How to Add Launchpad Button Back to Mac Dock macOS Tutorial

how to get launchpad on dock

This will not delete the application; it will just remove it from the Dock. Launchpad provides an iPad Home screen-like launcher on macOS, and a way to see, start, search for, delete, and otherwise manage apps on the Mac with macOS Big Sur installed. The simple thing to know about Launchpad is it’s basically a list of apps you have installed on the Mac.

You may not have the exact same applications on your iPhone as on your Mac, but if your folder names are similar, you will still find your individual applications much faster. Once you’ve created multiple folders to organize your Mac apps, you can group them in Launchpad in a way that makes sense to you. You might choose to group folders on individual pages that all revolve around an activity you commonly do on your computer. This method keeps the number of Launchpad pages on your Mac to a minimum. As you approach the Dock, other applications will slide to the side, and when the Launchpad icon is where you’d like it, release the mouse or trackpad button. You can put apps into folders to better organize your Launchpad.

You can set up all your Macs similarly so that muscle memory can do its job. This how long does usdc take to transfer will work the majority of the time, but there are some apps you simply cannot remove from the list, as the X symbol doesn’t appear. They will generally consist of apps that weren’t downloaded from the Mac App Store, or were preinstalled to the operating system. You can create new folders by dragging an app on top of another, or you can add an app to a folder by dragging and dropping an app onto a folder.

For a start, you can move apps by dragging it from one position to another. If you need to move it to another page, drag the icon to the edge of the screen to switch pages, wait for the page to change, then drop the icon in its new home. If having multiple pages of apps is overwhelming, you can organize the icons to better suit your workflow, or at least to put your most-used apps in easier reach. For example, you could search for the name of the app via Spotlight. You may have placed the app icon on the Dock for ease of access.

The simplicity of Launchpad is akin to turning your Mac into an impromptu iPad home screen. When you click the Launchpad icon, you’re shown a similar screen, consisting of a grid of well-spaced icons and their titles. While it’s not perfect, I don’t regret installing the macOS Sequoia beta to try out its features early. Hopefully, you were able to put some of the valuable tips we discussed here to good use and unlock the full potential of your Mac’s Launchpad. Other times, you need to go into your Applications folder to remove an app from the Launchpad. Apps don’t go anywhere when you remove them from the Dock; the Dock is just shortcuts in graphics.

How to launch an app in Launchpad on Mac

Even though it feels like a special part of macOS, Launchpad is just a regular app. To get it back, we first need to open the Applications folder. Launchpad was first introduced in Mac OS X 10.7 Lion back in 2010. If you have an older Mac that you’ve upgraded—or if you’ve removed Launchpad by dragging off the Dock—you might not see Launchpad where you expect it. Luke knows he spends more time on Twitter than he probably should, so feel free to follow him or give him a shout on social media @LukeFilipowicz. The iPhone 16 Pro Max will be the most-produced model in the 2024 release slate, according to a report into supply chain component shipments.

With the Launchpad back in the Dock, you can now simply click on the icon and access all your apps from an iPad-like Home Screen interface. If your Launchpad app icon has seemingly disappeared from your Mac Dock, don’t panic. It’s a relatively simple fix if you’d like to show the Launchpad on your Dock. If you want to have all your favorite and most used apps in a certain location in Launchpad, you can easily move them around to arrange them however you want. There are also options to remove Launchpad from the Dock, if you don’t want it there anymore, or to bring up the usual Launchpad experience by clicking Show Launchpad. Click the Apple logo in the menu bar then select System Preferences.

How to use Launchpad on Mac

how to get launchpad on dock

You don’t need to start from scratch if you reinstall Windows 11 using this method. Changing the order of dapps platforms and private blockchain frameworks the apps within the Launchpad is very similar to rearranging the apps on your iPhone or iPad.

  1. Each time you download an application onto your Mac, it will be placed in the macOS Launchpad but not in a folder.
  2. If you have an older Mac that you’ve upgraded—or if you’ve removed Launchpad by dragging off the Dock—you might not see Launchpad where you expect it.
  3. Release your mouse button, and the application will disappear.
  4. Other times, you need to go into your Applications folder to remove an app from the Launchpad.

Scroll to the bottom of the window, and you will see a button for Hot Corners. If you have multiple Macs, you may want to do the same on them. If possible, use the same corner on every computer, as this will help with muscle memory.

You do, admittedly have to open up Launchpad by clicking the icon. There’s no escaping that point, unless you set up a keyboard shortcut. At the bottom of the screen are dots, which will show you how many pages of apps are included in Launchpad, as well as which page you are looking at. Use the mouse scroll wheel to switch pages, or click the dots. When you buy a new Mac, it will come with a few stock folders.

how to get launchpad on dock

You can move folders in the same way as you would the information commissioner’s office move an app icon. If all you want is quick access to apps, but without the pretty UI, you can do this with a right-click of the Launchpad icon. This will display a context menu containing a list of all applications held within Launchpad, which can be scrolled through and clicked to open like any other context menu. If you need to get out of Launchpad, simply click anywhere on the background that isn’t an app icon or another on-screen element, or press the Escape key on your keyboard.

How to Find a Lost iPhone That Is Turned Off

You will only have to go through this organizational process once for every new computer or device you own. Remember that every time you download a new application, it will not be put into a folder. We suggest making them easier to find by placing them in alphabetical order. Every time you re-open Launchpad, the folder will be in the new location in alphabetical order.

While this is a good start, your Mac will not organize for you beyond this point. Each time you download an application onto your Mac, it will be placed in the macOS Launchpad but not in a folder. And soon enough, you will have multiple pages of applications to scroll through to find the application you want. Come up with some folders that work for you and your workflow and standardize them across all your devices. In this way, a particular application will be in the same place on your desktop computer as your laptop.

You may have even manually gone to the Applications folder to find and open the app. Anyway, if you ever, by accident, deleted Launchpad from the dock in macOS, you now know how to add it back right up. It’s not simple at first, but once you try it yourself, you’ll be tossing the icon around like a champ the second time onwards. Sometimes you can forget where you’ve put an app in your folders. This is especially true with applications you haven’t used in a long time. When this happens, you can use the Search box at the top of the Launchpad window to find any application as long as you know its name.

How to Cast Apple TV to Chromecast for Easy Viewing

Here’s how you can get around some of those restrictions, using one of the best VPN for iPhone apps. To remove it, click and drag the icon off the Dock, raising it up enough until it goes transparent and is tagged with the word “Remove.” Release it to remove the icon. If you want to simply get rid of Launchpad to get more space on the Dock, you can do that. Since it’s an application in its own right, you can handle it like any other app on the Dock. Now simply drag the Launchpad icon to the Dock and place it wherever you like. Connect and share knowledge within a single location that is structured and easy to search.