Why can't I right-click quit apps in my OS X Dock?

January 16, 2007 2:31 AM

I've been having an issue for the last couple days with my OS X dock. I installed Tinker Tools to move it to the bottom right. It seemed to work fine, but then all of a sudden, I couldn't quit applications by right clicking on its icon in the dock and selecting 'Quit'. I restored the dock settings to default, but it still isn't working after a number of restarts. Any other method of quitting (such as Command + Q) works fine. Anyone know how I can fix this?
posted by jdurlowe to computers & internet (6 comments total)

Do you get the other options when you right-click on an item in the Dock? (i.e. Keep in Dock, Show in Finder, Hide ...) Any chnace there was another extension or service that got installed at around the same time?
posted by outlier at 3:57 AM on January 16, 2007

Yes, all the options are there, but it looks like none of them work.
posted by jdurlowe at 4:11 AM on January 16, 2007

Try creating a new user, and see if they have the same problem.
posted by chrismear at 4:14 AM on January 16, 2007

Wacky. The new user suggestion (one of the standard things to do when confronted with OSX high-wierdness) is good. I'm also tempted to wonder if it's something with your mouse. Have a look in SystemPrefs or Applications for a third-party mouse configuration util, like the one from LogiTech or USB Overdrive. Alternatively (and this is something that has helped me when my mouse has behaved oddly) go to the Mouse preferences and reset everything, even if it appears to be on the right setting.
posted by outlier at 5:23 AM on January 16, 2007

How did you "restore the dock settings to default"? Did you just move it back to the bottom of the screen with Tinker Tool? Or did you manually delete the dock's preferences?

(In other words, if you just moved it back with Tinker Tool, you probably need to go in to ~/Library/Preferences and look for the one related to the Dock. I'm on my PC at work, but my guess would be that it's called something like "com.apple.dock something something". Take a screenshot first if you have carefully organized your dock icons--you'll have to put 'em all back in again.)
posted by bcwinters at 7:01 AM on January 16, 2007

Okay, I think I've figured out the weirdness: it does indeed seem to be an issue with the mouse. When I control click an icon in the dock (to open up the context menu), I can close things down as normal. But if I try to right click, it doesn't work.

So it appears that I do need to reset my mouse settings somehow. Anyone know how I can do that? I'm actually not using any third-party mouse controllers.
posted by jdurlowe at 2:56 AM on January 17, 2007