Ok, this may be a stupid question however I am new to Mac's so cut me a break. Where are the Program Files located? The actual files that make up the program?
Apple!Freak said:Ok, this may be a stupid question however I am new to Mac's so cut me a break. Where are the Program Files located? The actual files that make up the program?
mkrishnan said:LOL, it took me a while to understand this too. What OS X does is to house each program in a directory. Inside your Apps folder are your applications, right? For instance, you see iTunes. The iTunes app in the Apps folder actually corresponds to a folder called iTunes.app (you can verify with Terminal). If you right click it (or option-click it, or use terminal), you can actually go into this folder and see all the contents, such as the icon, the library and resource files, etc. What's inside the folder loosely corresponds to the contents of an install directory in Windows. But Finder treats the folder as a program and hides the contents unless you specifically ask for them, to keep things neat.
GFLPraxis said:Yep, and the best part are that the Mac programs are self contained, there is no stupid registry like on Windows PCs, so no uninstaller necessary (excepting things that modify the system folder, like extensions or hacks). All the information is contained in Safari.app or iTunes.app, instead of scattered across the hard drive like a Windows PC.
/Applications/Application.app/OK, so where is the actual data pertaining to that application stored?
All of your preferences and information that the app stores will be elsewhere. Important user created files should never be stored within the app bundle. For example: iPhoto.app exists in your /Applications directory while the iPhoto library itself lives in the ~/Pictures directory. That way if you update iPhoto it deletes /Applications/iPhoto.app and replaces it with a new iPhoto.app, but leaves ~/Pictures/iPhoto\ Library alone.OK, so if I want to replace an old app with a new one...say, to get a "clean" install, how do I transfer the file data into the new app?
Hi,
i am new to mac, i had just get the imac & install Thunderbird for mail.
after mail server configuration on first screen of it & then close the application i am unable to find out where that goes. i don't where the program files of mac like windows.
Regards,
sandesh
Macintosh HD / Applications / Thunderbird.
Or use Spotlight (CMD+SPACEBAR) to search for it.
Also have a look at the following links, as the information presented there might be helpful in your future endeavours into Mac OS X and could clear up initial confusion and may even prevent harm to your system or your files.
Mac OS X Basics
Switch 101 - guide with articles made by Apple on how to accustom yourself, after you switched to Mac OS X from Windows
Mac 101 - How to get started with Mac OS X
Find out how - tutorial videos made by Apple on how to do certain thing in Mac OS X
Pro tips - tips made available by Apple for easier ways of doing certain tasks
Mac OS X Keyboard Shortcuts - Learn about common Mac OS X keyboard shortcuts.
Mac OS X Beginner's Guide by MacRumors - learn about software, media players, shortcuts and some useful tips, tricks and hints
Mac Guides - tutorials, product guides and more