Dock OBS Studio Audio Mixer Panels Horizontally

This guide provides a straightforward walkthrough on how to arrange, move, and dock multiple audio mixer panels or audio docks horizontally within OBS Studio. By customizing your interface layout, you can position your various audio sources side-by-side, allowing you to monitor and adjust your volume levels more efficiently during live streams or recordings.

Step 1: Unlock the OBS Studio Docks

Before you can move any panels around, you must ensure that your interface layout is unlocked.

Open OBS Studio.
Click on the Docks menu located in the top menu bar.
Look for the Lock Docks option. If there is a checkmark next to it, click it to uncheck and unlock the docks.

Step 2: Prepare Your Audio Panels

If you are using the default OBS Audio Mixer alongside custom audio docks (such as web-based audio controls or plugin mixers), make sure they are visible on your screen.

You can enable standard docks by going to the Docks menu and selecting the panels you want to display.
To change the layout of the default OBS Audio Mixer from vertical to horizontal meters, right-click anywhere inside the Audio Mixer dock and check or uncheck Vertical Layout based on your visual preference.

Step 3: Drag and Dock Panels Horizontally

To arrange your audio panels side-by-side:

Click and hold the title bar (the very top area) of the audio dock you want to move.
Drag the panel toward the left or right edge of your main Audio Mixer dock or any other active dock.
As you hover near the edge, a blue outline or highlight will appear.
- To dock them horizontally (side-by-side), make sure the blue highlight appears as a vertical strip on the left or right side of the adjacent panel.
Release the mouse button to drop the panel into place.

If you want to stack panels on top of each other as tabs instead, drag the panel directly onto the center of another dock until a blue box covers the entire panel, then release.

Step 4: Lock Your Layout

Once you have arranged your audio mixers and panels in the desired horizontal layout, lock them to prevent accidental dragging during a stream.

Go back to the Docks menu at the top.
Click on Lock Docks to secure your new custom workspace.