's a nice looking wallpaper and background.

Seems I'm always striving for less is more, yet functional setup.

[joeea]

Quote:

Originally Posted by easysurfer As for now, the default Win 10 taskbar compresses the icons way too much (a terrible design, IMO).

Do you have the "Use small taskbar buttons" setting set to On?

[target2019]

I put all program icons in "Proggies" folder, which has a custom icon. All other shortcuts go in "Shorties folder, with custom icon.
I use smaller Taskbar pinned icons, for the apps I use everyday.

[easysurfer]

Quote:

Originally Posted by joeea Do you have the "Use small taskbar buttons" setting set to On?

I'm pretty in Win 10, I set them to larger, then they were still too small. So, I used a program called 7+ Taskbar Tweaker which makes them look bigger.

At the moment, I working to move several of them as shortcuts on a folder pinned to my Start menu.