The macOS Launchpad arrived with Mac OS X 10.7 Lion – a way to easily find and launch apps. You can organize apps (by dragging them to a new location), create folders (by dragging an app onto another app), close a folder (by clicking outside the folder), rename a folder (just open a folder and do click the name, then enter a new one). Apps downloaded from the App Store or included in macOS are automatically displayed in the Launchpad. If you download an app from another source, you can add it to Launchpad by moving it to the Applications folder.
By default the Launchpad displays 5 lines and 7 columns; from System Preferences, it is not possible to change this setting but it is possible to do so by opening your application folder, going to Utilities, the Terminals and changing some default values.
To change the number of columns, the command is:
defaults write com.apple.dock springboard-columns -int X
(instead of “X” it is possible to indicate the number of columns).
To change the number of lines, the command is:
defaults write com.apple.dock springboard-rows -int X
(instead of “X” it is possible to indicate the number of lines).
After typing the commands in question, you need to restart the process with the following command (which closes and reopens the Dock):
defaults write com.apple.dock ResetLaunchPad -bool TRUE; killall Dock
To return to the default values, just use the basic values (5 rows,7 columns), or delete the settings with:
defaults delete com.apple.dock springboard-rows defaults delete com.apple.dock springboard-columns
remember that after each command it is necessary to restart the Dock (connected to the Launchpad):
defaults write com.apple.dock ResetLaunchPad -bool TRUE; killall Dock
