- Maintaining Order of Application Windows with Mission Control
- Managing and Launching Applications with Launchpad
- Managing Auto Open and Save Features
Managing and Launching Applications with Launchpad
Whereas Mission Control helps you find your way through your windows, the Launchpad eliminates the need to open them. Launchpad brings iOS-like application management to your Mac. Instead of digging through folders to launch an application, you simply start Launchpad and all your installed apps are visible in one place. No digging required.
Start Launchpad
Like Mission Control, Apple wants to keep Launchpad at the ready. Unlike other applications, it takes no time to start and can be invoked through a gesture:
Open Launchpad by performing a pinching gesture with your thumb and three fingers on your trackpad. Alternatively, press the Launchpad key (F4), or click the Launchpad icon in the Dock or in the Applications folder.
The Launchpad appears, blurring out your background.
Reverse the pinching gesture, or click the background to exit Launchpad.
Navigate Launchpad
If you’ve used an iPad or an iPhone, you immediately know how to navigate Launchpad. If you haven’t, don’t worry—it takes about a minute to learn everything you need to know.
Open Launchpad to access your applications.
Click an application icon to launch it.
Click a folder icon to open it.
Click outside the folder to close it.
There can be multiple pages of icons, represented by the dots at the bottom center of the screen.
Move between pages by swiping left or right with your fingers, clicking the dots, or clicking and dragging left or right.
Search Launchpad
If you can’t find an application you’re looking for, you can easily search for it directly in Launchpad.
Open Launchpad.
Click to type in the search field.
Enter a few characters of the name of the application you’re looking for.
Launchpad refreshes to show the search results. The best match is highlighted.
Rearrange Icons
The Launchpad display is completely customizable. To rearrange the icons on your screen, follow these instructions:
Open Launchpad.
Click and drag the icon to a new location—even a new page. Release the mouse to place the icon.
Create New Folders
Unlike folders in the Finder, Launchpad folders are created on the fly and automatically disappear when all their contents are removed. To create a folder in Launchpad, follow these steps:
Open Launchpad.
Drag an icon on top of another icon that you want to group it with.
A new folder is created and opened, and the icons are added.
Click the title of the folder to rename it.
Click the background outside the folder to close it.
Delete Folders
To remove a folder from Launchpad, follow these instructions:
Open Launchpad.
Click the folder that you want to remove.
The folder opens.
Drag each item out of the folder.
When you reach the last item, the folder vanishes automatically.
Delete Applications
In addition to providing a quick way to access your applications, Launchpad offers an easy way to uninstall applications that you’ve installed from the Mac App Store. (See Chapter 10, “Installing and Managing Applications and Extensions on Your Mac,” for details.)
Open Launchpad.
Click and hold on the icon until an X appears in the upper left, and click the X. (Alternatively, drag the item to the Trash icon on the Dock.)
You are prompted to confirm the deletion.
Click Delete. The application is uninstalled from your system. You can reinstall it through the App Store if needed.