Getting Started
Your first 5 minutes with MetaDock — from launch to a fully organized workspace.
First Launch
When you open MetaDock for the first time, it creates a default workspace and shows you the New Tab page. Think of this as your home screen — it's where everything starts.
What you'll see
The New Tab page is your command center. Here's what each section does:
URL Bar
Type any URL (like tradingview.com) or a search query (like bitcoin price) and press Enter. MetaDock opens it as a browser panel right in your layout.
Profile Selector
Choose which browser profile to use before opening a site. Each profile has its own cookies, cache, and extensions — so you can be logged into Gmail with two different accounts at the same time. Hover over a profile to see action buttons.
App List
If App Support is enabled, you'll see running Windows applications here. Click one to embed it directly into your MetaDock layout — Discord, VS Code, MetaTrader, anything with a window.
Launcher Tiles
Quick-access tiles for Settings, Bookmarks, Downloads, and more. One click to open any of these as a panel.
Choosing how content opens
Before you open a URL or app, pick an opening mode. This controls where the new content appears:
| Mode | What happens | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Current Window | Replaces the New Tab page | Quick single-site browsing |
| New Tab | Opens as a tab alongside New Tab | Tabbed browsing within one panel |
| New Window | Opens as a new panel in the grid | Building a multi-site dashboard |
| Floating | Opens as an overlay window | Temporary reference, quick lookups |
URL Bar
The URL bar is MetaDock's universal launcher. You can open it from anywhere — even when you're deep in a multi-panel layout.
| Action | Shortcut |
|---|---|
| Open main search bar (recommended) | Ctrl+K |
| Open floating URL bar | Ctrl+O |
| Focus URL bar in current browser | Ctrl+L |
What you can type
The URL bar is smart — it detects what you're typing and responds accordingly:
tradingview.comOpens the URL directly in a browser panelbitcoin price chartSearches with your configured search engine (Google by default)discordShows app suggestions — click to embed the running Discord windowCommand Line
You can launch MetaDock with a URL argument to go straight to a specific page on startup:
metadock.exe https://tradingview.com/chartThis opens the specified URL in the first layout after your workspace loads.
Practical uses
Desktop shortcuts
Create a Windows shortcut with metadock.exe https://app.slack.com as the target. One double-click opens MetaDock directly to Slack.
Automation scripts
Call MetaDock from batch scripts or task schedulers to open specific dashboards at market open, at the start of your workday, or on a schedule.