Questions and answers

Spatial Dock EX can open instead of the macOS switcher when you press Command+Tab. The override is included in EX Free and Supporter, is off by default, and requires Accessibility permission. Enable it during onboarding or under Settings → Activation → Command+Tab.

The Mac App Store edition does not override Command+Tab. Both downloads support Right Command and Option+Tab without Accessibility permission.

Spatial Dock EX cannot capture Command+Tab while Secure Input is active, such as in password fields or when Terminal's Secure Keyboard Entry is on. This is a macOS security protection. The macOS switcher handles the shortcut until Secure Input ends.

If it happens outside Secure Input, check that Override Command+Tab is enabled and that Accessibility permission is granted. Use Refresh in the Command+Tab settings page after granting access.

Numbers show a fixed order for the switching session: 0 is the app you started from and 1 is the first forward Tab destination. Arrows point to the next and previous apps. The numbers stay fixed as you cycle; they are not a count of how many Tab presses remain.

These hints work with Option+Tab, custom shortcuts set to Most Recently Used (MRU), and EX's Command+Tab override. Pressing an app's letter hides the hints; cycling again brings them back with the updated order. Turn them off in Settings → Labels & Indicators → Show app-switching hints. Shortcut letters have their own setting.

Yes. Spatial Dock supports custom keyboard layouts and multiple input sources, including Colemak, Dvorak, split keyboards, Korean, Cyrillic, and more.

They stay available in the secondary dock, so you can still reach them with indirect shortcuts, arrow keys, Tab navigation, or the mouse.

Yes. App Links add websites, files, folders, and custom URL schemes to the docks, each with its own position and key. They are included in the Mac App Store edition, and in Spatial Dock EX they are aSupporter feature.

If you create a standalone web app in Safari using File → Add to Dock, it appears in Spatial Dock like a regular application.

Yes, but macOS needs a third-party remapping tool to turn Caps Lock into a modifier key that Spatial Dock can use.

• Hyperkey for a simple Caps Lock remap
• Karabiner-Elements for more advanced keyboard customization

Spatial Dock only shows apps that have been launched at least once while Spatial Dock is running, which helps avoid clutter from apps you never use.

• Launch or relaunch the app so Spatial Dock can detect it
• Check the ignored apps list under Settings → Apps
• If you previously removed the app from the dock, launch it again

You have a few ways to keep it manageable.

• Move your most-used apps to the primary dock
• Scroll through the secondary dock
• Show only running apps: the shortcut is . by default, set under Settings → Dock Controls
• Change the number of secondary dock rows under Settings → Layout
• Group related apps into categories (Mac App Store edition, or Spatial Dock EXSupporter)

If macOS or another app is already using the same shortcut, Spatial Dock may not receive it reliably.

• Choose a different modifier or trigger key under Settings → Activation
• Avoid letter shortcuts that overlap with system shortcuts you use often
• Check System Settings → Keyboard → Keyboard Shortcuts to spot conflicts

Spatial Dock preserves app positions so your layout stays stable. If you remove an app from macOS, that saved position can remain in the dock configuration.

To remove it, drag its icon in the overlay onto the Drop here to remove area that appears while you drag.

Spatial Dock EX, for most people. It is a free direct download with the complete switcher, the Command+Tab override, the Board layout and close mode. A Supporter license, or the 14-day trial, adds the Window Switcher and Project Groups in the same app.

Choose Spatial Dock on the Mac App Store if you prefer to buy and update through Apple, or want an app that runs in the App Store sandbox. It covers app switching completely, but the sandbox rules out the Window Switcher, Project Groups and the Command+Tab override.

Compare the editions feature by feature

No. The free edition has no expiry and needs no license key or account. If you start the Supporter trial and let it run out, the app returns to the free edition and keeps working; the Supporter features are paused, not the app.

No. There is one Spatial Dock EX. Without a license key it runs as the free edition; enter a key under Settings → License, or start the 14-day trial, and the Supporter features unlock in place.

Nothing is downloaded again, nothing is reinstalled, and your settings and docks stay exactly as they were.

No. It is a one-time purchase of US$14.99, entered once as a license key.

Only for the optional Command+Tab override, Window Switcher or Project Groups. Command+Tab needs it to intercept the system shortcut; Window Switcher needs it to read and act on other apps' windows; Project Groups needs it to read window titles.

You can enable any of these settings before granting access, but it stays inactive until permission is granted. After granting access in macOS System Settings, click Refresh in the relevant Spatial Dock EX settings page.

Option+Tab, modifier-key activation, and custom shortcuts work without this permission.

No, or not in full. Purchases made before version 1.5.0 redeem a Supporter license for free; version 1.5.0 and later are credited in full against the Supporter price. The button is in Spatial Dock EX under Settings → License.

How redemption works

Spatial Dock EX checks for updates itself. You choose whether checks happen automatically, whether updates download on their own, and whether to follow the beta channel. See the Spatial Dock EX privacy policy for details.

Yes. Both editions export and import settings and the docked app collection as files, so you can carry your layout across, optionally including custom or original app icons.