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How do I order items in Mac Book Pro Alphabetically in Launchpad? They are currently unorganized and I want to order. Right clicking to order does not have menu to sort .

Following command does not work either,

defaults write com.apple.dock ResetLaunchPad -bool true; killall Dock

enter image description here

Currently have MacBook Pro 15-inch, 2018. Mac OS Big Sur

Prefer to look for automated auto arrange solution, not Manually dragging/dropping

Burgi
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mattsmith5
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    Some ideas: (1) Drag the Applications folder onto the Dock, ensuring it is set as a Stack and sorted in Name, and use it instead. (2) Use [Launchpad Manager](http://launchpadmanager.com/home.php) ($7.99 for up to 5 computers, trial available). – harrymc Aug 23 '21 at 09:15
  • I'd recommend sticking clear of the macOS app launcher. I use [Alfred](https://www.alfredapp.com/), which is a text based launcher like Spotlight just faster. As [harrymc](https://superuser.com/users/8672/harrymc) said, Launchpad Manager could be a solution. – Harrison G Aug 25 '21 at 05:18
  • It appears it used to be possible to program the Launchpad. Take a look at this post on [the Mac Observer](https://www.macobserver.com/tips/alphabetizing-mac-launchpad/). I found [dmdeller / launchpad-editor](https://github.com/dmdeller/launchpad-editor) which is an old solution to editing the order of the Launchpad. – Harrison G Aug 25 '21 at 05:26
  • On a similar note to Launchpad Manager and launchpad-editor, I've been poking around in the macOS launchpad SQLite database. Refer to [this post](https://apple.stackexchange.com/a/18553/285729) to figure out where the database is stored on your computer. The item order is stored in there, but not in an immediately interpretable format. I might mess around and see if I can edit the order using sqlite. – Next-Door Tech Aug 25 '21 at 16:19

2 Answers2

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As the Launchpad cannot be ordered alphabetically, except manually, I suggest to use instead the Applications folder which is already ordered alphabetically:

Drag the Applications folder onto the Dock, ensure that it is set as a Stack and sorted in Name, and use it instead.

A useful third-party software product is Launchpad Manager, commercial license at $7.99 for up to 5 computers, and a trial is available. It can do the ordering and much more.

enter image description here

harrymc
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-1

You can order them alphabetically... manually. Just drag them into the order you want. I've never heard of another way to sort/view in Launchpad, but I also never use it anyway.

If I want to launch Slack (and if it's not in my Dock), I press my Spotlight shortcut key (Cmd-Space), type "Slack", then Return.

Or setup a keyboard-shortcut tool. I use Apptivate to launch my most-used apps.

Maybe if Apple had a touch-screen the Launchpad would make sense, but until then, there are much better ways to find and launch apps...

jimtut
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  • yeah, I Know I can manually drop and drag, looking for automated auto arrange solution obviously, thanks though – mattsmith5 Aug 22 '21 at 20:12
  • If you find one, and then down about my answer. But I don’t think there is one, unless there is a way to edit the underlying config file that stores the app order. – jimtut Aug 22 '21 at 20:20