Switching to the Mac: The Missing Manual, Lion Edition

Launchpad

Launchpad is a dark background with evenly spaced icons that represent all your programs (Figure 4-3). You can open one with a single click.

Figure 4-3. You can open Launchpad by clicking its Dock icon (it’s the very next one after the Finder icon), or by using a four-finger pinching gesture on your trackpad. Launchpad covers your entire main monitor, hiding everything else.

Why did Apple feel the need to create yet another way to open programs?

First, because Launchpad fits right into the general theme of Lion: making the Mac look and work more like the iPad. Launchpad is a dead ringer for the Home screen of an iPad, iPhone, or iPod Touch.

Second, it’s a much less intimidating place for technophobes to learn to love than, say, the Applications folder.

And third, it’s a lot quicker to get to than the Applications folder. You can summon it instantly, using any of these methods:

• Put four fingers on your trackpad and pinch them together. The Launchpad appears instantly, no matter what program you were in; you don’t have to duck back into the Finder, navigate to the Applications folder, and so on.

• Press the Launchapd key. If your Mac came with Lion preinstalled, it has a special Launchpad icon painted right on the F4 key ().

• Click its icon on the Dock. It’s the second one, resembling ...