Tired of using the dock for storing your apps? Me too. I use so many that the dock was just too darn busy. Well, say hello to iCaddy. This app is a fully customizable helper that allows you to store all your applications in a nifty dropdown menu. Or if you like you can just store the ones you use more frequently in it. There are actually three ways to use iCaddy. You can use the default setting which looks sort of like a widget on your desktop, this is the top left graphic that you see above. It displays the current time and has three features: The application menu (top circle button), the recently opened app menu (bottom circle button), and the minimize setting (the dash square). Pushing the dash square gives you the minimized version you see to the right above. This gives you a few more features: The application menu (a button), the recently opened apps menu (r button), the preferences pane (p button), and the maximize setting (+ button).
 In the preference pane is where you can customize iCaddy even more. Using the screenshot to the left I'll guide you through it. You can have iCaddy start at login/startup, You can limit its search for applications (deep search and limit search), You can have application folders in the application menu to easily open that folder, and you can include utilities such as DiskUtility to the menu.
 Another feature here is the ability to add it to the menubar. This feature I really like, but I find a slight flaw in it.
Although it does put a dropdown menu for iCaddy in the menubar, the actual main widows you see at the top do not automatically hide themselves or disappear. The whole purpose of having it in the menubar to begin with is to get your desktop real estate back. Unlike other people I am not a big fan of widgets or floating windows. I only have a 15" monitor and the real estate is too important to me. If I didn't have to hide iCaddy manually when putting it in the menubar this just might have gotten the golden apple.
But I'm digressing here. Also in the prefs pane is the option to show all your applications in the dropdown menu and a radio button called "Show these items". What the latter does is allows you to pick and choose (using the + and - buttons) what applications you want to put into iCaddy. Then by using the up and down arrows you can place them in the list where you want them. Once done you just click the "Refresh Menu" button and it's in place.
All in all, this a great little utility that is well worth the small fee of $8. If you like to be organized and productive give iCaddy a thought.
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