Using the Mac app: clicks, sizes, roaming and moods
Once your buddies are on the Dock, you control them in four places: a click on the buddy, its right-click menu, the menu-bar menu and Settings. Here is what each one does.
| Control | What it does |
|---|---|
| Click a buddy’s left side | The buddy runs left for 3 to 6 seconds |
| Click a buddy’s right side | The buddy runs right |
| Click a buddy’s middle | A random activity or story, never the same one twice in a row |
| Right-click a buddy | Run left or right, moods, actions, stories, exploring, hide |
| Menu-bar icon | Who is on the Dock, the hub, Settings, your account, updates, Open at login and Quit |
| Settings (⌘,) | Buddies, General and Account tabs |
What does clicking a buddy do?
A click on the buddy works in three zones. Click the left side and the buddy runs left; click the right side and it runs right, for 3 to 6 seconds, stopping early at the end of its range. Click the middle for a random activity or story, never the same one twice in a row. A click on the empty space around a buddy goes straight through to whatever is behind it, so a buddy never gets in the way of your work.
What is in the right-click menu?
Right-click a buddy for its own menu: “Run left” and “Run right”; Moods, which change the eyes and mouth; Actions, with favourites such as wave, dance, coffee and stretch at the top and the rest under More; and Stories, short runs of activities. An action or story plays to its end, then the buddy carries on as before. “Let Max explore” (or Avery) turns that buddy’s wandering on or off, “Hide Max” takes him off the Dock, and the menu also opens Settings and the hub.
How do I choose who is on the Dock?
Up to two buddies stand on the Dock at once. The menu-bar menu has an “on the Dock” switch for each of your buddies. The hub, which “Open My Dock Buddies…” opens, shows your two Dock slots and a “Put on Dock” button on each buddy’s card. When both slots are taken, the button reads “Dock is full · two at a time”: take one buddy off to add another.
How do I change a buddy’s size?
In Settings, on the Buddies tab. Each buddy has its own size, Small, Medium, Large or Extra large, and Medium fits most Docks. A change shows up straight away, and the buddy’s feet stay on the Dock. If the sizes you chose don’t fit across the screen, the app draws the biggest buddies a step smaller until the row fits, and keeps your choice for when there is room.
Where can buddies roam?
Also on the Buddies tab, “Where can buddies roam?” has three choices. “Stay in their spot” keeps each buddy walking and playing in its own little patch. “Along the Dock”, the default, lets them wander from one end of the Dock to the other. “Across the whole screen” lets them wander the full width of the screen above the Dock. If your Dock sits on the left or right, or hides itself, “Along the Dock” uses the middle stretch of the bottom of the screen instead. Below that, “Let them explore on their own” lets buddies wander, tinker and nap between clicks; turned off, they stay put until you click them.
What is in the menu-bar menu?
Click the icon with two eyes in the menu bar. It shows how many buddies are on your Dock and a switch for each one, then “Get more buddies…” (the plans on the website), “Open My Dock Buddies…” for the hub and “Settings…”. Below those are the email you are signed in with, Sign out and “Refresh purchases”, then “Check for updates…”, “Automatically install updates”, “Open at login” and “Quit My Dock Buddies”. Because the app has no Dock icon, opening it again from Finder or Spotlight brings up the hub.
What else is in Settings?
Open Settings with ⌘, or from the menu-bar menu, the gear in the hub or a buddy’s right-click menu. The General tab has “Open at login”, “Automatically install updates”, the version and “Check now”. The Account tab shows the email you are signed in with, Sign out, “Refresh purchases”, your buddies and “Manage purchases ↗”, which opens your library on the website. It also says when your purchases were last checked, such as “Purchases verified 5 minutes ago”, or “Offline · using purchases verified …” when your Mac can’t reach us; the hub’s footer shows the same line.
Do buddies keep drawing when I can’t see them?
No. A buddy standing about draws at a gentler pace than one on the move, and while your screens are asleep or locked, or a buddy’s window is completely covered, it stops drawing altogether.
What about moving Macs, offline days and updates?
Those have their own guide: one Mac per account, how to move to a new Mac, the 14 days your buddies work offline and how updates arrive.