[mindwaves]

Posted by CharlesS in the MacNN Feedback Forum.

"One of the things that is beautiful about Mac OS X is the application bundle format. On OS X, most applications, although they look like single files, are actually folders. These folders which look like files, or "bundles" as they are called on OS X, contain not only the program itself, but all of the support files and resources it needs to run. If an application is self-contained in this manner, then chances are no installer will be needed to install all its separate parts on your hard drive. The upshot of all this is that the majority of applications on OS X can be installed simply by dragging them to your Applications folder, and can be uninstalled by dragging them to the Trash and emptying it.

Of course, there are some legitimate exceptions to this rule (and some poorly written applications which use an installer even though it's not necessary). In these cases, however, the author of the application will usually distribute an uninstaller along with the application. For some applications, the installer you used to install the application also has the ability to uninstall it. In general, though, if you didn't have to run an installer to install an application, you won't need an uninstaller to remove it.

If you really want to remove all traces of an application, you can check the Library/Preferences and Library/Application Support folders inside your home folder. There may sometimes be a file inside one or both of these folders which contains application settings, support information, etc. for the app. However, it is generally not necessary to delete these files as they usually take an insignificant amount of space on the disk, and will not cause any problems if left alone. Plus, should you ever decide to put the application back on your hard drive and start using it again, your settings will be just how you left them if you didn't delete the preference files, so it's usually best just to leave these files alone.

In summary, in the majority of cases, all you will need to do to uninstall an app on the Mac is drag it to the Trash. It really is that simple."

Detalied explanation here .

A simple video showing the process here.

Much credit to Brad on the AppleInsider forums .

*Much editing to be done later.

[King Bob On The Cob]

And if the pesky application DID happen to include an installer (One in the .pkg format which Apple's installer uses)

You can always use Desinstaller

[CharlesS]

Originally posted by King Bob On The Cob:
And if the pesky application DID happen to include an installer (One in the .pkg format which Apple's installer uses)

You can always use Desinstaller

DesInstaller is a dangerous piece of software. It can remove files that are needed by other applications or system components.

If a program needs to be uninstalled, it will come with an uninstaller, and you should use that.

[ZXspectrum]

Desinstaller

[ZXspectrum]

video link not working.

[ZXspectrum]

also try reinstall openbase application like daylite. alos some apps are leaving stuff everywhere like in Frameworks folder of where not...and what about the preferences files?

[alphasubzero949]

Originally Posted by ZXspectrum

video link not working.

He's simply dragging IE to the trash and emptying it. You're not missing out.

[jmault]

What is the difference between "secure empty" opposed to just emptying trash?
jmault

[Horsepoo!!!]

Originally Posted by jmault

What is the difference between "secure empty" opposed to just emptying trash?
jmault

That's a simple question with a complex answer.

Emptying the trash normally erases the link to the file's data. The data is still on your disk except that there's no easy way to access it. Programs that can recover data in situations where you accidently deleted a file or where data corruption occurs and files are magically lost, will find the 'lost' data on your disk and recreate a link to it.

'Secure empty' is for peace of mind. When you empty a trash, the data may still be on your disk and accessible to someone with a program that recovers data. Secure empty simply makes sure that data is unrecoverable by overwriting it with garbage data.

Secure empty basically guarantees that no one will ever be able to recover the file...including yourself.

[intervenetd2]

i was jjust gonna post , on how to uninstall cuz i was wonderin that also. I'd be all lookin for the uninstaller an couldn't find it for any of my programs so i was gonna come on here to ask but already found the topic. But I think its G how mac OSX has all the files into 1. Saves a lot of bullshit

[yugyug]

thanks mindwaves / charlesx - your post is the missing nugget of information apple should have put in the mac help files

just cleaned up 7gb of apps I dont need - i'm loving it.

also found this nifty app monolingual to remove unwanted language files.... only saves a few hundred mb tho...... but still!

[KeyLimePi]

Adam on the MacCast podcast was talking about AppZapper for removing applications and their associated files. He seemed to think it was good.

[gunga]

In my (semi-limited) experience. After deleting the app, a quick check in Spotlight, with the app name as a search string, will reveal any residual files (like.plists or config files) that also need to be gotten rid of.

[gunga]

Originally Posted by KeyLimePi

Adam on the MacCast podcast was talking about AppZapper for removing applications and their associated files. He seemed to think it was good.

I wonder if AppZapper can uninstall itself?

[CharlesS]

Originally Posted by gunga

In my (semi-limited) experience. After deleting the app, a quick check in Spotlight, with the app name as a search string, will reveal any residual files (like.plists or config files) that also need to be gotten rid of.

Read the third paragraph of the original post for info on that.

[Skeptik]

What about MS Apps like "Test Drive for Office". Where does it leave all the sneaky stuff that checks if you installed it before ??

[threestain]

AppZapper has just come into version 1.3...

[MacFairy]

Does anyone know how to uninstall office on mbp? I can't find the office tools which has remove office. Anyone know?

[mindwaves]

Same uninstall process as listed above. Dump in Trash.

[ksloan2]

I'm also curious if AppZapper can completely clean out an application. Take Synergy, for example, which has a 7-day trial and according to the activity monitor, has dozens of framework files open, and someone mentioned that some apps leave crap in those folders as well, so Synergy, being a sytem pref panel, seems like a good candidate.

I'm going to try AppZapper on Synergy after the 7-day trial has run out. If it resets the trial, AppZapper works. If it doesn't, the app is crap, imo (despite the legal ramifications).

Also, I should find another application which I haven't installed and which has the potential of leaving stuff around the harddrive, and diff the "sudo ls -AR > hd.txt" result to really see what it installs.

EDIT: Never tried AppZapper on Synergy, but a Spotlight search on it cleaned it out and reset the timer (not that it matters since I found a better freeware alternative now, called ByteController). However, SketchUp doesn't clean out properly. The trial countdown remains even after I scanned the entire harddrive after changes the app made.

[pcd2k]

Uninstalling apps should be a built in feature of the Finder and its omission disappoints me.

[Big Mac]

A built-in feature of the Finder? Why should it be? I think you missed the point of mindwaves original post.