Mac Launchpad Introduction

What is Launchpad anyway?

Launchpad is a menu that holds shortcuts to all your applications, it is very similar to the app screen you'd find on your iPhone or iPad:

How can open Launchpad?

There's a few different ways you can open it depending on your personal preference. 

1. The default button on your Mac Dock:

2. If you use your Mac's keyboard or have a Mac keyboard the F4 key should typically open Launchpad:

3. If you prefer the trackpad you can pinch four fingers together and then pinch open to start launchpad. This one's a bit tricky and probably only appeals to people who are touchpad gesture power users. 

To close launchpad simply press the F4 key, the ESC key or click on empty space in the launchpad. 

What can you do in Launchpad?

You can group icons together easily by dropping one on the other, exactly the same way you would do this on an iPhone or iPad:

Here we've grouped 2 Google apps together. You can click the text above the folder to rename it.

You can also arrange the icons as you please, simply drag them to the position you would like. If you want to move one of the icons to a different page, drag the icon to the left or right edge and after a few seconds you will automatically move to the next page.

How can I add or remove applications from Launchpad?

Applications are automatically added to Launchpad when you install them. If you downloaded a stand alone app from the web, simply drag it into your Applications folder:

The only way to remove an app from Launchpad is to uninstall it.