How to Use Stacks on Your Mac

Sometimes your Mac’s desktop can be so cluttered with images, folders, PDFs, and other files that you struggle to find a single document. This can become time-consuming and annoying. But luckily, MacBook has a stacks feature that enables you to organize your files and folders on your desktop easily. 

With MacBook stacks, your desktop files will be arranged in a few clicks. Moreover, you can use it in two ways: in the Dock and on your desktop.

Whichever one you choose, your files will have a clean look, and you don’t have to bother about losing important documents. Additionally, the MacBook has other tools that can help you declutter your desktop space.

But this article will teach you about MacBook stacks and how to use them to organize your desktop. 

What Are MacBook Stacks?

MacBook stacks are a feature in Mac that enables you to arrange your desktop files into a clean pile. They are auto-generated when you have over 20 files on your desktop.

Furthermore, you can group them by Kind, Date, or Finder tags. Generally, stacks are an excellent way to keep your MacBook desktop arranged and clutter-free. They can also help you discover files that you may have forgotten. 

See Also: Are MacBooks Worth It? Strengths and Weaknesses

How To Use Stacks on Your Mac

There are various ways to use/turn on stacks on your MacBook:

• On your MacBook, click your desktop. Then pick View, and select Use Stacks.

• Press Control + Command + 0

• Right-click the desktop and select Use Stacks.

• Control-click your desktop and pick Use Stacks. 

Once you turn on stacks, your icons will move, and your files will be organized into groups. To turn off stacks, use any of the options above and deselect Use Stacks or press the keyboard shortcut.

Here’s how to browse files in your Mac’s desktop stack:

Swipe right or left on the stack with your two fingers on the trackpad or with one finger on a Magic Mouse. 

To expand or collapse desktop stacks on your MacBook, do any of the following:

Expand stacks by clicking on your desktop. After it expands, double-click an item to open it.

Then collapse stacks by clicking its down arrow icon. 

How To Group Stacks

The stacks feature allows you to group files and folders to make them easily accessible. So, you can group them in Kind (for example, PDFs or images), Date (for example, the date it was created or last opened), or Finder tags. 

• Kind: This arranges items in stacks according to the same types. For instance, screenshots, images, PDFs, etc.

• Date: This organizes items in stacks according to the last modified, opened, added, or created. So, choose the one that suits you best.

• Finder tags: This helps to keep your folders and files organized on your Mac. 

To select how to group stacks on your MacBook desktop, do this:

Click your desktop, select View > Group Stacks By, then choose an option. Or, Control-click your desktop, pick Group Stacks By, then select an option. 

Read Also: MacBook Air Mousepad Not Clicking? 7 Potential Solutions

How To Change The Appearance of Your MacBook Desktop Stacks

You can tweak stacks to your taste; you can enlarge icons, move icon labels to the side, change the spacing between icons, or display more information, like how many files a stack has.

To change the appearance of your desktop stacks: click the desktop, select View > Show View Options, then change options. Or, Control-click the desktop, choose Show View Options, then change options. 

How To Use Stacks in Your Dock

You can also use stacks with folders on your MacBook’s Dock. Using this feature requires adding the Mac’s Downloads folder to the Dock to access recently downloaded files easily. 

To use stacks in your Dock, search for the Downloads in Finder. Afterward, drag and drop the whole folder into your Dock to the right side of the divider line.

Now, your Downloads folder icon will automatically appear as a stack of documents. However, you can change the icon to the initial folder by Control-clicking on the Downloads folder in the Dock and choosing Display as > Folder. 

To change how the folder’s contents appear once clicked, Control-click the folder in your Dock and pick an option like Fan or Grid under View Content As.

The Fan view is often used for stacks in the Dock, while the Grid view lets you see more files when opened. An example of using the stacks feature in your Dock is the Downloads folder. 

Overall, you can include other folders to your Dock following the same method for easy access to their files. 

See Also: How To Inspect An Element On a Mac

Frequently Asked Questions on How To Use Stacks on Your Mac 

Conclusion

MacBook stacks are an excellent feature that helps to give your desktop a clutter-free space. Plus, it lets you arrange your files and folders in groups of the same items. 

So, we suggest you start using this feature if you haven’t already; it will save you some time when searching for a document or file.

References

• support.apple.com – Use Desktop Stacks on Mac