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How to remove app from LaunchPad

How do you remove an app that was manually added to LaunchPad?


After getting the icons to "wiggle" I tried dragging the target app to the trash, tried pressing the delete key while click-holding on the app.


My gosh, what ever has happened to the Apple User Interface Guidelines where the intent is to make actions simple and intuitive? I've been using Macs since the Mac SE days, and am myself a hobbyist developer. This really shouldn't be rocket science to customize the LaunchPad, nor should I need to refer to a manual.

PM 2x2.3, MP 2x2.66 Duo, MP 2x2.8 Quad and MBP 2.26 Duo Unibody, Mac OS X (10.6.8)

Posted on Apr 2, 2013 8:34 AM

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32 replies

Apr 2, 2013 8:41 AM in response to Ken Auggie

Not all apps can deleted via lauch pad- Only those bought via the App store.


When you hold to wiggle deletable apps have an X in the top left corner (Just like iOS).

Click on the X and the app is moved to the trash.


Alternatively just do what you have always done in Mac Os- Go to the Applications folder - Locate app icon and drag to the trash.


Or if its a suit such as MS Office/Adobe CS etc... Locate install disc and run uninstall programme


Or buy App zapper (or similar) and use that to uninstall everything including the Library Plist and other BOM files

Apr 2, 2013 8:43 AM in response to Ken Auggie

How did you manually add something to LaunchPad?


Typically LaunchPad shows all the apps on your Mac (at least, ones it can find in the Applications folder). If click and hold and get the "wiggle" you will see an x in the upper left hand corner of apps that were installed via the Mac App Store. Clicking the x will remove the application from your computer.


If the application was installed outside of the Mac App Store, you cannot remove it from your computer in this fashion. You have to delete it from the Applications folder or run an uninstaller.


You shouldn't really be able to remove an application from LaunchPad that's on your computer. LaunchPad is supposed to be all the applications on your machine, not a shortcut to a select few applications. Setting it up in the latter way is firmly in "unsupported" territory. I'm sure there are articles out there who tell you how you can do this, but they're all hacks.

Apr 2, 2013 8:45 AM in response to Keith Doherty3

Although I appreciate these tips, these are absolutely horrible "solutions" for anyone to resort to. Again, as stated, I've been usings Macs since the its introduction, so I'm more than saavy and 99.9% of my software is purchased and installed outside of the App store, so enforcing a method of "uninstallation" to remove an app from the LaunchPad is just terrible, especially since the OS automatically added a bunch of app-specific installer and other utilities to LaunchPad that have absolutely no business being there, it's all just plain wrong, the whole premise and UI.

Apr 2, 2013 8:52 AM in response to William Lloyd

You can drag&drop apps onto the LaunchPad icon to manually add them.


Regardless, anything you do to the LaunchPad is a hack, even manually adding apps. But as I mentioned, the OS added a bunch of app utilities that have no business being in LaunchPad and can pose serious issues for the uninitiated, so already this makes LaunchPad "broken" and requiring hacks to clean-up.

Apr 2, 2013 8:51 AM in response to William Lloyd

How should it be the users fault for "misunderstanding" what LaunchPad is?


From its assigned name, it implies it is a one-stop source for "launching" applications, yes?


So who is it to say what limitations or "intended" understanding of LaunchPad? There are no obvious "help" suggestions or links by Apple that describes exactly what "they" intended LaunchPad to be and how to use it.


If the developer's intent is completely misunderstood by users, then the User Interface fails, period.


Indeed, hasn't Apple been marketing Mac OS for it's "ease of use?"

Apr 2, 2013 8:52 AM in response to macjack

Well, that's because applications installed via the App Store are self contained and obey a specific set of requirements so they can be installed that way. That also makes those applications easy to uninstall.


Other applications in the Applications folder could have stuff spewed all over the disk (I'm looking at you, Adobe). Using LaunchPad to delete things from Applications would leave junk all over the place (and possibly kernel extensions and other things that could cause system instability). LaunchPad cannot cleanly delete them. So what should the system do? Allow deletion of something or of nothing?


Keep in mind that LaunchPad is mostly designed for the novice user, and gives them a UI for launching applications if they're not familiar with the dock, or Spotlight, or Alfred, or many other means that more advanced users may have. They can easily delete applications they've installed via the App Store this way.

Apr 2, 2013 8:57 AM in response to William Lloyd

Actually, my intent is simply to remove an app icon from the LaunchPad; I do NOT want to completely delete the app from my system, so this line of argument regarding LaunchPad is not pertinent to my discussion.


If LaunchPad is indeed "intended for the novice user," why did Apple allow users to drag&drop apps onto LaunchPad to include them, but did not provide a means to remove icons (again, remove the app just from LaunchPad but not delete it from the system)?


Why did LaunchPad automatically add all the other stuff that support an apps installation but shouldn't be added at all to the LaunchPad, thereby cluttering and confusing the palette of apps?


Half-baked, bad UI.

Apr 2, 2013 8:56 AM in response to Ken Auggie

There is a third party app - Launchpadmanager available here.


http://launchpadmanager.com


And yes i do understand what you are saying about the current setup as by default it includes all those loverly Utilities (Terminal/Activity Monitor/Key Chain/ Disk Utility etc... that live in the Utilities folder within your Aplications folder.

Probably not the best on business User machine !


On a user machine it would be better if you had the abllity to disable lauchpad completely.

Apr 2, 2013 8:56 AM in response to Ken Auggie

LaunchPad is a way to launch all the applications on your Mac.


You are trying to "hack" it to display a list of *specific* applications on your Mac. You want to create a subset of the things, and now you're complaining that it's difficult to manage this smaller subset of applications, something LaunchPad isn't designed to do.


If you start hacking plists and application databases, it's not Apple's fault this is difficult. You should just reset LaunchPad to its default settings and use the in-app UI to manage things. Then it will be easy.

How to remove app from LaunchPad

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