How to Keep the Dock From Moving on a Mac

You can lock the size and location of the Dock in Mac OS X.

You can place the Dock in Mac OS X on the left or right side of your screen or leave it in the default position at the bottom of the screen. If you share your Mac and have it set up the way you like, you can use the Terminal application to keep other users from making changes to the size and the screen location of the Dock.

Instructions

1. Click the "Applications" folder on the Dock. Scroll to the "Utilities" folder and click it. Click "Terminal."

2. Type "defaults write com.apple.Dock size-immutable -bool yes" at the command prompt and press "Enter." Now the size of the Dock can no longer be changed.

3. Type "defaults write com.apple.Dock position-immutable -bool yes" at the command prompt and press "Enter." Now the Dock cannot be moved from the current location on the left, right or bottom of the screen.

4. Type "killall Dock." The Dock will shut down and then restart with the changes you have made. The "Position on Screen" settings in the Dock section of System Preferences is grayed out and now cannot be changed.

Tips & Warnings

• Type "defaults write com.apple.Dock position-immutable -bool false" and "Enter," and then "killall Dock" and "Enter" to reset the ability to change the Dock location.

• Type "defaults write com.apple.Dock position-immutable -bool false" and press "Enter," and then "killall Dock" and "Enter" to reset the ability to change the Dock size.

References

• Apple;Mac OS X v10.6: Mac 101 - The Dock, Dock Exposé, and Stacks; December 2010
• OSXDaily; Lock the Dock in Mac OS X; Bill Ellis; February 2010

Resources

• Apple: Mac