Michal Ždanský OS X Lion brought several interesting innovations taken over from iOS. Launchpad is one of them. It is a matrix of icons serving as a launcher for programs, as we know from the iPhone or iPad. However, while iOS is a functional UI, Mac is more of an ergonomic apocalypse.
The biggest problem with Launchpad is the fact that any program you have installed on your Mac will appear there. Of course, it is desirable for common programs, but all those small utilities, programs running in the background or in the top bar, all small services belonging to one application or package (a Microsoft Office package has about 10 of them), all of this will appear in Launchpad .
God forbid if you're using, for example, Parallels Desktop. At that moment, all programs in Windows that have a representative will appear individually in that "revolutionary" Launchpad. Suddenly you have another 50-70 icons that you will have to organize somehow. And getting rid of them is not easy either, because one by one you have to move them to the trash, or put them in their own folder.
And if you've updated a well-established system to Lion, you're in for a ready-made hell of icons according to Apple. In order to move the average 150 icons that appear in Launchpad to specific pages and to certain folders, you have to take a day off.
Additionally, one needs to be aware of the way one launches applications. A person usually uses the Dock on a Mac to launch the most used applications. Less frequently used programs are then launched from the folder Applications, using Spotlight or a third-party launcher. I personally use a combination of Dock+Launcher+Spotlight depending on how often I use the app. I definitely recommend it from the launchers overflow or Alfred.
But if you still insist on using all the options that Lion has to offer, including Launchpad, there is a way to clear the entire contents of Launchpad and then put the apps there yourself by dragging the icon to the Launchpad icon in the Dock. The procedure is as follows:
- Open it Port and enter the command to create a backup folder on the desktop:
mkdir ~/Desktop/DB_Backup
- The following command copies the Launchpad database to the build folder:
cp ~/Library/Application Support/Dock/*.db ~/Desktop/DB_Backup/
- The last command clears the Launchpad database and restarts the Dock:
sqlite3 ~/Library/Application Support/Dock/*.db 'DELETE FROM apps;' && killall Dock
Now the Launchpad is empty, just a few folders with no icons left. Now you can finally turn Launchpad into a useful Launcher, the customization of which will only take you a few tens of minutes and you will really only have the applications you want in it.
Source: TUAW.com
This thing is wild, I personally used Overflow in Leopard and I won't back down from it even now, it's a cool and sophisticated thing :)
I played with it for a while, but it turned out that I can't get into the 2 folders I created - the launchpad turns off or crashes, so I can't get into them, and they can't even be deleted, so that's probably the end of my use :)
I also don't know how to delete an empty folder from launchpad. After holding it, it is removed but cannot be deleted.
To delete, put any application icon in the folder, then pull it out of the folder and the folder will disappear.
thanks, done
And where is the great precision of Apple? That's not the only more glaring flaw I hear about the new system. I don't understand, a basic thing like deleting an empty folder from the launchpad and it has to be done so stupidly? That doesn't sound like Apple to me.. I don't get it.
So, by default, the situation where there is an empty folder in the Launchpad cannot be touched, because it will delete itself if there is no other icon in it.
Yes, but if it's not empty, you can add to it but you can't open it, so there's probably something wrong... then I wonder why MBP 2010 turns on about 5x slower than snow leopard - I tried the instructions about Network Account Server but without results. Then I solve it by simply not turning it off, but Apple could start doing something about it + today I read about a relatively simple hacking of batteries in macbooks, that's great too :-D
I like Launchpad, I enjoy it and it suits me.. In Launchpad I only have the main icon from parallels, .. The fact that the author of the article appears in Launchpad with a crowd of representatives from windows is a choice or a user error and not a bad feature of Launchpad - it is enough in parallels connection of win with mack. set. I think it's unfair to go down to the wrong Launchpad when parallels are set at will. I understand that the author doesn't like Launchpad - I like it - is it weird to have a different opinion?
I am adding this comment here for the second time, it was deleted before, so that the author of the article would not draw a different opinion and a slight criticism of the inaccuracy in the article? I use parallels and I don't have and never had dozens of representatives from windows or mac in Launchpad because I can set up both Parallels and Launchpad.. That's about the second time and again.
In the first case, the system may have automatically evaluated the post incorrectly as spam. As long as they are not offensive or obscene, we definitely do not delete comments, on the contrary, we like diverse opinions and subsequent discussion ;-)
Otherwise, the matter in Parallels didn't happen directly to me, but to a friend, I'm just citing his experience, I don't use Parallels myself
Fortunately, I only tried Office on Mac once. Even luckier, it wasn't exactly my Mac. I have established that MS does not belong to Apple. See instructions for permanently removing Office from the Mac system (on the MS website). You really need to take half a day for this and you will most likely lose your temper. Unlike the Dock, which I had in 5-10 minutes arranged in my image. Thanks to the gestures, I use it instead of the Apps folder.
I PROBABLY WOULDN'T DRAMATIZE THE ENTIRE ARTICLE SO MUCH OR GENERALIZE. The instructions were enough. :-)
That will probably be the "tried only once" team and not on the whole machine. I don't want to defend MS Office in any way, but I personally tried iWork more than once and unfortunately I had to switch to MS Office - I lacked some basic functions in iWork, in short, I couldn't do something completely normal for me. Maybe it's possible in the current version, I'll probably come back to it sometime, but I managed to get a diploma on MS Office just fine and I like other people working with it, so I wouldn't throw it away. I feel good about iWork, I don't reject it, it's just that at the time I was more satisfied with something else, which I'm still satisfied with and I often work with it.
And have you ever tried to actually remove them? :-)
I work on OpenOffice. In version 3, it's finally a usable package at a nice price.
I don't know about iWork - I don't think it will be that good.
Here are instructions for removing the virus from MS (a virus because, in addition to Office, the installation also includes Messenger, RDP client, Visual Basic and similar Windows garbage - you can leave it out, but who would have expected that, right?): http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2398768
Why should I subscribe when it works to my full satisfaction and I use it? What if you have so much advice about removing something you've never had on a Mac? And you still criticize it? :D
The other half wanted it. We downloaded the MSO2011 demo before I started asking why she wasn't comfortable with OO. He says he might buy it. Then she found out that it's not very clear (as it is with the new MSOOffice), that it added a billion MS waste, and that she wanted it for spell check, which she says OO doesn't have (she writes a lot - teacher). Well, I misled her, and then she didn't want MSO anymore. Since I take care of her Mac, the "nice" duty of cleaning it fell to me. :-) Well, I wouldn't wish that on you. :-)
Fix: Unlike Launchpad. I was tired... :-)
When switching to a new server, the original discussion disappeared :)
I see that my comment about the insensitivity of some parts of the article in the iPhone version has disappeared and that's about all that happened. Is there already such censorship? At the same time, I think it would be nice to copy the commands from the iPhone and enter them into the Mac - if only the messages on the iPhone were accurate.
Ah, so it was probably the transition. So I apologize for the unnecessary reaction.
Well, the subjective view of the author. I like it a lot, I use it, and it still needs to be organized, just like in iOS. I think that the gentlemen from Cupertino know more than Mr. Žďánský.
Of course, the article is subjective, that was its purpose anyway. This is my take on Launchpad, which some may relate to and others may not. I certainly don't consider myself smarter than the gentlemen from Cupertino, I'm just expressing my opinion from a user perspective.
I can understand that LaunchPad likes the new switcher, which resembles iOS, but in terms of ergonomics and concept, it does not suit me on a Mac. I launch applications from the Dock or search and simply ignore LaunchPad. At all, it seems to me that Apple has stepped aside with some system modifications (mission control, launch pad) and shows too much that it is concentrating on BFU and is starting to target professional long-term OSX users, and this is a bit of a dangerous trend in my opinion.
Again, just a personal opinion, but don't you notice it too?
Well, that's a tragedy. When I put some application fullscreen (in the sense of Lion) on the MacBook, I get a 24″ inch wallpaper with a canvas texture on the external monitor. God why? :-/
Changed gestures, it's a complete tragedy: swipe with 3 fingers to go back in Safari earlier, today I'm still on Dashboard.
Ad Mission Control: so be it, but I find it confusing, many informative application windows cannot be seen right away, unlike Snow Leopard, where all windows were clearly arranged in a grid.
The biggest disappointment for me is the application skinning: calendar, address book; I can't help myself, but every dog is different, I don't like it when the application tries to look like a leather surface.
However, many things are completely revolutionary in Lion (installation via EFI from the net) and great (Mail app). You don't choose.
You can set any wallpaper for each monitor.
This gesture can be changed to 2 OR 3 fingers in the settings (switching full screen apps will be moved to 4 fingers) and it works everywhere as before - even in the Finder. It just needs to read the options and set.
Mission C. is subjective - I like it a lot, especially the connection with Spaces.
Just compare the calendar and AddressBook with the iPad and you're clear. :-)
Doc + Quicksilver - the best combination of launching applications for me :)
I would just add that after the restart everything is there again .. that is, if this error is not just my problem ..
I would like to ask if there is a command for removing individual applications from the Launch pad that cannot be deleted with a cross (they do not appear)?
And if you happen to have someone figure out what to do with fullscreen on the second monitor so that it can also be used and not just the "canvas", I would be grateful for any advice/instructions.
Díky
So it suits me, it seems clear to me :-) mainly the same as on the iPad. So I'm in favor and thank you for it :-) But maybe it's because I'm not very good with Mac, that's why simplicity is essential for me.
Lauchpad is bad, I can only sign under that. I tried in vain to sort the plethora of icons, most of which I didn't even recognize anymore, at least alphabetically...
If I had known how unqueried Lion would be, I would have waited at least for 10.7.3 :-)
Alphabetically, it sounds logical. :D
It was already mentioned in the discussion, but we are writing it here to be sure. Discussion contributions were not deleted (censored) by any editor, but by switching to a new hosting. After two articles, even with discussions, it was not possible to completely restore them from backup. The articles should gradually reappear, but it would be time-consuming to renew the discussions. We apologize for the problems and misunderstandings that have arisen.
For all those still struggling with Launchpad, there is now a free app for simple Launchpad management: http://chaosspace.de/dev/launchpad-control-hide-apps-from-launchpad/
I tried entering the commands from the end of the article, and it actually removed all applications from Lunchpad (including a bunch of applications and widgets from Windows under Parallels. But since then, I can't delete a single application from Lunchpad manually - it just never shows a cross for any application. Couldn't manual deletion of applications also be turned off with these commands in the terminal?
Launchpad-Control :-D
Yes, the only thing missing from Lion to be very similar to iOS devices is the function: "Shake to reload" :D