Multibar – An Eyecatching & Multifunctional Application Dock [Windows]

Multibar – An Eyecatching & Multifunctional Application Dock [Windows]:

Multibar is a stylish and smart application dock for Windows. It is designed to help you get to your files, folders, and tools faster. For instant access, Multibar supports hotkeys and quick launch commands. As an added bonus, it also helps with un-cluttering your desktop.

When Multibar first launches after its installation, it will proceed to index your files and folders. This step is necessary if you want to use the instant search feature. Unfortunately, Multibar presently can only index your C drive.

Multibar opens at the touch of a button and that button is your [Windows] key. When you click this hotkey, your cursor will instantly jump to the instant search field (red arrow in screenshot below). In the window below you will see a selection of quick launch commands. Type in a program or folder you want to open or click your [Tab] key to move to the other items in the instant search window.

When you hover over an application icon in your Multibar, it will show the recently used files, provided you didn’t disable this Windows feature. Hovering over a folder will show its content.

You can manually open the Multibar with your mouse by clicking the little pull-down label on the side or top of your screen. It is also shown directly below.

When the dock is open, click the tools icon in the top left corner to access Multibar’s settings.

If you don’t like the fact that the Multibar opens when you hit the [Windows] key, you can disable this hotkey. Further hotkeys can be accessed and modified via the respective tab.

Through the settings you can customize the look and feel of your Multibar. Decide where on your screen it is located, how it behaves, change the size of the icons and the background, and set which icons are shown.

Presently, you have the choice between 11 different skins for your Multibar, which are available via the Themes tab.

Multibar comes with a small selection of added tools: games, a friend meter, and a weather forecast tool. More addons (some premium) can be found on the Ticno homepage. The smart folders feature advertised on the installation screen appears to be missing in the current build.

The only default addon worth mentioning here is the weather forecast tool. It determines your present location based on your IP address and will show a five day forecast when you hover over the icon in your Multibar. The games and friendmeter addons didn’t work for me and I recommend to disable them via the addons tab in the settings.

Taken together, Multibar is a very sleek, unobtrusive, and intuitive to use application dock for Windows XP, Windows Vista, and Windows 7.

MakeUseOf has previously written about docks, please check out these articles:

• How To Create A Dock In Windows Vista
• Docks – The 6 Best Friends of your Windows Taskbar
• 4 Applications to Give Windows XP Mac Functionality

How do you organize and access your shortcuts to files, folders, and applications? Do you love your chaotic desktop or have you found other ways to handle them? Please share your strategy with us!