New to Mac

[cselestrin]

This may seem like a stupid question, but how do you delete applications in Mac os. Is there anything like unistall on windows?

[asousa]

i am new too....but for the most part is seems like you just delete the app. Its a beautiful thing having no registry and whatnot to worry about!!

Again, I am new too....so this may not be the correct way at all.

[Lt Major Burns]

the same way you delete any other file. just put it in the bin. as soon as you empty the bin, the program and all its associations are gone.

it's that easy.

there are some minor exceptions to the rule (i seem to remember Windows Media player needing an uninstall), but generally, if you are unsure, do a search for the program name, or the name of the company, and delete any files that are associated.

[RGrphc2]

Theres a neat app for 12.95 called AppZapper, just drap and drop the file you want to delete and it will find any and all files related to it. Preferences, Plists even DMGs that are still on your computer and it will remove it.

[symphonix]

Not that it matters, though. Unlike on the Windows registry, unused plist and preference files don't slow the computer down or make it unstable. They each take up a tiny amount of space (usually only a couple of kilobytes at most), and are easy to find, edit, delete or copy. You could happily delete hundreds of applications just by dragging them to the recycle bin, and no harm would come to your system.

I'd save my $12.95.

[dmetzcher]

I usually do a quick Spotlight search (switch to the Finder, and press Command+F, don't use the Spotlight menu) for the app name, and then look at each file that comes up. This way, I can delete the app, and the preferences, at at once. Be careful not to delete files that are not associated with your app, especially when apps names are similar on your system. As you highlight each file, the bottom of the Find window will show you the location. This will give you clues as to which files go with which apps.

Frankly, however, you don't have to delete the preference files. If you wind up re-installing the program later, you might want to get rid of the old preference file.

[ex2bot]

Generally, I agree with the above posts. Just drag the application's folder (in /Applications) to the trash or click once on it and press the Apple key plus the backspace key, which is incorrectly labelled "delete".

Empty the trash once you're sure you haven't deleted anything you want.

BUT, lately some of Apple's progs like Garageband and some third-party apps have put a lot of stuff in "/Library/Application Support". That's the Library folder in the root directiory of your hard drive, not the one in your user's home folder.

Garageband files in Application Support: 1.82 GB !

Doug

[dmetzcher]

Originally Posted by dktrickey

Garageband files in Application Support: 1.82 GB !

Tell me about it. If you don't use GB that much, letting it eat almost two gigs on a small iBook seems a waste.