# Enable spring loading for all Dock items

Drag a file over an icon in the Dock, hover, and the application will open. The behaviour is unchanged if the app is already open. This behaviour has been observed with Preview, Quicktime, and iWork (Keynote, Pages, Numbers).

  • Tested on macOS:
    • Monterey
    • Big Sur
    • Catalina
  • Parameter type: bool

# Set to false (default value)

Spring loading is disabled for Dock items.

defaults write com.apple.dock "enable-spring-load-actions-on-all-items" -bool "false" && killall Dock

# Set to true

Spring loading is enabled for Dock items.

defaults write com.apple.dock "enable-spring-load-actions-on-all-items" -bool "true" && killall Dock

# Read current value

defaults read com.apple.dock "enable-spring-load-actions-on-all-items"

# Reset to default value

defaults delete com.apple.dock "enable-spring-load-actions-on-all-items" && killall Dock