App Previews
============

App Previews show open windows when you hover over a running app icon in ExtraDock.

Open **Settings** (⚙) → **App Previews**.

.. note::

   App Previews are marked as beta in the settings window.

Enabling previews
-----------------

Turn on **Enable hover window previews**.

App Previews need:

- **Screen Recording** — To show window thumbnails
- **Accessibility** — To focus windows and use preview controls

If either permission is missing, ExtraDock shows a prompt with a button to open the correct macOS settings page.

Window sources
--------------

Choose which windows can appear in previews:

- **Preview screens based on space** — Only show windows from the current desktop or Space
- **Include minimized windows** — Show windows that are minimized
- **Include hidden windows** — Show windows hidden with Command-H

Filters
-------

The **Filters** tab lets you exclude apps from previews. This is useful for apps that create utility windows you do not want to see in the preview panel.

Display
-------

The **Display** tab controls how preview cards look:

- **Preview width** and **Preview height**
- **Show app name**
- **Show window titles**
- **Force compact mode** — Use a list-style preview without image thumbnails
- **Auto-compact threshold** — Switch to compact mode when an app has many windows

Advanced display settings include aspect ratio, maximum rows and columns, app name style, title visibility, capture quality, compact title format, and compact item size.

Timing
------

The **Timing** tab controls when previews appear and disappear:

- **Window sort order** — Most recent first, alphabetical, creation time, or screen position
- **Hover delay** — Delay before showing a preview
- **Preview distance** — Space between the icon and preview panel
- **Inactivity timeout** — Delay before hiding after the mouse leaves
- **Fade out duration** — Hide animation timing

Using previews
--------------

Hover over a running app icon. If the app has open windows, ExtraDock shows a preview panel. Click a preview to focus that window.

When Accessibility is enabled, preview controls can also minimize, maximize, or close windows.