Thank you for buying via links and ads on this site,
which earn me advertising fees or commissions.
As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Other World Computing...
B&H Photo...
Amazon
As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
Upgrade the memory of your 2020 iMac up to 128GB
Memory Upgrades for 2019 Mac Pro - Save Up to 65% vs Factory Costs

Launchpad Does Not Accept Keyboard Input

2011-08-08 updated 2011-12-22 - Send Feedback
Related: Apple macOS

Status: still broken in 10.7.2.

Under Mac OS X Lion, the new Launchpad presents an eye-candy interface.

I have 3 pages of applications. It would take a long time to organize them as I laboriously drag and rearrange across 3 pages, and what would I gain? Next to nothing, no new value, no new utility.

The gross oversight of this elegant-looking page is that one is forced to scan visually for the desired application, and click it with the mouse, because the time-saving shortcut of typing the first letter or two of the application name is simply not available.

For example, one should be able to go to iPhoto simply by typing “ip” and hitting the Enter key. This simply is not available.

A computer is not a touchscreen iPhone or iPad. It has its own efficiencies. Launchpad is pretty, but a useless addition as it stands. Keeping a clean Dock or even aliases to applications on the desktop is a lot more efficient (the 90% rule: I use 4 or 5 apps 90% of the time).

Two suggestions:

If you feel a need for eye candy displays like Launchpad, go ahead. But here’s what I do for efficient use of my time, and I don’t have to waste my time dragging apps around in silly pages.

  • Put frequently used apps in the dock. You need direct access to only a small number of these, so get rid of everything else in the dock. Make the Dock auto-hide.
  • To open any application quickly:
    (1) In the Finder, type cmd-shift-A to open the Applications folder (use cmd-shift-U for the Utilities folder).
    (2) type the first letter or two of its name,
    (3) type cmd-O to open it.
Launchpad does not accept keyboard input, e.g. “ip” to got instantly to iPhoto
View all handpicked deals...

CyberPower BRG1500AVRLCD Intelligent LCD Series Uninterruptible Power Supply
$240 $160
SAVE $80

diglloyd.com | Terms of Use | PRIVACY POLICY
Contact | About Lloyd Chambers | Consulting | Photo Tours
Mailing Lists | RSS Feeds | Twitter
Copyright © 2020 diglloyd Inc, all rights reserved.
Display info: __RETINA_INFO_STATUS__