Overview
Desktop customisation tools usually fail in the same way: they look correct in a screenshot and fall apart in use, with the dock forgetting which windows exist and the animation stuttering the moment anything else is running. This one does not, because it hooks the window manager properly rather than drawing an overlay and hoping. The dock knows about real windows, minimises into it with a genuine animation, and the previews on hover are live rather than cached thumbnails.
The package is the full build with the license applied, so every theme, every effect and the status bar module are all available. It coexists with the normal taskbar, which can be hidden or kept, and everything it changes is reversible by exiting the program.
The dock
Icons magnify on approach with a curve you can tune from subtle to cartoonish. Position is any of the four screen edges, the dock hides on a timer or on window overlap, and it can be set to span a single monitor or follow the cursor between monitors. Running applications show an indicator, and grouped windows expand into a fan on click.
Hovering an icon shows a live preview of every window that application owns, updating in real time rather than showing a frozen capture. Dragging a file onto an icon opens it in that application. Right click menus carry the same entries the taskbar would show, including recent files and window management actions, so nothing is lost by hiding the original taskbar.
The status bar and effects
A bar at the top of the screen holds the active application menu, a clock, and modules for volume, battery, network, and system load. Modules are individually toggled and reorderable, and third party module support means a custom readout can be added if you have one. Full screen applications hide the bar automatically and reveal it when the cursor reaches the top edge.
The blur effect behind both the dock and the bar samples what is actually behind them with proper transparency, rather than applying a static translucent colour. There is a control for blur radius, saturation and tint, so it can be tuned to look right on a light wallpaper as well as a dark one. The effects are rendered on the graphics card and cost very little.
Behaviour, hotkeys and staying out of the way
Window management gestures are included: a hot corner for showing all windows tiled, another for showing the desktop, and a switcher overlay bound to a key combination. These are optional and each is separately disabled if it conflicts with something you already use.
Resource use stays low because the rendering happens on the graphics card and the program does nothing when idle. It restores the original shell state on exit, and there is a panic hotkey that unloads everything immediately if a full screen application misbehaves, which is worth learning before you need it.
What you get
- Magnifying dock on any screen edge with a tunable magnification curve
- Live window previews on hover rather than cached thumbnails
- Real minimise animation into the dock through window manager hooks
- Drag a file onto an icon to open it in that application
- Top status bar with clock, volume, battery, network and load modules
- Reorderable modules with third party module support
- Real time blur with radius, saturation and tint controls
- Hot corners and a switcher overlay, each separately disabled
- Panic hotkey that unloads everything and restores the original shell
Inside the archive
- MyDockFinder installer, offline
- Theme and icon set collection
- Status bar module pack
- Language files for the interface list shown above
- Notes covering the panic hotkey and taskbar hiding
System requirements
| Operating system | Windows 10 version 21H2 or Windows 11, 64-bit |
|---|---|
| Processor | Any dual core processor |
| Memory | 4 GB |
| Graphics | Any card with hardware acceleration for the blur effects |
| Storage | 300 MB |
| Display | Works on multiple monitors with independent settings |
Installing it
- Unpack the archive to a folder you can write to.
- Run the installer and allow the window manager hook component when prompted.
- On first launch choose whether to hide the original taskbar or keep both.
- Set the blur and magnification to taste before deciding whether you like it.
- Learn the panic hotkey from the notes before running anything full screen.
Mirrors
| Route | Region | Note | State |
|---|---|---|---|
| Direct, primary | Asia Pacific | No wait, resumable | Online |
| Direct, secondary | Europe | No wait, resumable | Online |
| Torrent magnet | Global | Small file, direct is simpler | Online |
Release history
- Live previews no longer stall when an application is minimised to tray
- Multiple monitor handling reworked for mixed scaling factors
- Blur cost reduced on integrated graphics
- Status bar modules made reorderable by drag
- Fixed the dock reappearing over full screen video
- Panic hotkey added
Questions about this release
Does it replace the taskbar?
Only if you tell it to. Both can coexist, and hiding the original is a setting you can reverse at any time.
Will it slow my machine down?
The effects run on the graphics card and the program is idle when nothing changes. On integrated graphics reduce the blur radius if you notice anything.
What happens in full screen games?
The dock and bar hide automatically. If something misbehaves, the panic hotkey unloads everything immediately and restores the normal shell.
Can I use my own icons?
Yes. Icon sets are folders of images and custom ones can be dropped in and selected from the theme list.
Comments
Mixed scaling across two monitors used to break it, this build handles it.
Learn the unload shortcut first. Saved me when a full screen app fought with it.
Comments are read before they appear. If a build stops working, say so here and it gets rebuilt rather than quietly left up.
Live previews are the difference. Every other dock I tried showed stale thumbnails.