Hi all, by some accident, I've ended up installing the Rocketdock, though I personally use Winstep's Nexus Dock. In the Rocketdock there are some mac-like features that I haven't seen in Nexus, or it might be there, I don't know.

From those features I want to know if two of my favourite features are available.

First feature: Driver folder pop up



See that drivers widget? Look what happens when I click that:

It shows all the folders in my computer in a pop up

Second feature needed: Desktop icons to show in a pop up box



When I click the widget with a home icon look what happens:

It shows all desktop icons neatly in a pop up box

So these are the features I like from Rocketdock, so does Nexus have features like that, or at least something similar? If so, please do tell me!

That image does not exist, but I think it's not needed anyway. And I presume you mean drives, not drivers. Also, the term 'widget' is incorrect - what you seem to mean is 'icon'.



This would be most easily done with a 'Drawer' - check that out for yourself and have some fun with experimentation.



This is a 'Grid Stack' - but I'm not sure if desktop icons can be displayed in one. The 'Workshelf' or a 'Drawer' really would be far more suitable for this and much easier to set up as there already is a preset 'Desktop' tab available.

Ric, I think he is running the free version of the Nexus dock.

Multiple docks, shelves (tabbed docks), drawers, sub-docks and grid stacks (plus a bunch of other stuff, like more modules/widgets, etc) are only available in the paid versions, i.e.; either Nexus Ultimate or Winstep Xtreme. Please see the feature comparison table between Nexus and Nexus Ultimate HERE, plus the images below it.

I edited this post to the correct format.

And if that isn't available in Nexus free version, I wonder how that's available in the Rocketdock for free

Because they threw in the towel:

https://punklabs.com/blog/saying-goodbye-to-rocketdock

Jorge (the Winstep guy) has worked hard on his product suite for many years. He continues to support it. In my opinion and in the opinion of many of us here, he deserves some compensation for creating these fine programs.

So what? The free version of Nexus also has features that RocketDock doesn't have (for instance, the system tray icons, tons of different animation/effect options, etc...)

We all need to eat, and much as I would love being able to live solely on sunlight, I too am no exception lol

Also, as DesertDwarf pointed out, what happened to RocketDock (and ALL the other free Windows docks) is what always happens to free applications not backed by commercial side: eventually either the author loses interest or feels the need to focus on what actually puts food on the table for him and his family. Such is life.

Indeed Jorge has to eat, it's a must, and so he has to earn a crust and some butter. For over 20 years now he has been working very hard on this suite of programmes and it's been his sole means of income. And for the richness of features that the programmes offer (not to mention the mentally and physically tiring endless hours they have been and continue to be worked on) they are more than reasonably priced - in fact, a bargain for what you get. The free version of Nexus still offers plenty of features that other Windows docks never had and really is meant as a taster/trial version for NeXus Ultimate, but a lot of people seem to find that it meets their needs perfectly.

In short, make do or cough up less than the price of a decent meal out or a few beers.

After all, this is the Windblows universe which is still overwhelmingly commercial in a extreme capitalist society. Free lunches are few and far between even in this Windows universe. Free docks for Windows have long been abandoned by their developers. Granted, there is an increasing amount of free (of both cost and increasingly of restrictions and open source) fantastic applications available, many if not most ported from the Linux universe. These include office suites, file managers, text editors, audio and GFX apps, and more. However, many if not most are funded by sponsorship of some kind or another or donations and other means, so the developers not only don't starve but in some cases actually have a better and steadier income than if they were doing it commercially. Unless they are of independent financial means, no developer can work for free and in the Free and Open Source world there is always a way to make a decent income from your work even if the software is free of cost.

The Free and Open Source Software world is gaining more and more ground in the Windows universe, but it would be far from easy to move Winstep to this model and guarantee an income for Jorge. I'm not saying it would be impossible though.