How to, and what is Launchpad on Mac?

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You may have noticed a multicolored, squared icon on your Dock and maybe wondering what the heck it is.

That icon on the Dock is called Launchpad.

What is it?

According to Apple: “Launchpad on your Mac is a central location where you can view all of your apps and easily open them.”

How do you use Launchpad?

Open and close Launchpad

Open Launchpad: Click the Launchpad icon in the Dock (or use the Control Strip).
Close Launchpad without opening an app: Click anywhere (except on an app) or press Esc.

Find and open apps in Launchpad

Find an app: Type its name in the search field at the top of Launchpad. Or look on another page in Launchpad—swipe left or right on the trackpad or press Command-Left Arrow or Command-Right Arrow.
Games you download from the App Store are added to the Games folder in Launchpad. If you’re using a game controller that supports it, you can access and navigate the Games folder using your controller. For more information about using game controllers with your Mac, see the Apple Support article Connect a wireless game controller to your Apple device.
Open an app: Click it.

During downtime, or if you reach the time limit set for apps in Screen Time settings, app icons are dimmed and an hourglass icon is shown. See Manage downtime in Screen Time.

Organize apps in Launchpad

Move an app on a page: Drag an app to a new location on the same page.
Move an app to another page: Drag the app to the edge of the screen, then release it when the page you want appears.
Create an app folder: Drag an app over another app.
Rename a folder: Click the folder to open it, click its name, then enter a new name.
Add an app to a folder: Drag the app over the folder.
Remove an app from a folder: Drag the app out of the folder.

Add apps to Launchpad

Apps that you download from the App Store automatically appear in Launchpad.

To add an app that you didn’t download from the App Store, drag the app to the Applications folder in the Finder on your Mac. The app is then shown in Launchpad.

Remove apps from Launchpad

In Launchpad, click and hold an app until all the apps begin to jiggle.
Click the app’s Delete button .
If a Delete button isn’t shown, the app can’t be removed from Launchpad. See Install and uninstall apps from the internet or a disc.