Change Dock & Menu Bar preferences on Mac

On your Mac, use Dock & Menu Bar System Preferences to change the appearance of the Dock, and to select items to show in the menu bar and in Control Center.

To change these preferences, choose Apple menu > System Preferences, then click Dock & Menu Bar .

Open Dock & Menu Bar preferences for me

Dock & Menu Bar

Option				Description
Size				Drag the slider to change the Dock size.
Magnification				Magnify icons when you move the pointer over them. Drag the slider to choose the magnification size.
Position on screen				Locate the Dock along the left, bottom, or right edge of the screen.
Minimize windows using				Choose the visual effect used when you minimize a window.
Double-click a window’s title bar to				Choose what happens when you double-click the title bar of an app window: minimize: Minimize an app window to the Dock. zoom: Expand a window to fill the space between the Dock and the menu bar. If the Dock is along the side of the screen, the window fills the space below the menu bar and to the side of the Dock.
Minimize windows into application icon				Minimize an app window to the app icon in the Dock. If the option isn’t selected, the window is minimized to an area in the Dock.
Animate opening applications				Make icons bounce when you open apps.
Automatically hide and show the Dock				Hide the Dock when you’re not using it. To show the hidden Dock, move the pointer to the edge of the screen where the Dock is located.
Show indicators for open applications				Show a small dot below an app’s icon in the Dock when the app is open.
Show recent applications in Dock				Show recently opened apps (if they aren’t already included in the Dock) toward one end of the Dock.
Automatically hide and show the menu bar on desktop				Show the menu bar only when you move the pointer to the top of the screen. To always show the menu bar, deselect the checkbox.
Automatically hide and show the menu bar in full screen				When using an app in full screen, show the menu bar only when you move the pointer to the top of the screen. To always show the menu bar, deselect the checkbox.

Control Center

Option	Description
List of items always shown in Control Center, and that you can choose to show in the menu bar	To display a preview on the right where you can set options, click an item in the list, such as Wi-Fi or Focus. To show an item in the menu bar, select the Show in Menu Bar checkbox (or deselect the checkbox if you don’t want to show the item). For some items, such as Focus or Screen Mirroring, you can choose to show the item in the menu bar only when it’s active or all the time.

Option

Description

List of items always shown in Control Center, and that you can choose to show in the menu bar

To display a preview on the right where you can set options, click an item in the list, such as Wi-Fi or Focus.

To show an item in the menu bar, select the Show in Menu Bar checkbox (or deselect the checkbox if you don’t want to show the item).

For some items, such as Focus or Screen Mirroring, you can choose to show the item in the menu bar only when it’s active or all the time.

Other Modules

Option	Description
List of items you can choose to show in Control Center, the menu bar, or both	To display a preview on the right where you can set options, click an item in the list, such as Accessibility Shortcuts or Fast User Switching. To show an item in the menu bar, Control Center, or both locations, select the checkboxes (or deselect checkboxes if you don’t want to show the item). If you’re using a Mac notebook computer and choose to show Battery in the menu bar, you can also show the percentage of battery charge (the percentage is always shown when Battery is in Control Center).

Option

Description

List of items you can choose to show in Control Center, the menu bar, or both

To display a preview on the right where you can set options, click an item in the list, such as Accessibility Shortcuts or Fast User Switching.

To show an item in the menu bar, Control Center, or both locations, select the checkboxes (or deselect checkboxes if you don’t want to show the item).

If you’re using a Mac notebook computer and choose to show Battery in the menu bar, you can also show the percentage of battery charge (the percentage is always shown when Battery is in Control Center).

Menu Bar Only

Option	Description
List of items you can choose to show in the menu bar	To display a preview on the right where you can set options, click an item in the list, such as Spotlight or Time Machine. To show an item in the menu bar, select the Show in Menu Bar checkbox (or deselect the checkbox if you don’t want to show the item). For Clock, you can set options to customize how the time and the date appear in the menu bar. To hear the time announced, select the “Announce the time” checkbox, then choose when you want it announced and the voice used for the announcements.

Option

Description

List of items you can choose to show in the menu bar

To display a preview on the right where you can set options, click an item in the list, such as Spotlight or Time Machine.

To show an item in the menu bar, select the Show in Menu Bar checkbox (or deselect the checkbox if you don’t want to show the item).

For Clock, you can set options to customize how the time and the date appear in the menu bar. To hear the time announced, select the “Announce the time” checkbox, then choose when you want it announced and the voice used for the announcements.

Helpful?

macOS User Guide

Change Dock & Menu Bar preferences on Mac

Dock & Menu Bar

Control Center

Other Modules

Menu Bar Only