Review: RocketDock (application)

I’ve also written a review of ObjectDock; you might like to compare and contrast the two programs.

Download RocketDock here.

RocketDock is an application for Windows that adds a cute little dock to your desktop. Like ObjectDock, it looks like the dock on a Mac. I used RocketDock prior to trying ObjectDock. The dock can be placed on the top, bottom, left or right of screen.

RocketDock
RocketDock

It seems that its primary function is just to put a lot of shortcuts and handy things in the one place, where you can set it on auto-hide and just hover over the edge of your screen to open a program. It is really handy if you don’t want to click “Start” and file through your Start menu items (even if you have them pinned you might want to save time) to find something like Microsoft Word.

RocketDock is really neat. You can choose how you want the icons to be displayed, how big they are, the type of zoom when you hover over programs, and the background/theme. The themes, I personally think, are a lot nicer and cleaner than ObjectDock.

You can also change the look of your icons, so if you’ve downloaded some icon pack from the internet, you can change the look of the shortcuts to folders and whatnot. You can get text to appear when you hover over the icons, although I chose to take this off mine because I customised my icons so I could tell what programs they were by appearance. I only included them in the screenshot because it looks great!

However, the text can be customised well – you can remove and include shadows and outlines, and most fancier fonts work, unlike on ObjectDock.

You can even set the delay for the auto-hide. Even just by milliseconds. It annoyed me a bit that when I wanted to restore window size by double-clicking the top of the window, RocketDock popped up a little earlier than I expected.

As for its resemblance to the Mac, the bouncing of the icons on load is very realistic. I don’t think I mentioned this in my review of ObjectDock, but ObjectDock has horrible, overdone bouncing.

I don’t have too much bad word to say about RocketDock. In comparison to my review of ObjectDock, this is much shorter, because RocketDock is very simple and easy to use, with such minimal problems. It’s very fast and sleek. It’s not perfect for everyone but it certainly suits its purpose. There’s definitely potential for this application to go further.

I would definitely recommend this application to anyone who likes easy access to folders, programs and, if you like, a clock. It is simple and easy to use and you can customise it to a great extent. It’s not very distracting unless you choose it to stay on top of your programs, and it can save you when you’re in a hurry to open up a program or you really just want to save a few clicks sometimes.

As the creators of this program state, it was made by Mac lovers to stop the arguments between Mac and Windows users and to end OS persecution. Well, I have their full support, because they deserve a 4.5/5.

Comments on this post

Wow. /eee It sounds pretty cool! I shall get it… my dad is forever telling me to keep his old desktop of some bloody screws but I shall defy his will and download. ;)

/bounce

Take care! xx

I have something like that but it came with my laptop. I think it’s called a dell dock. They’re so cool!

Ha, awesome review! I have a question though:
If you download an icon pack, how do you apply the icons?
And what icon pack are you using? It’s adorable!

Thank you!

In the program, you right click (or left click on a left-handed mouse) on the icon in the dock, and you click “icon settings”. From there you can change the icon or browse for one.

You can also change the settings for individual folders by going to the folder’s Properties and going to “change icon”.

All this assuming you are on a Windows platform of course – I didn’t think you used a Mac otherwise you wouldn’t really need RocketDock. :P

I am using this Harmonia Pastelis icon set.

I’m using Rocket Dock AND that icon pack! That’s pretty amazing ^_^ I was using the background with the girl and the balloon (I think it’s in the set with the cloud one as well, actually) but I’m using my own photo now :)

I read your review of ObjectDock, but I’m glad I have rocket dock cause it sounds a lot better from the reviews.
I have mine to the right hand side now, though, so I can keep it on top of all the windows ^_^
Great review :)

Can you tell me which icon pack you use in the picture above is ?
I can’t find it on the RocketDock website @_@

That’s because it’s not from the website; I got it from DeviantArt.com. You can find many icon packs there.

I really like your icon pack, and was wondering if you can tell me the name of it.
I can’t seem to find any cute dock themes on dA.
I like RocketDock more than object dock too ^^
Its much more ‘clean’ and simple. Also its free… ✌️

^
OOOOOOOO :X
never mind my last comment, I saw your post…
Harmonia Pastelis Icon Set
by *Raindropmemory

Thanks for this awesome review though! 🙄 I LOVE IT