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I'm still struggling to find a use for Launchpad.

I've used quicksilver since I became a Mac user, so I've just always used that as an application launcher. I really want to like and use Launchpad, but for now, I just can't get myself to use it.

It's just a replacement for the Application Folder in the dock. Nothing else.
 
It's just a replacement for the Application Folder in the dock. Nothing else.

I'm excited for just that reason. I don't like having the App folder in the dock currently. Too many subfolders, etc. For the few times I need access to that folder for an app that I don't have in the dock, I think LaunchPad will be great. At least I hope so.
 
I'm excited for just that reason. I don't like having the App folder in the dock currently. Too many subfolders, etc. For the few times I need access to that folder for an app that I don't have in the dock, I think LaunchPad will be great. At least I hope so.

I don't see how LaunchPad is better than the Apps stack in the Dock :confused:
 
Don't worry about that. Just make a separate folder called app2 or something like that. And put only the apps you use in there or aliases. Then put that on the dock and right click. Arrange it by to view contents by grid. When you click on the stack looks just like launch pad.
 
Launch Pad seems like a half-baked feature they threw in to make Mac OS X more "iPad-like" as the marketing literature says. Hopefully they'll work out the bugs noted in this thread before the 10.7.0 release. It seems like it would be a good feature for someone like my mom who can generally utilize her system but is by no means a power user/geek. Other than that, I see it being ignored by more advanced users in favor of existing launching methods.
 
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Launchpad doesn't seem to be picking up apps that aren't in the Applications folder. It ignores all my games stored in ~/Games/, isn't it supposed to show all the apps currently on your Mac? I'm pretty sure Steve or Phil said so during the keynotes
 
Launchpad doesn't seem to be picking up apps that aren't in the Applications folder. It ignores all my games stored in ~/Games/, isn't it supposed to show all the apps currently on your Mac? I'm pretty sure Steve or Phil said so during the keynotes

Is there a Games folder in 10.7?
 
Is there a Games folder in 10.7?
No there isn't. That;s a custom folder I suspect the user created to consolidate their games from regular applications. Why they set it outside the applications folder, I'm not sure.

I rather like the launch pad, It's far easier to use than the Stack, especially with trackpads. I've found that it's far easier to get to things in launch pad than it is to fling the cursor over to the side where I keep my dock. I've relegated my dock to holding the trash bin and showing which applications are running, it works great!
 
Someone correct me if I'm wrong. In Leopard, Snow Leopard or even Lion, you can't just create subfolders in the Applications folder and then drag those to the dock in stacks? The Applications need to stay in the installed hierarchy of the Applications folder all in one big list?

I would prefer to put a stacks by category in the dock on the left side, which I think is how Steve originally previewed them in the first preview of 10.5 Leopard. But I think there was an issue with how that App would show when running (would the stack light up, would it jump out of the stack when you launched it etc.) so I think they scrapped that functionality. I still wouldn't mind having them by category on the right side.

At one point I went through the pain of entering a terminal command to hide the alias arrow, then made aliases of all my apps that I wanted to categorize and put those in folders in my user library, then pulled those folders into my dock as stacks in grid view. I left them as stacked app icons vs a row of folders, so when I opened the stack of iLife+ I would get all my iTunes and other photo/video apps. And so on. The bummer about the Apps folder as its own stack is having all the icons to all your apps in a grid, which I have come to prefer over the older list view, because my grid extends and has to be scrolled. I just want a nice visual organizable view, and while it seems like LaunchPad would achieve this, I don't like the look for iOS style folders filled with icons. I would prefer to create a separate page for each "folder" or category of Apps and swipe through them. And the stuff I rarely use would not go into LaunchPad, which is why I don't like the bug or design flaw of having them come back after restart. ** Which seems dumb since a restart in Lion should be a Resume, leaving everything how you put it, not reverting the LaunchPad back!! **
 
Question:
Can Launchpad be removed from the Dock?
If so, how do you do it?

I run Lion DP4 and it's possible to remove the Launchpad from the dock (I use swedish version and the menu are Remove from Dock):
 

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dont know why everyone is bitching about LaunchPad

IMHO its one of the thing i will be/i am using with Lion

1. launchpad is far far better than having a stack showign all your apps.
2. you can organize them with the most useful apps you use ofthen on the first screen and less important ones in the pages further down,
3. if you have toooo many apps and want more on you first screen jsut created folder grouping apps together.
4. helps you free up your dock with apps that you dont use tooo ofthen, they are gonna be in your lauchpad 1st page if they are important so they are only 2 clicks away! or a swipe and a click away!
5. ability to organize your apps will certainly help boost productivity. i remember endless times srolling throught my apps folder in order to fidn an audio editing tool i didnt even remeber its name. now with launchpad an audio/music folder can hold all those apps in an order that makes sence for me. nice and tidy
6.it bring the simplicity of arganizing apps,launching them and deleting them to the OSX. ts simply a blessign and not a curse.
7. still hate it? jsut drag it out of the dock and forget about it! apple is not focing you to use this! its just there if you like it!
 
I've noticed a few things

- Applications appear that are no longer installed (removed everything from all libraries including install receipts)

- Renaming folders causes Launchpad to crash

- Empty folders cannot be deleted

- Deleted icons return after reboot

- Initial setup takes a long time as the OS throws app icons all over the place, creating 10+ pages with one or two icons (should be an option to select multiple icons)

I agree. Apple should be embarrassed about this. It's so un-Apple like. Seems like no thought whatsoever went in to it.
 
I'm still struggling to find a use for Launchpad.

I've used quicksilver since I became a Mac user, so I've just always used that as an application launcher. I really want to like and use Launchpad, but for now, I just can't get myself to use it.

Ditto. I am new to Mac, and since I discovered quicksilver, I mostly do not even use the dock. I just launch everything with QS. So much quicker than pushing around the mouse.Not to mention all the other useful things it can do that I am still learning. QS should be part of the OS by default.

Just my 2c.
 
LaunchPad is DOA.

Lion is nothing to get excited about.

Still very poor windows management.

Windows is looking better everyday.

Windows 7 taskbar poos all over the dock.
 
Launch Pad appears to be for the more less tech savvy people. Who want to see what they got, rather than type it out, or go searching through the app folder. Most of us on here (such as myself) use a quick launcher app (quicksilver, alfred, etc) or just spot light.

Launch Pad is no new concept to Mac OS, look at classic Mac OS, the Launcher came in System 7.
launcher.gif


I used to use Launcher a lot back in classic Mac OS, when transitioning over to OS X, I used an app called Drag Thing, which was basically the launcher for OS X. But then Quicksilver came along, and made that obsolete for me.
 
defects ahoy

After installing Lion, I started installing apps. And I have yet to see one appear in Launchpad. This thing doesn't work at all.

The documentation clearly says that Launchpad shows all the apps on your Mac. WRONG.

And if Launchpad doesn't reflect the contents of the Application folder, there's no excuse for the lack of a context menu that allows us to remove items from Launchpad.

This is a mess.

So far the one improvement in Lion is the common-sense function that the Mac has been missing for well over two decades: You can finally resize windows from their edges.
 
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Multiple Icons in Launchpad

After installing Lion, I noticed that Launchpad has multiple icons for my applications. I've looked all over the internet but all suggestions to remove the duplicate icons have failed. Has anyone else experienced this and how did you remove the duplicates? Thanks
 
The documentation clearly says that Launchpad shows all the apps on your Mac. WRONG.

Ya I know, Launchpad is filled with bugs and lack some features. To fix your problem, resetting your Launchpad Database (.db) in ~/Library/Application Support/Dock/*.db should force Launchpad to rescan your Applications folder for non-MAS apps. Just search the forums here, there's plenty of tutorials to do so.

As to hide things, I did find a temporary fix until Apple do something, but it's a bit odd, DB modification :cool:. I have no idea how Launchpad will react over the days to that but yet it works fine for now!

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/1194015/
 
Thanks. I just got rid of Launchpad entirely and dragged the Applications folder back into the Dock.

It's sad to see Apple wasting time on the crap they've polluted Lion with, when they still don't have basic features like an uninstaller. Or a competent file browser.
 
just my opinion, i think launchpad is created to work with full screen apps.

When i use safari in full screen, i often use launchpad to run apps since dock bar is not shown in full screen.
 
I have found Launchpad extremely helpful finding my couple hundred applications a lot easier. I was also able to clean out my dock. My launchpad is organized in a neat way where I can access any program I have, from CS5 to system preferences to activity monitor, fast.
 
just my opinion, i think launchpad is created to work with full screen apps.

When i use safari in full screen, i often use launchpad to run apps since dock bar is not shown in full screen.

When in full screen, just move the mouse to the bottom of the screen then when it touches the bottom wall, move it down even more and it will pop up!
 
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