Mac Basics: Launchpad

Summary

Launchpad lets you see, organize, and easily open your apps. Learn how to use and organize Launchpad in OS X.

Products Affected

OS X Lion, OS X Mountain Lion

Entering Launchpad

To enter Launchpad and quickly access your apps:

  • Click the Launchpad icon in the Dock

  • Or, use a thumb-and-three-finger pinch in gesture on your trackpad


 

  • Or, press the F4 key

 

Elements of Launchpad

  1. App icon – Click any app icon to open it.
  2. Search field (OS X Mountain Lion only) – Enter the app name or portion of an app name to find it, no matter which Launchpad page it is on.
  3. Folder icon – Click it to open a Launchpad folder. The "Other" folder shown has several OS X utilities and other apps in it.
  4. Launchpad page – Customizable set of app and folder icons. Tip: Two finger swipes on your trackpad moves you to the next Launchpad page, or you can click the page dot (item 7) to jump to a Launchpad page.
  5. Launchpad icon in the Dock – Click it to enter and exit Launchpad. A blue progress bar is present when downloading and installing apps or software updates. Tip: Hover the cursor over the icon to see download progress or installing stage.
  6. Dock – The OS X Dock.
  7. Launchpad page dots – The white dot shows the page you are on, dimmed dots show other Launchpad pages you can click to jump to.
  8. App download or update icon – The black & white icon will have a white progress bar with download numbers or installing stage. 


Exiting Launchpad

Here's how you can exit Launchpad:

  • Swipe a thumb-and-three-finger pinch out gesture on your trackpad:
  • Click an app icon
  • Press the Escape (esc) key or F4 key
  • Click the Launchpad icon on the Dock

Organize Launchpad

Organizing Launchpad icons is a lot like organizing icons on an iOS device.

Create a folder

  1. Drag a icon onto another icon and hold until you see a folder appear, then let go.
  2. Drag icons to rearrange them within the folder.
  3. You can change the default name of the folder by clicking it. Enter the new name and press Return or Enter.

Add an icon to a folder

  1. Drag a icon on top of a folder and hold until the folder opens.
  2. Drag the icon to the location you want it within the folder. Note: If no icons move over for your icon, the folder is full.

Remove an icon from a folder

  1. Drag the icon from the folder to just outside the folder and hold until the folder closes.
  2. Drag the icon to the desired Launchpad page and location.

Delete a folder

  • Drag all the icons out of the folder.

Move an icon

  • Click an icon and drag it to the desired Launchpad page location, then let go. Tip: Holding the icon near but not on top of another icon will make that icon move over for your icon.

Create a new Launchpad page

  • While in the right-most Launchpad page, drag a icon over the the right edge of the screen and hold for a second.

Delete a Launchpad page

  • Drag all icons off of the Launchpad page.

 

Delete a Mac App Store app

  1. First, press an icon until they all start to jiggle.

  2. Click the "X" icon in the upper left of the icon you would like to delete.

    Note: If there is no "X" icon, it is not an Mac App Store app, but you can manually delete it from the Applications folder.
     
  3. Click "Delete" to confirm.


Tip: You can use the Mac App Store to install the app again if you want it back.

 

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