Install Application for Single User Only - Is is Possible? Assistance needed, please

[Reg88]

Hi,
I'm new to OS X and I'm wondering if it's possible to install an application for only one user. And then also to unstall an application for only one user. I have two examples below of what I'm talking about:

1) My OS X iMac has three user accounts. Following instructions I saw on another forum, I installed the DW CS5 trial within user1's account under /users/user1/user1Applications/dwcs5 -- thinking that as long as I didn't install it in the global /applications folder, then it would be restricted to user1 only.

However the DW icon appears on all THREE users desktops.

2) I installed SpiderOak (a backup program along the lines of dropbox, etc) and each account has it's own install. Now ONE of the user accounts is having a problem and I need to reinstall the software. Can I uninstall an application -- located in /Applications -- just for one user and then reinstall it?

Thank you so much for any help.

 

[MisterMe]

If the application uses Installer, then you may have no choice but to install it in the global Applications folder. Quite a few applications present you with a choice, but do not actually give you the choice. If the application uses drag & drop installation, then you should simply drag it to the specific user's Applications folder.

In the case of your Example No. 1, you intended to install the application into a specific user's Applications folder. However, you actually installed it in the global Applications folder. The Applications folder in your Finder sidebar is the global folder.

In the case of your Example No. 2, it sounds like you installed SpiderOak in the global folder. That said, reinstallation of Mac software is rarely if ever a solution to problems on the Mac.

What exactly is the problem that you are trying to solve by reinstalling SpiderOak?

 

[Reg88]

Thanks for your reply.

Where is the specific user's application folder and how do I differentiate it from the global applications folder? I thought I had installed the dw trial in a specific user's applications folder, but the icon appeared on all user's desktops -- but in retrospect maybe the "DW" trial icon on the desktop was the .DMG file. But even so -- why is it that if user1 or even adminUser mounts an image, that it appears on everyone's desktop.

As for spideroak, it seems that I somehow installed it into a single users app directory (don't ask how) and then the program wasn't accessible to the other users (which it needs to be). So I uinstalled it by dragging it to the trash via admin and deleted the appropriate supporting files. I then reinstalled it as admin in the global app folder and with this -- all is well.

But the DW question remains...

 

[MisterMe]

...

Where is the specific user's application folder and how do I differentiate it from the global applications folder? ...

The global Applications folder is on the root level of your hard drive. It is also aliased by default in your Finder sidebar. Your user-specific Applications folder is at the top-level of your Home folder. To access it, click your Home folder. The Home folder icon is immediately below your Desktop icon