Tell me more ×
Ask Different is a question and answer site for power users of Apple hardware and software. It's 100% free, no registration required.
up vote 1 down vote favorite

I had neatly sorted the applications in Launchpad when I was running Lion. But after upgrading to Mountain Lion, none of my custom folders are there any more, and it seems Launchpad is back to the default layout (the first page being all Apple apps).

Is there a way to restore the layout I had in Lion? Is this something I could take from an old Time Machine backup? How would I apply it without breaking Launchpad (such as making some apps permanently disappear, or other such undesirable results)?

share|improve this question

1 Answer

up vote 2 down vote accepted

According to this article, you can force a Launchpad reload by removing a .db file in ~/Library/Application\ Support/Dock. This file is the SQLite database for Launchpad. Theoretically, you should be able to recover the file, which has a name something like: 5187B29E-A5A8-4CD6-A688-28D426B923F6.db and move it to the correct place. Note that you should backup the current .db file before doing this.

share|improve this answer
When I looked in that folder, I found two .db files. I replaced the most recently modified one with the least recently modified one... and voilà! It works! Thank you :) (And even better, the new apps in Lion do show up, like Notes and Reminders.) – jtbandes Jul 28 '12 at 6:42

Your Answer

 
discard

By posting your answer, you agree to the privacy policy and terms of service.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.