[PubGuy]

I was searching MacUpdate and VersionTracker, but haven't found what I was looking for.

I'm looking for a program that I can launch that will completely log every new file created on the computer from the time I launch the app to the time I close it. The reason I'm looking for it is that I evaluate a LOT of software from MacUpdate and VersionTracker to find specific solutions. Some of these apps are when launched litter your machine with small hidden files. When I get rid of a program and it's preference file, I don't expect to have any other "droppings" of the program left on my system. Thus, I'm looking for a program that will monitor the state of the machine from a specific instance in time, log all files (visible and not) and when I quit the app, to generate some sort of report that I can see.

I've looked at programs like Uninstaller, but that's way overkill for what I want to do. I just am looking for a simple file monitoring and logging program.

Any suggestions?

Thanks!

[JKT]

I can't help with other style installers, but this applies for those that use the .pkg format - when Installer.app reaches the stage where you have highlighted your destination disk, you can "Show Files" from the File menu and this provides a list of all the files to be installed and the directories that they will be installed in.

[PubGuy]

I'm looking for something that monitors what new files may be created by the application itself (after being installed), when it's launched the first time. Thanks for the reply.

[Basilisk]

"Uninstaller" is your best bet, overkill or not its as close as you're going to come.

I too have been looked for something like this to replace "Installer Observer" from the old MacOS 9 days. I ended up hacking up my own version of it in Perl. There really wasn't anything suitable until Uninstaller came along.

Alex

[PubGuy]

Thanks for the tip. I looked at Uninstaller a while back and it seemed overly cumbersome.

I was hoping someone made a simple app you could launch that had a scrollable window and did nothing more than report the location and name of every new file created as long as the program is active. This way one can quickly identify each file an application made and where it put them.

Guess I'll take another look at Uninstaller (bummer). Thank you for your input!