Apple Event: May 7th at 7 am PT
macOS High Sierra is still running the legacy Launchpad version 1.0, isn't it?
At least, it's on my Mac and not working very, very often. I can't put the cursor on the Launchpad Spotlight Search text box and can't type anything on it. The only key works well is the "esc" key. Sometimes a Restart of the Mac works but no guaranty.
Is it an ignored bug or did I miss something?
iMac, macOS High Sierra (10.13), iMac 2017 5K 27-inch 4.2GHz i7 40GB
There's no need to place the cursor in the search box — just start typing when Launchpad opens!
If you still can't type in the search box I would suggest re-setting Launchpad to its factors defaults using Terminal. (If you want to try this please do a backup of your important stuff first!) I haven't tried this Terminal command in High Sierra yet, but it worked in Sierra!
Here is the Terminal command:
defaults write com.apple.dock ResetLaunchPad -bool true; killall Dock
Press Enter.
Hope this fixes your problem! Cheers, Ian
There's no need to place the cursor in the search box — just start typing when Launchpad opens!
If you still can't type in the search box I would suggest re-setting Launchpad to its factors defaults using Terminal. (If you want to try this please do a backup of your important stuff first!) I haven't tried this Terminal command in High Sierra yet, but it worked in Sierra!
Here is the Terminal command:
defaults write com.apple.dock ResetLaunchPad -bool true; killall Dock
Press Enter.
Hope this fixes your problem! Cheers, Ian
Yes, in normal situation the cursor has been placed and in the search box and blinking when you open Launchpad. What more precisely I wanted to say is that I cannot click and open any apps appearing on the Launchpad, e.g. Safari.
The Launchpad doesn't work, mostly on MacMini and iMac which uses Bluetooth keyboards when the Mac is starting up. I cannot recall of such problem happened on MacBook Air/Pro.
The Launchpad may resume normal:
1. restart the Mac;
2. Logout the user and re-login again;
3. without logout the current (first) user, login to another (second) user and switch back to the first user;
Thank you for the Terminal command. Can you give me the source of reference of the command? What does it meant about "killall Dock"?
Hi Ivan H! You marked my answer as "solved", thank you, and I'm glad it worked for you!
I can’t remember where I found the Terminal command — somewhere on the internet when I was having problems with Launchpad in Sierra last year. It fixed things for me!
To be clear, Launchpad is an app just like any other, and maintains a database that includes the app icons, where the app is located in the file system, where the icon should be displayed in Launchpad, plus some other bits of info necessary for Launchpad to do its work properly. The Dock is also just an app and, like Launchpad, and by default displays icons (aliases really) of some standard apps plus anything else you put in it. Launchpad and Dock are connected somehow, and this explains the “killall Dock” part of the Terminal command — it resets the Dock too, which is apparently part of the procedure needed to re-set Launchpad, as far as I understand things!
Do a quick Google and you’ll find many articles about Launchpad problems. This one explains things very clearly and also gives you something else to try first if you don’t want to use Terminal!
https://www.igeeksblog.com/apps-missing-from-launchpad-on-mac/
Cheers, Ian.
Thanks Ian. Im glad to learn something today.
You're very welcome, Ivan!
Thanks! Worked perfectly after all the other 'solutions' (deleting various Dock databases in the Library) didn't work.
Glad I could help you!
Launchpad doesn't work on macOS High Sierra
