iCollections 17+

Since DragThing is 32-bit and will not be updated to work under macOS Catalina, I started searching for alternatives. After testing several apps I found iCollections to be the closest replacement.

iCollections has feature-parity to most of DragThing for my usage and also some additional welcomed unexpected features as well, such as being able to store both aliases and real files/folders in Collections.

Much like DragThing though, to make it 'functional' one has to tweak it too much, I wish it would come with better default settings so that any user can experience far more usability out of the box.

On the plus side it's highly customizable, so it can be adapted to different tastes and workflows.

My main usage is a tabbed collection on the right of my screen with aliases to common folders, the collection is in drawer mode and grid mode, which allows for arranging items spatially anywhere in the collection and when clicking on an item, the drawer auto-closes, leaving my desktop tidy.

There is currently one minor issue I found, the icons when set to 128x128 size they are sligtly blurred, it seems iCollections is not using the full 128x128 graphic and instead upscaling from 64x64?

Anyway, I highly recommend this app, thank you to the developer for the great work.

The app has never been a particularly easy app to figure out how to set up the first time or two, but with a little patience one can always make it work. But over the last year or so the developers have worked so hard to create new features, that they've made the app nearly imposible for a new user to make the core functionality of the app (creating collections of icons or apps on the desktop), something they can't figure out.

What the devlopers need to do is simple. Please guys, bring in some fresh eye'd people that haven't looked at your product before and have them try to use it. Whatch them and take notes. When they get stuck, you need to figure out how to solve that problem in a manner OTHER THAN deffering them to the "HELP MENU". It shouldn't take a 5 page article to learn how to opperate the basics of this software. It should be no surprise I'm a little frustrated with this issue, I've been a user of it since it's early days. I've watched it get steadily more and more complex to operate over the past few years. With the newest changes it now takes me nearly 10 minutes to set up a new collection. That's obsurd!

Finally switched to using iCollections full time over the past couple weeks, anticipating the MacOS update and the elimination of 32 bit programs.

So far I've been very pleased the functionality of the program. The developer has been very responsive with updates, email requests for features and support for customization. More apps should have such an attentive developer.

There have been incremental improvements in the program, as well as bug fixes. A couple minor interface tweaks would be nice, and are hopefully in the works, but while helpful, they are certainly not deal breakers. The miniaturized bar needs to be smaller, and closed apps need to open with a single click and allow quitting from collection icon. Just procedural considerations for convenience, which is the whole idea of a program like this.

If you're looking for an attractive, functional adjunct to the Apple dock, this app is worth a serious look.

dodsonmd

July 2020
This app has continually improved over the last few months. It has now become indispensable for me. If you need to replace DragThing, look no further. Very pleased with the program and the developer responsiveness. You need to spend a little time to customize it to your needs, but it's time well spent. Many small bugs have been worked out and it now does everything I need flawlessly. Recommended.