How do I restore the old Launchpad in macOS Tahoe

baneyw wrote:

What about the apps that you don’t regularly use—but rely on? You don’t like having the ability to arrange those in launchpad?

Well maybe not for you? But many people rely on this as part of their every day workflow.

Well, those people will have to find a new routine for launching apps, many of which have been recommended in the 9 page thread that you apparently didn’t bother to read before adding to the thread.

peteoldroyd wrote:

That’s fine. You’re welcome to your opinion. It does solve the OPs problem though.

Downgrading to Sequoia does not restore Launchpad to Tahoe. There are many Launchpad alternatives listed.

dimondRift wrote:

I mean you have point that the feedback page is really good. However, it is a struggle for me to believe that everysingle person is going to believe, know or enage with that in the same way that user and help forums give to provide feedback and ACTUAL thoughts on what the company is doing.

The difference is that Apple doesn't read here, so posting here isn't giving any feedback to them. At best, posting here is catharsis.

Again: Whether Apple reads it or not, I don’t care. I’m happy discussing it here with others. Every day, new people learn about it and go looking for answers. Google points them here.

I think hearing different perspectives is helpful. I don’t see why it’s such a big deal to some people that we discuss it.

They’ve made their minds up: It doesn’t matter to them because it doesn’t impact their workflow.

If it did, they would certainly understand why so many of us are willing to “waste our time” here. Fine.

But I was pretty shocked to discover Launchpad was missing when I set up Tahoe for the first time, and it was very helpful for me to find this “help forum” and know I wasn’t the only one.

There are good 3rd party replacements that work well for some people. The issue for many others, including myself, is that they don’t work with hot-corners.

Anyone who used launchpad without a hot corner, was missing out. It opened instantaneously with a quick flick of the mouse or trackpad—and all your apps were conveniently organized in a way that works best for you.

[Edited by Moderator]

Long time Apple user here. I've always gotten use to the updates and very rarely complain because I know it's just a learning curve but taking launchpad away has hit a nerve. I have dyslexia and ADHD. The previous layout of launchpad was perfect for these diagnosis. The app change over though is horrible. Horrendous, and has made my computer less accessible to me now.

Instead of having space between my apps so that I could clearly see them, I now have apps that are bunch together that make it hard for me to read. I know we have the search function but that also hinder my ability to be independent. I appreciate everything my phone and Apple devices can do to help me with my day-to-day life but I don't appreciate the change from launchpad to apps.

I don't need to change how I've got my computer set up but I do need to be able to control small things like the spacing in the apps app to be able to visually see and read them without having to look it up like I do on my phone. Please give me back launchpad. It was one of my favourite things on Mac because everything wasn't bunched together. I don't need the writing to be bigger. I just need more space around the apps and launchpad had that right. Please bring back launchpad or allow apps to go fullscreen and for me to control the spacing between things. It's just like reading a document for me. If I can change the word/line spacing from a 1 to a 1.2 on that document I can now read that more easily.

Thanks for that feedback but I have zero interest in downloading a third party app. I find it hard to trust 3rd party apps. Also making someone download an extra app makes it not accessible. Thanks anyway.

I use Xmenu

https://discourse.devontechnologies.com/search?q=xmenu

It places an icon in my menu bar which when I click on it there's a drag-down list of my Applications folder. It's basically an alias style feature to the Applications folder so if you have some applications in folders in that folder you can drag down to view those. Click on an application and it opens it.

Incidentally, it offers this for other major folders on your computer as well as one icon where you can put folders and files you use frequently.

idontwantanamebutapplemademe wrote:

Thanks for that feedback but I have zero interest in downloading a third party app. I find it hard to trust 3rd party apps. Also making someone download an extra app makes it not accessible. Thanks anyway.

In that case, I suggest you try to get used to Spotlight. You can hope Apple changes their mind. To me, hope is not a plan.

DotNetMaui wrote:

I strongly dislike the "new" small launchpad.

I want a full screen app launcher, I don't always want to type app/game name.. now I think about it, Windows 8 startscreen was actually good.

See:

How do I restore the old Launchpad in mac… - Apple Community

And Windows 8 is no longer current by a good number of years.

Well, I understand your Point of View, but there were some of us that actually found the old way VERY efficient versus now having to do in and have a long list of apps to sort through or to search by name for it every single time. Maybe asking customers if they want to revert to the old LaunchPad versus forcing them into an experience that they HATE would be a better UX. I mean, good for you that you like it...but there are a number of us that HATE it.

Texboy232 wrote:

Well, I understand your Point of View, but there were some of us that actually found the old way VERY efficient versus now having to do in and have a long list of apps to sort through or to search by name for it every single time. Maybe asking customers if they want to revert to the old LaunchPad versus forcing them into an experience that they HATE would be a better UX. I mean, good for you that you like it...but there are a number of us that HATE it.

Have you told Apple how you feel?

Product Feedback - Apple

Have you looked at any of the third-party options discussed in this thread?

bjuler222 wrote:

The new app launcher is a good example for changed upon the user nobody asked for breaking valuable habits and harming productivity. This is not innovation, it is empty change.

I get it. If you didn't ask for it, then nobody asked for it. This thread got 204 upvotes, and the installed base of Tahoe is tens of millions. Some simple math should give you a sense of the scale of the 'problem' here.

That would be excessive. I am not against the new OS version. I just find that the app launcher was better off to be full screen and not forced into a much smaller window without the ability to resize. I find the design of the new app launcher suboptimal. That's it.

Kurnbread wrote:

Launchpad was the most advanced way to single handedly open an app. Periodt. They killed it so they could try to sell more Vision Pros

I tried it for about ten seconds and disabled the shortcut and removed it from my Dock. I easily launched apps from Spotlight without problem faster than I could make the LaunchPad appear on screen. I don't use the Apps app, either. Everything Apple makes to appeal to iPhone and Windows converts is completely useless to regular Mac users.