New Mac person here... Do I have to eject programs from finder?

flatfoot99 · Nov 12, 2012, 12:43 PM

New to macs and just downloaded flash player. I notice, in finder, that flash player is under devices in finder. Am I suppose to eject that? What's the point of that? Thanks!

aristobrat · 01:00 PM

Most programs you download end in .DMG, which stands for Disk Image.

When you double-click a DMG file, it mounts the disk image in Finder, the same way it mounts USB drives when you plug them in, or mounts a CD/DVD if you stick on in (if your Mac has a CD/DVD drive).

For 99% of the applications out there, you're supposed to then drag the application from the mounted DMG, and drop it in your Applications folder. Then you eject the DMG, and since you've already "installed" your app (by dragging it to the Applications folder), there is no reason to keep the DMG file around anymore. You can delete it from your Downloads folder.

Some applications, like Adobe Flash, don't get dragged to the Applications folder. They run a Windows-like "Setup Wizard" that asks you some questions, and you click Next, Next, Next until it's done installing. But once installed, it's safe to eject/delete the DMG from Finder.

DMGs are cool because they can compress the files inside, which makes downloading apps quicker. Also, when your Mac opens a DMG, it's able to tell if it's damaged (like from a bad download).

flatfoot99 · Nov 12, 2012, 12:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by aristobrat

Most programs you download end in .DMG, which stands for Disk Image.

When you double-click a DMG file, it mounts the disk image in Finder, the same way it mounts USB drives when you plug them in, or mounts a CD/DVD if you stick on in (if your Mac has a CD/DVD drive).

For 99% of the applications out there, you're supposed to then drag the application from the mounted DMG, and drop it in your Applications folder. Then you eject the DMG, and you can delete it the DMG if you want, because you're copied the app to your Mac.

Thanks!

aristobrat · Nov 12, 2012, 01:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by flatfoot99

Thanks!

No problem. I updated the description above to include Flash, because it's one of the few apps that doesn't follow the "drag from the DMG to your Applications folder" rule.

flatfoot99 · Nov 12, 2012, 02:08 PM

I can still just eject it, right?

Nermal · Nov 12, 2012, 02:13 PM

Yep. A .dmg is like a "virtual CD" and once you've installed the app then you're free to eject it.

Nov 12, 2012, 12:43 PM	#1
flatfoot99 macrumors regular Join Date: Aug 2010	New Mac person here... Do I have to eject programs from finder? New to macs and just downloaded flash player. I notice, in finder, that flash player is under devices in finder. Am I suppose to eject that? What's the point of that? Thanks!
	0

Nov 12, 2012, 12:47 PM	#2
aristobrat macrumors Demi-God Join Date: Oct 2005	Most programs you download end in .DMG, which stands for Disk Image. When you double-click a DMG file, it mounts the disk image in Finder, the same way it mounts USB drives when you plug them in, or mounts a CD/DVD if you stick on in (if your Mac has a CD/DVD drive). For 99% of the applications out there, you're supposed to then drag the application from the mounted DMG, and drop it in your Applications folder. Then you eject the DMG, and since you've already "installed" your app (by dragging it to the Applications folder), there is no reason to keep the DMG file around anymore. You can delete it from your Downloads folder. Some applications, like Adobe Flash, don't get dragged to the Applications folder. They run a Windows-like "Setup Wizard" that asks you some questions, and you click Next, Next, Next until it's done installing. But once installed, it's safe to eject/delete the DMG from Finder. DMGs are cool because they can compress the files inside, which makes downloading apps quicker. Also, when your Mac opens a DMG, it's able to tell if it's damaged (like from a bad download). Last edited by aristobrat; Nov 12, 2012 at 01:00 PM.
	0

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Nov 12, 2012, 02:08 PM	#5
flatfoot99 Thread Starter macrumors regular Join Date: Aug 2010	I can still just eject it, right?
	0

Nov 12, 2012, 02:13 PM	#6
Nermal Demi-God (Moderator) Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Whakatane, New Zealand	Yep. A .dmg is like a "virtual CD" and once you've installed the app then you're free to eject it.
	1


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