ObjectDock 1.9

Overview

ObjectDock will organize all the running tasks and shortcuts on your dock for faster access and more stylish appearance. You can add any gadget and shortcut on this animated dock such as calendar, clock or weather and access them instantly. Many mouse-over effects are included too, like magnify, glow, swing and bubble. Minimizing windows to dock with an animation is another feature of ObjectDock, as is the ability to adjust the transparency level for the background and icons. Support for multiple monitors is included as well.

Installation

The installation procedure is very easy to complete, just follow the instructions and in a few moments you will have ObjectDock installed. It is 100% clean from viruses and malware, and doesn’t contain any other add-ons like toolbars or extra software.

This program can run without problems under any Windows XP (32-bit), Vista or 7 (32/64-bit) OS.

Interface

When ObjectDock is running, a dock will appear above the start bar that has the icon of every running application or shortcut. When you hover on any of those icons you will see its name and, if applicable, some information about it. For example when you move your mouse over the weather icon you will see today’s weather along with the forecast of the next 4 days. By right clicking on any icon in the dock you can bring up a menu with various options, such as customization settings about the icons, or configure general settings about the dock itself by going to the settings menu.

Pros

There are plenty of effects to choose from for the icons including bubble, zoom, swing and glow. For each animation there are different settings to adjust in order to make them work just like you want to. You can also change the dock’s background and use any of the included ones. If you don’t like the position of the dock at the bottom of the screen you can place it on any edge of the screen, and since windows taskbar is pretty much unnecessary when ObjectDock is running you have the option to remove it.

If you notice any instability while using the program, there are troubleshooting options which can help you resolve the issue you’re experiencing. You can revert settings to the default ones, disable all docklets, special window-event hooking, full screen application/maximized window detection or view ObjectDock’s settings folder so that you can back up the settings.

Cons

This software can consume a lot of RAM and processing power if you want better appearance. If your computer is not powerful enough, you can change the settings to better performance over appearance.

Alternatives

RocketDock (free) is a quite popular software that creates a dock in which you can add as many shortcuts and applications you want. It has a clean and fully customizable interface that will allow you to change its appearance in any way you want. For Linux users, Docky is a great dock program to manage open windows and shortcuts quick and easy.

Conclusion

There is no reason not to like ObjectDock. It has so many features and functions that will make your computer more modern than ever, especially if it’s a little bit more powerful than an average PC. Then, you can enjoy ObjectDock’s full capabilities.