7Stacks: Bring OS X Stacks to Windows & Linux
Bring Mac OS X Stacks Functionality to Windows with 7Stacks
Are you a fan of the Stacks feature found in Mac OS X and wish to replicate that experience on your Windows operating system? This article explores 7Stacks, a utility designed to provide a comparable functionality.
Please note that in Windows 7, Stacks integrate with the Taskbar, while in Vista and XP, they attach to the Quick Launch Toolbar.
Setting Up Your New Stacks
The installation process for 7Stacks is both simple and direct. Upon launching the application, you can immediately start creating stacks through the presented interface.
You’ll be prompted to select one of two browsing methods to designate the folder for your new stack.
The “SF Button” is designated for accessing “special folders”, whereas the “… Button” allows you to add any standard folder you choose. We opted to begin by adding a regular folder.
It’s important to remember that the default “Stack Type” is set to “Vertical Stack”.
We navigated to the “Internet Browsers” folder within our Start Menu, selected it, and confirmed our choice by clicking “OK”.
Following this, additional details are automatically populated, including the “Target Path” and the “Caption/Name” for the specific stack. Once you’ve verified these settings, click “Create Shortcut on Desktop”.
Consider deselecting the “Show Explore Item” option if you prefer not to access the stack’s original folder through Windows Explorer, helping to minimize clutter within your stacks.
This is the newly created “Stack Shortcut” on the Desktop…
In Windows 7, right-click the shortcut and choose “Pin to Taskbar”. For users of Windows Vista or XP, drag the shortcut to your “Quick Launch Toolbar”.
Here’s our first stack, populated with browser shortcuts.
To access the shortcuts contained within a folder in the stack, simply click on it, and it will open, bringing it into focus.
When you are prepared to create a new stack, right-click on any existing stack icon and select “Create a new stack”.
This time, we opted to create a stack for a “special folder” and selected “Grid” as the “Stack Type”.
Clicking the “SF Button” will reveal a menu styled after the classic Start Menu. You can choose from the preset options in the main area or browse through the “Start Menu, Common Folders, & Other” sub-areas. We selected “My Pictures”…
Again, click “Create Shortcut on Desktop” to finalize your new stack and add it to your Taskbar or Quick Launch Bar.
Here is our “Pictures Stack” utilizing the “Grid Setting”. It looks excellent…
Finally, we created a stack for “My Documents” using the “Menu Stack Type”.
The folder arrangement facilitates easy content browsing.
Here’s a view of our three stacks pinned to the Taskbar.
Preferences
7Stacks offers a limited number of preferences to configure, relating to “Text Appearance, Behavior, & Stack Closing Style”.
Conclusion
If you’ve been seeking Mac OS X Stacks-like functionality within Windows, 7Stacks is certainly worth exploring.
Thanks to HTG reader Realitizer for sharing this helpful tip!
Links
Note: The download link has been updated to reflect changes on the 7Stacks homepage.
Download 7Stacks