Mac OS X Mountain Lion The Dock, Launchpad, and Mission Control

Mac OS X Mountain Lion

The Dock, Launchpad, and Mission Control

The Dock and Launchpad

Watch the video (3:24). Need help?

The Dock

The Dock

To Reorganize the Dock:

1. Add any apps, files, or folders by simply dragging them onto the Dock. For apps, it may be easiest to openLaunchpad, since it contains all of your apps.
   
   Adding an app to the Dock
2. Remove any unwanted items from the Dock by dragging them onto the desktop. You cannot remove Finder or the Trash from the Dock.
   
   Removing an app from the Dock
3. Finally, rearrange the items on the Dock by dragging them to the desired location.
   
   Rearranging the Dock

To Customize the Dock Settings:

1. Click the divider and drag up or down to change the size of the Dock.
   
   Resizing the Dock
2. Right-click the divider to see a menu where you can change options like Hiding, Magnification, Position on Screen and more.
   
   Right-clicking the divider to change options

About Stacks

Fan

Grid

List

To Change How Stacks are Displayed:

• Right-click the icon for the Stack that you want to change and select the desired view.
  
  Changing how the Stack is displayed

  Launchpad

  Launchpad displays all of the apps installed on your Mac. They are arranged into one or more "pages", and you can switch to a different page either by using the arrow keys, by clicking and dragging to the left or right, or by using a swiping gesture (if you have a Magic Mouse or trackpad).

  To get the most out of Launchpad, you'll probably want to reorganize it. For example, you may want to move all of your favorite apps to the first page so that you can open them more quickly. You can also create folders in Launchpad to house similar apps.

  To Reorganize Launchpad:

  1. Click the Launchpad icon on the Dock to open it. Alternatively, you can use a thumb and three-finger pinch(if you have a trackpad).
     
     Opening Launchpad
  2. You will see icons for each app that is installed on your computer. Click and drag an icon to change the ordering.
     
     Rearranging Launchpad

  You can move an icon from one page to another by dragging it to the right or left edge of the screen. The page will turn, and you can drop the icon on the new page.

  To Create a Folder in Launchpad:

  1. In Launchpad, click and drag an icon directly onto another icon. The two icons will be placed into a new folder. Once the folder has been created, you can drag more apps into it if you want.
     
     Creating a folder in Launchpad

  To Remove a Folder in Launchpad:

  1. In Launchpad, click on the folder to open it.
     
     An open folder

Dragging an app out of the folder area

Mission Control and Desktop Spaces

Watch the video (3:11). Need help?

OS X Mountain Lion has two features that help you keep open files and apps organized: Mission Control and desktop spaces. Mission Control allows you to see everything that you currently have open, so you can easily access the files or apps that you need. Desktop spaces are virtual desktops that you can use to organize your open files and apps. Instead of keeping everything open on the same desktop, you can move some of your work to another desktop space to get it out of the way.

Watch the video to learn how to use Mission Control and desktop spaces.

To Switch to a Window with Mission Control:

1. Click the Mission Control icon on the Dock. Alternatively, you can use an upward three-finger swipe (if you have a trackpad) or two-finger double-tap (if you have a Magic Mouse).
   
   Opening Mission Control
2. All of your open windows will spread out so that you can see exactly which files and apps are open. At the top of the screen will be your desktop spaces along with any full-screen apps that are open.
   
   Mission Control

Clicking on a window

Working With Desktop Spaces

To Create a New Desktop Space:

1. From Mission Control, hover the mouse in the top-right corner of the screen, and a tab with a plus sign (+)will appear.
   
   Creating a new space
2. Click the tab to create a new desktop space. You can create up to sixteen desktop spaces.
   
   The new desktop space

To Delete a Desktop Space:

1. From Mission Control, hover the mouse over the desktop space that you want to delete, and an "x" will appear in the corner.

Deleting a desktop space

To Switch to a Different Desktop Space:

For convenience, there are a few different ways to switch between desktop spaces:

• From Mission Control, select the desired desktop space at the top of the screen.
  
  Selecting a space in Mission Control
• While holding down the Control key, use the left and right arrow keys to switch to a different space.
• If you have a Magic Trackpad or a laptop with a trackpad, you can use a three-finger swipe to the left or right.
  Swiping with three fingers
• If you have a Magic Mouse, you can use a two-finger swipe to the left or right.
  Swiping with two fingers

To Change the Desktop Background:

It may be helpful to have a different desktop background for each desktop space, so that you'll always know at a glance which one you're in.

1. From Mission Control, switch to the desktop space that you want to change.
   
   Switching to a different space
2. Right-click the desktop and select Change Desktop Background.
   
   Changing the desktop background
3. Select the desired image. It will become the background for the current desktop space. If desired, repeat these steps with all of the other desktop spaces, to give each one a unique image.
   
   Selecting a new background image

To Move an Open Window to a Different Desktop Space:

Sometimes, you may want to move an open window to a different desktop space to get it out of the way. Then, you can switch to that desktop space whenever you want to use the window.

1. From Mission Control, drag a window to the desired desktop space.
   
   Moving a window to a different space
2. Now, when you want to use the window again, you can simply switch to the desktop space where it is located.
   
   The window in its new space

If you want an app to always open in a specific desktop space, right-click the app in the Dock and then underOptions select This Desktop.

Assigning an app to a space