Discover and install applications

In this article:

• Setapp's main window
• Navigate through categories of apps
• Preview and install an application
• Preview an application via Quick Look
• Find an app or feature

Setapp’s main window

After the installation is over, Setapp shows you the Explorer with personal recommendations and newly added apps:

Here you can do the following:

• Preview an application: Click an application to switch to its preview with detailed descriptions and screenshots.
• Install and open an application: Hover over the app and click the Install button. After installation, click Open if the application hasn't started automatically.
• Search for an app or functionality: Start entering the name of the app or its feature in the upper part of the Setapp window.
• Open your Setapp account: Click on the subscription status in the upper-right corner to visit your online account.
• Add an app to Favorites: Hover over the app and click on the heart. Now you can find the app under the Favorites category.
• Get more recommendations: Change the size of the Setapp window to make it bigger and see as new recommended apps are added.
• Check recent updates: Scroll down the Explorer to review applications that were recently updated.

To reach Setapp’s main window, open Setapp using Launchpad or Spotlight, or click the Setapp icon in the Applications folder. Alternatively, click the Setapp icon  in the menu bar (upper-right corner of the display), then click Open Setapp.

Navigate through categories of apps

Dozens of your apps are grouped into intuitive categories on the left side of the window, just a couple of clicks away. That's how you can reach them:

• Get a complete list of your apps: Click the All Apps category and scroll the list in the center of the Setapp window to view all apps you own. For your convenience, we’ve ordered them by name.
• Move through categories of apps: Click on a category to switch to it and check what's in.
• View installed Setapp apps: Open the On This Mac category to look at the apps you've already installed on your Mac.
• Reach your favorite apps quickly: Click the Favorites category to access the apps you've marked with a heart earlier.
• Return to the previous screen: Use arrow buttons in the upper-left corner of the Setapp window to move to the previous or next screens. Or, press Command-Left Bracket (⌘[) to return to the previous screen and Command-Right Bracket (⌘]) to move forward.

Preview and install an application

When you click an application, its preview appears on the right-side area of the Setapp window. It gives you an idea about the app's purpose and design through screenshots and videos, feature descriptions, and valuable links.

• Enlarge a screenshot or a video: Click it; click again or press Escape on your keyboard to restore its original size.
• See more screenshots: Hover over a screenshot of an app, then scroll or drag right. Alternatively, press Shift on your keyboard and scroll up and down.
• Read a description: Scroll down through the preview and read how you can use the app. 
• Install an application using any of the following methods:
  
  • Click the Install button  under the app name in the list of applications.
  • Click the Install button at the top of the preview area.
• Quickly install all your Favorite apps: Navigate to the Favorites category and click “Install all” at the top of the app list.

Usually, preparation for the first launch goes very quickly, but you need the Internet connection to complete the installation successfully.

If you don't want the apps to be opened right after the installation, change Setapp's preferences:

1. Open Setapp, then choose Setapp > Preferences.
   
   Alternatively, click the Setapp icon  in the menu bar (upper-right corner), then click the gear icon  and choose Preferences. 
   
   
2. Deselect the "Open automatically after installation" checkbox.

Preview an application via Quick Look

If you have installed an app a little while ago and do not remember its value, the Quick Look functionality may be useful to you. It eliminates the burden of opening and closing the application and gives you the essential information about the features and capabilities of the app. 

Thus, to find out more about the app without opening it, do the following:

1. Open the Setapp folder, click the application and press the Space bar.
2. Scroll down and horizontally to view the app’s screenshots and read a detailed functionality description in a Quick Look window.
   
   
3. Press Arrow keys to switch among app preview windows.
4. When you finished previewing apps, you can either:

• Close the Quick Look window by pressing the Space bar, or
• Click the "Open <appName>" button in the upper-right corner of the window to launch the application.

Find an app or feature

Setapp's built-in search functionality looks through all descriptions and keywords of its apps to show you the app you need:

• Click the Setapp icon  in the menu bar (upper-right corner of the display) and type in the name of the app or the functionality. You’ll see the results immediately.
  Alternatively, you can press Control-Shift-Space on your keyboard to open the Setapp Launcher from any app or window, then start searching. You can change this shortcut in Setapp preferences (Setapp Menu > Preferences).
  
• You can also use the Spotlight search to find the application you need.

See also:

• Remove non-installed apps from Spotlight search