Learn how to add a folder to the Dock of your Mac that automatically gathers your recently opened files in real-time for convenient one-click access.
The Smart Folder feature in macOS automatically assembles files based on custom criteria. A smart folder updates its contents in real-time, so it’s always up to date.
We’ll show you how to create a smart folder that gathers your recently opened files. You’ll then put it in the Dock, which will allow you to access your recents with a click.
Add a recent files folder to the Dock on your Mac
1) Click the Finder icon in the Dock to open a new Finder window, then click File > New Smart Folder in the menu. The command to create a new smart folder is also available in a menu that appears when you right-click the Finder icon in the Dock.
2) Click the plus sign in the window’s top-right corner to create a new smart folder.
3) Click the first menu and choose “Last opened date.” Now click the menu that reads “within last” and choose whether to collect files that were last opened today or yesterday, this week, this month, this year, or specify a custom period, and then hit Save to finish creating your smart folder.
4) Type a name for your smart folder in the Save As field. If you’d also like to access this smart folder via the Finder’s sidebar, tick the box next to Add to Sidebar. Next, hit the menu next to Where to choose the location to save your smart folder. We recommend saving to your Desktop since you’ll be moving the folder to the Dock anyway. Then, click Save.
5) Drag the smart folder you just saved to the desktop and drop it to the right side of the vertical limiter in the Dock, in the section where the Trash icon is located. Be sure to not drop it on top of another folder or app; wait a little for the icons to automatically move, then release to drop the folder in place.
Customizing folder view
One final thing you may need to do is change the view options for our smart folder in the Dock, so that it opens like a regular folder instead of fanning out or showing as a grid of icons or a list.
1) Right-click or Control-click the recent files folder in the Dock.
2) In the menu, select Folder in both the Display As and View Content As sections.
3) With the smart folder now in the Dock, you can safely remove the one on the desktop, if you like.
Instead of frantically searching for that document you worked on the other day or an image you recently edited, do yourself a favor and use this Mac trick instead; you’ll always have your recent files and apps at your fingertips.
Do more with the Dock
The Dock, one of the signature features of the Mac, provides many convenient capabilities. You can also customize it by hiding recent apps that appear in the Trash section on the right side or set the Dock to always show only open apps.
Apple’s new iPadOS 26 operating system brings the Dock to the iPad for the first time. Like its Mac counterpart, it includes the ability to add folders to the Dock.