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Cannot Find Apps In Application Folders On Mac

I have installed Slack App on my Mac OS and it works all fine. However, I do not see that application in Applications folder. I am very new to Mac and may be I am missing something but to my knowledge, IF App does is installed on the machine then it has to be in Applications folder. Bruce Kolk wants to find a missing app: I was repositioning an app icon to put into another folder. When it got to the home screen, I was holding to the left edge—when it suddenly disappeared.

Launchpad is a highly useful feature in macOS. It has been developed to offer an iOS-like approach to managing apps with more convenience on Mac.

Cannot Find Apps In Application Folders On Mac Shortcut

At times, you may find some apps missing from the Launchpad interface. Generally, the newly installed third-party apps wouldn’t be showing up. In order to fix the issue or bring back the missing apps, you need to reset the Launchpad.

Apps Not Showing in Launchpad on Mac – How to Bring it Back

Use Default Locations for Applications

Step #1. Starting off, click on the desktop.

Find

Step #2. Next, you need to click on the Go menu located on the menu bar.

Step #3. Now, press and hold the Option key ⌥. Then, click on Library.

Step #4. Next, you have to double click on the Application Support folder.

Step #5. Double click on the Dock folder.

Then, you need to drag all files ending in .db into the trash.

Cannot Find Apps In Application Folders On Mac Computer

Step #6. Click on the Apple icon at the top left the corner of the screen → Finally, you need to click on Restart → Restart button.

Reset Launchpad

Launchpad shows the apps which are in the default Applications folder. In case the program is not there, it won’t show up in Launchpad. In this case, move the app out of the folder, log out and log back in to restart Launchpad. Now, move the program back to the Applications folder.

Rebuild the Launchpad Database

macOS Dock controls the databases which determine the apps to be shown in Launchpad. The databases may have become corrupt. To fix the issue, rebuild the Launchpad databases.

Step #1. Hold the Option key and select Library from the Go menu in the Finder.

Step #2. Open the Application Support → Dock folder and get rid of the files. You should see alphanumeric characters as names.

Application Support Folder Mac

Step #3. Now, log out and log back into your account. Now, Dock and Launchpad will reset and scan the Applications folders.

Windows Apps Folder

That’s it!

Your Mac will restart. Once it reboots, all of your missing apps would appear in Launchpad. You can use this trick to fix this issue whenever you don’t find some apps in it.

I wish Apple provided a better solution to bring back the disappeared apps in Launchpad in the next version of macOS.

macOS Catalina, in many ways, is a major update. But as they say, nothing is perfect in the world, it can still be improved. As a Mac user, you must have a long list of wish lists that you would want to see in the upcoming version of macOS.

Would you like to share them with us? We would be glad to know them from you in the comments.

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Jignesh Padhiyar is the co-founder of iGeeksBlog.com who has a keen eye for news, rumors and all the unusual stuff that happens around Apple products. During his tight schedule, Jignesh finds some moments of respite to share side-splitting contents on social media.

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