How to Use Mac Launchpad to Open Apps

If you're coming from an iPhone or iPad, Launchpad will feel immediately familiar. It's a full-screen display of all the apps installed on your Mac, arranged in a grid — exactly like the home screen on your iPhone. Many Mac users prefer it to digging through the Dock or opening the Applications folder.

To open Launchpad, click its icon in the Dock — it looks like a silver rocket ship on a grid of colored squares. If it's not in your Dock, open Spotlight (Command+Space) and type "Launchpad." You can also open it by pinching with four fingers on a trackpad.

Once inside, you'll see all your apps spread across one or more pages. Swipe left or right with two fingers to move between pages. At the top, there's a search bar — start typing an app name to filter the grid instantly, which is faster than scrolling.

You can organize apps into folders, the same way you do on iPhone. Drag one app icon on top of another to create a folder. Give the folder a name by clicking on the name below the app grid. You might make a folder called "Work" for your productivity apps and "Creative" for photo and music apps.

To rearrange apps, click and hold any icon until all icons start wiggling. Drag them to new positions. Click anywhere outside the icons (or press Escape) to stop wiggling.

To delete an app you downloaded from the App Store, click and hold until the icons wiggle, then click the small X that appears in the top-left corner of the app you want to remove. This works for App Store apps only — it doesn't work for system apps like Safari or Mail.

When you're done with Launchpad, press Escape, click anywhere outside an app icon, or spread four fingers on the trackpad to go back to your Desktop.

Quick Tip: If you know the name of the app you want to open, Spotlight (Command+Space) is faster than Launchpad. Use Launchpad when you want to browse all your apps visually.