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To uninstall in Mac you just drag program to trash?
- Thread starter saberahul
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You should also use an app called "Appcleaner" as well, as most programs leave files in other directories (Such as save files). Appcleaner finds all the other files associated with the program and deletes everything at once.
Programs with a larger footprint (eg. Adobe Photoshop) sometimes have their own un-installation option (As in Windows).
Yes, moving the .app file to trash is the way to go. GGJstudios will post the guide any min now. The best way to fully delete an app is manual deletion. Apps such as app cleaner, app zapper, and cleanmymac are not recommend.
You are contradicting the 2nd poster... so which one is it? 3rd party apps or not? To clarify - in order to delete an app I would simply move the .app file in the trash and it's gone? There is no cleaning up the registry or manual removal of traces which may be left behind which will cause the system to slow down? If this is true then Windows seriously sucks.
To delete an application from a Mac it's as simple as dragging it's icon to the Trash; the only exception to this would be if the application provides an uninstaller (a good example of this would be Microsoft Office for Mac).
Many applications will leave behind a small file under ~/Library/Preferences in the form of a .plist, which stands for Preferences List. It's a very small text file that holds some basic information about the application in question. You can delete these if you want if you're sure you won't use the application again. That being said, these files will not slow down your computer in any way.
Many applications will leave behind a small file under ~/Library/Preferences in the form of a .plist, which stands for Preferences List. It's a very small text file that holds some basic information about the application in question. You can delete these if you want if you're sure you won't use the application again. That being said, these files will not slow down your computer in any way.
To delete an application it is sufficient to just drag it to the trash. However, applications do generally leave behind preference files and/or folders so using an application like AppCleaner is helpful (but is not required).
Yes, I am contradicting that poster, as well.
AppZapper, AppCleaner, CleanApp, TrashMe, and similar apps do not do a thorough job of removing all files/folders related to deleted apps. I tested several of these, using Skype as the app to be removed. Of 17 items to be removed:
AppZapper missed 13 items
AppCleaner missed 11 items
AppDelete missed 8 items
Hazel missed 9 items
I also tested AppTrap, CleanMyMac and a few others, but don't recall how many items they missed. All left files/folders behind. In most cases, they remove .plist files and a few others, but leave behind much larger files and folders. (you will find a discussion of these tests in the thread linked below)AppCleaner missed 11 items
AppDelete missed 8 items
Hazel missed 9 items
One app that I would not recommend, based on the number of complaints that have been posted in this forum and elsewhere, is CleanMyMac. As an example: CleanMyMac cleaned too much
The only effective method for complete app removal is manual deletion:
GGJ, thanks for your guide. My question is, is it really necessary to follow your instructions when deleting an app? Will I have any problems if I just drag the app to the trash like normal? What do you do and why?
Thanks.
In most cases, just dragging an app to the trash is sufficient. That method leaves behind files and folders, but unless drive space is a concern, there's very little chance that they'll cause problems if you leave them on your system. In some cases an app leaves behind a Menu Bar icon or an updater app that runs in the background. In those cases, complete removal is necessary to clean up the Menu Bar or background processes.
As for me, I always manually delete everything associated with an app, mostly because I prefer not to waste space on unneeded files and I like keeping my system clean and free from any possibility of problems in the future.
As someone who recently came from Windows to OSX the main thing that puzzled me at first was installing and uninstalling applications. At first it seemed odd, like why was this app being mounted as a drive? You mean I just drag the app into the applications folder? And I just drag it into trash to uninstall?! lol but when you figure it out its so much handier than dealing with installers. Even when working on another platform Microsoft seem to want to bring along the worst parts of their own OS.
i searched application deletion and just wanted to bump this to say thanks GGJstudios. i installed an application that i ended up not wanting today and while i tried my best to delete it, i still felt there were files related to it on my mac. simple spotlight searches and finder content searches did not reveal anything. with using the method you posted, i found a couple of leftover files, confirming my suspicions and promptly deleting them.
thanks again man, huge help. i'll be doing this every time now.
thanks again man, huge help. i'll be doing this every time now.