How to Gain Quick Preference Pane Access in the Mac OS X Dock

The System Preferences Pane in the Mac OS X Dock

You can use the Dock in Mac OS X Leopard to do more than just launch applications. Learn how to access quickly the Mac OS X Preference Pane options and panes by creating a Dock Alias that includes easy pop-up menus.

Things You'll Need

• Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard

Instructions

1. 

   Open the Finder window and click on “Applications” and find “Preference Panel.”

2. 

   Drag and drop the “Preference Panel” application on the dock position of your choice.

3. 

   Double click your new docked “Preference Panel” to launch it.

4. 

   Click the yellow “-“ button in the top left corner to minimize the open application to the dock once the Preference Panel launches.

5. 

   Single click the application and hold the mouse button for a second and you will see a menu list of all of the available Preference Panes available in your Preference Panel. Simply hold the mouse and cursor to the preference pane you wish to use.

6. 

   To launch the Preference Panel at your next start-up, cntl+click the Preferences Panel icon in the dock to bring up preferences for the Preference Panel, including the “Launch at Startup” option. Drag the mouse to the “Launch at Startup” and release.