The macOS System Preference is where all the operating system level settings are located. From changing the wallpaper to setting up parental controls to managing your audio input and output device, all settings are housed here. While most settings are set and forgotten, there are several preferences we might need to access regularly. In such cases, opening the right preferences pane with one click will surely improve your workflow. In this article, we’ll show you how to access important system preference panes directly from macOS Dock.
Add Important System Preferences Panes to the Mac Dock
Each settings page in System Preferences on macOS is called a preference pane. These preference panes are controlled by hidden files in the Library folder. We will use these files to launch the preferences panel. Here are the steps:
1. Activate the Finder, then open the “Go to Folder” menu (CMD+Shift+G).
2. In the text field, paste the following code and click “Go”.
/System/Library/PreferencePanes
3. This will open the Finder window with the preference panes folder in the library. You will be see the list of all preferences here.
4. Drag and drop the preference you want to quickly access between the Dock divider line and the Trash. For example, suppose I regularly change my desktop wallpaper. I’m going to drag the “DesktopScreenEffectsPref.PrefPane”.
5. Once you’ve dragged a preference, it will look exactly like its icon in the System Preferences panel. Now, a single click on the Dock icon will launch the corresponding system preference.
6. If you’re not sure which preference files open which system preference setting (although the name makes them more than self-explanatory), double-click the file to open it and confirm it’s the correct one preferences file.
Access important preference panes directly from the macOS dock
As you can see, it’s an easy process. It only requires a few steps to set up. If you regularly access a setting in System Preferences, this simple shortcut will save you a lot of time. If you encountered any problems following the tutorial, ask your questions below and we will help you.
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