Previous Page

Changing Icons

 3 Next Page

With Dell Dock you can add, edit or delete a: Category icon, Shortcut icon or Separator (vertical bar).  The following image illustrates the difference between a Category icon and Shortcut icon.  Category icons include a sub-menu (drawer) that groups all of the tools to perform a given task (the “Help & Support” category is shown below).  When you click a Category icon, it opens the sub-menu to reveal the shortcut icons inside.  When you click a shortcut icon (either on the dock itself or within a sub-menu), it runs the application.


Explanation of the Dell Dock.
Category icon.
Category icon
with down arrow indicating a sub-menu.
Shortcut icon.
Shortcut icon
with curved arrow
indicating a shortcut.

You can create a new Category icon anywhere on the Dock (on the top-level task bar) and drag in your own shortcuts.  You can also drag shortcut icons into an existing category or anywhere on the Dock.

Separators can only be added to the dock (not within sub-menu drawers).  It is a good idea to keep the category icons together to the left of the separator and shortcuts on the right.  Otherwise, if you click on an icon quickly without seeing if it is a category & shortcut, you may run a program when you meant to open a drawer.  The option is yours to configure the dock as you desire.  You can move icons around to suit your needs.

 Can add icon or separator to ...
  Dock Drawer

 Category Icon

 Yes No

 Shortcut Icon

 Yes Yes

 Separator

 Yes No

Scrolling Behavior

If you receive a message that says "Scrolling Now Active", this is because you have added more icons than will fit on the dock. Arrows will be visible on both ends of the dock to enable scrolling. Clicking these arrows will allow you to scroll through the list of icons on the Dock to see any that may be hidden.

If you don't want to be asked this question again in the future, check the box next to "Don't ask me this question again". Click OK or close to close the message box.


Scrolling Now Active. If you have added more icons than will fit on the dock,
you will receive this message and
scroll arrows will appear at ends of the dock.

Adding Categories

When you add a new category, it will be placed to the right (or below if the dock is vertical) of the icon you click on (i.e. Videos).  First click on the icon (i.e. Videos), then click "Add" and select "Category" from the sub-menu.

Adding a new Category icon.

The following window will appear allowing you to select an icon (i.e. Calculator) & type in the Title for your new category (i.e. Calculator).

You can also scroll down and click the "Browse..." icon to locate a different icon/image file (i.e. ICO, PNG, JPG, BMP) on your computer, then click Open to select the file.

Then click Save to use the selected icon on the dock.  (Click Cancel or close to abort.)

Adding a new Category.

The new category icon (i.e. Calculator) now appears between the "Videos" & "Office" icons, but without a Shortcut icon in the drawer.


New category added.

Need to add a Shortcut icon.

Deleting Categories

You can delete a category icon on the Dell Dock, including all of the shortcuts in the drawer under it.

To delete a category icon, right click on it & select "Delete category". A confirmation will display asking you to confirm your decision. If you don't want to be asked this question again in the future, check the box next to "Don't ask me this question again". Click "Yes" (Delete this category and all its shortcuts)  Click "Yes" (Delete this category and all its shortcuts).  (Click "No" (Do not delete this category) or close to cancel.)


Delete category menu. Select Delete category. Delete Category Confirmation. Click Yes to delete the selected category.

Adding Shortcuts

You can add a new shortcut icon in the Quick Launch Area of the Dock (recommended), or mixed in with the category icons (Category Area). You can also add shortcut icons in the drawer under a new or existing category. Continuing from the "Add Category" section, the next step is to add our first shortcut icon to the Calculator category drawer.

First locate the application or file you want to add to the dock from your: desktop, the Start Menu or using the "Computer" (i.e. Windows Explorer) to browse your computer. If using Windows Explorer, you will need to resize the window so you can drag the shortcut to the dock. Click on the program icon (i.e. Calculator) and drag & drop it on top of the category icon (i.e. Calculator) and it will appear beneath it in the drawer. (In the case of the Calculator program, it is located on the Start Menu, under "All Programs", then under "Accessories".)

Adding a Shortcut icon.

Shortcut added. 

Inserting additional icons.

Adding additional shortcut icon(s) to be mixed with other shortcuts is just as easy & works the same way as adding a category. Drag your program/file icon & aim to one side or the other of an existing icon (on dock or in drawer) & an insertion point (vertical bar) will appear. Drop the icon (release mouse button) when satisfied with the location.   (See section 4. Customizing Your Dock, for more information on changing the location of your Dell Dock.) 

If you want to add a shortcut icon to the dock in the Quick Launch Area, drag the application icon on the dock to the right of the separator bar. Move your cursor in between the icons where you want the shortcut to appear & you will see the insertion point (vertical bar) appear.


Drop indicator bar.
The insertion point (bar) that
appears between icons when
dragging & dropping
icons on the dock/drawer.		 Inserting shortcut on the Dock.
 Drag an icon onto the dock in between the
icons and this insertion bar will appear
where your icon will be placed.

If this is where you want it inserted, then drop the icon there. Otherwise, move it to the desired spot (where the bar appears) & drop. If this was a shortcut icon from your desktop, when you drop the icon you will be asked if you want to remove the desktop icon. If you always want to use the same answer, check the box next to "Always use this answer". Click "Yes" (Remove icon from desktop).  (Click "No" (Leave duplicate icon on desktop) or close to leave a copy of the shortcut on the desktop.)

Remove desktop icon.

If you need help on how to add a shortcut icon, right click on the dock and select "Add", and then "Shortcut". An animation will appear to show you how to add a shortcut to the dock & drawer.  (For additional help, click the ? to view the full instruction manual in your web browser.)  When done watching the demonstration,   When done watching the demonstration, click the Close button to close the menu.

Shortcut animation help.

Deleting Shortcuts

You can delete a shortcut icon on the Dock or in from within a sub-menu drawer. To delete a shortcut, just right-click on the intended icon & select "Delete shortcut". A confirmation will display asking you to confirm your decision. If you always want this behavior, check the "Always use this answer" box below.  Click "Yes" (Delete this shortcut from the dock) or "Yes" (Delete from dock, and move shortcut to my desktop).  (Click "No" (Do not delete this shortcut) or close to cancel.)

Delete Shortcut Select Delete shortcut.

Delete shortcut. Click Yes to delete the selected shortcut.

Adding Separators

A separator is vertical bar that helps offset (separate) one group of icons from another. This is useful if you have icons you want to group together or make easier to find. The Dock has a separator between the categories and the quick launch area.

To add a separator, click on the last icon in the group you want to separate. Then right click and select "Add", then "Separator" and you will see the separator appear to the right of the icon you right-clicked on.

Once a separator is in place, you can move it simply by dragging & dropping it into the desired location. You can also delete separators.

Separator inserted between icons.

Deleting Separators

To delete a separator, right click on it and select "Delete separator". (If you don't see it on the menu, try moving your cursor and right click on it again.) A confirmation window will prompt you to confirm the change.

Click "Yes" (Delete this separator) to execute the command. Click "No" (Do not delete this separator) or to close cancel this command. If you don't want to see this prompt in the future, check the "Don't ask me this question again" box at the bottom of the window.


Selecting Delete Separator from the menu. Select Delete separator. Delete separator. Click Yes to delete the selected separator.

Editing a Category or Shortcut

You can edit both category & shortcut icons.  To edit a category icon, right click on it & select "Edit...".  A window will open allowing you to change the icon, or Title.  Click the "Browse..." icon to locate a different icon/image file (i.e. ICO, PNG, JPG, BMP), then click Open to select the file.  (Click Cancel or close to abort.)

When finished editing, click Save to make the changes to the dock.  (Click Cancel or close to abort any changes.)

Edit category. Select "Edit..." from the menu.

Edit Category. Change the Title or icon of the category.

To edit a shortcut icon on the dock or in a drawer, right click on it & select "Edit...".  Then type in your desired text and click “OK”. The new text you created for the icon will appear when you move your cursor over it.

Edit category. Select "Edit..." from the menu.

Edit Shortcut icon. Changing the "Title" of a shortcut allows you to change the name as it appears when you
move the cursor over the icon.  Changing the icon, changes what icon appears in the dock..

Now when you move the cursor over the icon, it will display the new name (i.e. Jazz music).

Shortcut with a new name.



Previous Page Next Page