How to Customize the Dock on iPad - Make Tech Easier (2024)

The dock in iPad is the bar of apps running at the bottom of your screen. This is where you put your favorite or most-used apps for quick and easy access. If you have a new iPad, the first thing you should configure is the dock, since this is the place where you will use it often. Here are some ways for you to customize the dock in your iPad.

Accessing the Dock

First and foremost, you need to know how to access the dock in case you are brand new to the iPad. On your home screen, the dock is always visible. If you are in an app, bringing up the dock is as simple as swiping up from the bottom of the screen. Be sure to not swipe too far up, otherwise you will end up in multitasking mode. In other words, keep your swipe up very short.

Adding or Removing Apps to the Dock

This is another super easy step. In iPadOS 13.1, Apple has changed the steps for the first time in recent memory. Fortunately, this change makes it even easier to organize your dock.

To move an app:

1. Long-press on its icon until you see a pop-up menu appear.

2. Within that pop-up menu, there is an option to “Edit Home Screen.” Go ahead and select that option.

3. You will now see an all-too-familiar icon wiggle if you are a previous iPad or iPhone user, and, if not, the wiggling apps mean they are ready to move.

4. Drag the icon to the desire location in the dock.

5. Click the “Done” button in to top-right of the screen when you are finished customizing the dock.

As a side note, as before, you can keep holding your finger on any app when the pop-up menu appears, and it will automatically make the icons wiggle after a few additional moments. All you have to do now is drag the app or apps you want into the dock.

How many icons you can add is dependent on which iPad you’re using. For instance, the iPad mini 5 can hold eleven apps while the 12.9-inch iPad Pro can hold up to fifteen. You can also add folders of apps to the dock to allow access to even more apps. Now, if you want to remove an app or folder from the dock, just reverse the process. Press and hold the app until the pop-up menu appears or long-press until the icons wiggle and then drag it out.

Moving Apps Around the Dock

Rearranging apps in your dock is another incredibly easy aspect of dock customization. Once again, you will long-press or choose “Edit Home Screen” from the menu pop-up. As your icons start to wiggle, drag and hold them until you have them in the order you would like. You can alphabetize, arrange by color or whatever helps keep you organized.

Deleting Apps from the Dock

Like the above process, deleting apps from the iPad dock follows similar steps. Please note that this deletes the app from the home screen altogether, not just the dock.

1. Hold down the icon until the pop-up menu appears with an option to “Delete App.” Alternatively, hold down the icon until it starts wiggling.

2. Press the “X” in the upper-left corner of the app, and it will disappear.

This is essentially Apple’s way of uninstalling apps, and it works anywhere on your home screen, not just the dock.

Adding Folders

Similar to moving apps to the dock, you can also move folders of apps to the dock for easy access.

Long-press on an app or wait for the pop-up menu. In this case, you will be holding down your finger on a folder of apps. As you have previously learned, once the folder icon wiggles, just drag it down to the dock. From there you can move apps in or out of the folder at will. Do note that if there are multiple folders in the dock, moving an app icon between two folder icons will force the app into one of the folders, so it’s best to separate folders with single apps to make it easier to move them around.

Recently-Used Apps

One of the best additions to the dock in iPadOS 13 is the space reserved for recently used or suggested apps. In this case, those apps will appear in your dock to the right, separated from the rest of your apps by a small divider. Generally speaking, this space only allows for three recently-used apps and is a great way to quickly jump back into whatever work you were doing previously.

The dock in iPadOS 13 is incredibly useful and, as you can tell, super easy to customize. Other ways you can improve the productivity on iPad is to add a wireless mouse to iPad or even connect it to your TV.