Uninstall Mac Applications

Geek · June 21, 2011

<div class="KonaBody"><p><img src="http://osxdaily.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/mac-app-icon.jpg" alt="Uninstalling a Mac application is easy" title="Uninstalling a Mac application is easy" width="200" height="200" class="alignright size-full wp-image-17660" /> Uninstalling applications from <a href="http://osxdaily.com/category/mac-os-x/">Mac OS X</a> is probably the easiest method of removing apps from any operating system, and it’s far easier on a Mac than anything you’ll encounter in the Windows world. It’s so simple that some new Mac users are left wondering what else they’re supposed to do, I have received several family tech support questions where they are determined to find an “Uninstall Programs” control panel like in Windows – this is not the case on a Mac, it’s dead simple.</p>

<p>First up we’ll cover the traditional method of just deleting the application. Then we’ll show you the even easier way that is new to <a href="http://osxdaily.com/tag/mac-os-x-10-7/">Mac OS X Lion</a>:</p>

<h2 style="font-size:1.3em;">Uninstalling Applications in Mac OS X</h2>

<p>This is the same method that has been around since the dawn of the Mac. All you need to do is select and delete the application:</p>

<ul>

<li>Navigate to /Applications and select the app you want to uninstall</li>

<li>Either drag the application icon to the Trash, or right-click and select “Move to Trash”</li>

<li>Right-click on the Trash can and select “Empty Trash”</li>

</ul>

If you prefer keystrokes, you can also just select the app icon and then hit Command+Delete to move the app to Trash, then empty the Trash and the app will be removed. This method works in versions of OS X prior to Snow Leopard as well. Now let’s move onto Lion, which makes uninstalling apps as simple as the iPhone:</p>

<h2 style="font-size:1.3em;">Uninstalling Apps in Mac OS X 10.7 Lion</h2>

<p>Despite the already incredibly simple app uninstall process on a Mac, Lion makes it even easier by taking the iOS method:</p>

<ul>

<li>Open LaunchPad</li>

<li>Click and hold on the icon of the app you want to uninstall</li>

<li>When the app icon starts to jiggle, click on the black (X) icon that appears</li>

<li>Click on “Delete” to confirm the removal of the app</li>

</ul>

<p>You can also use the the drag-to-Trash method in Mac OS X Lion, but LaunchPad is quickest.</p>

<p>Using LaunchPad in Mac OS X Lion does not require you to empty the Trash afterwards, it’s all handled immediately. This should be familiar to anyone who has used an iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch, since the interface and tap-and-hold method is identical to what is in iOS. This is yet another reason that upgrading to Lion is compelling, it makes the Mac experience even simpler while still retaining the full power and potential behind Mac OS X. Deleting apps from LaunchPad wil</p>

<p><strong>Library files & preferences</strong>

Some applications will also leave behind some preference files and caches, generally these don’t harm anything to leave around, but if you want to delete them it’s just a matter of locating the apps support files and removing those as well. These are typically found in the following locations:

<code>~/Library/Application Support/(App Name)</code> Preferences are stored at <code>~/Library/Preferences</code> Caches are stored in: <code>~/Library/Caches/(App Name)</code>

Again, these generally don’t do any harm to leave be, but they can take up some hard drive space, so users with smaller SSD’s might want to be pay more attention to the cache and support files that some applications generate. The biggest offender here is Steam, where if you play a lot of games it tends to <a href="http://osxdaily.com/2011/06/18/move-steam-games-save-files-to-a-new-hard-drive/">gather a very large</a> Application Support folder.</p>

<p><strong>Note about applications that include separate uninstaller utilities</strong>

This is somewhat rare on a Mac, but some applications include their own uninstaller apps to remove all traces of an application. These are typically from Adobe or Microsoft because some of those applications will install more apps that aid the program. For example, Adobe Photoshop might install the Photoshop application in addition to Stock Photos, Help Viewer, Adobe Bridge, and others. In this case, you can either manually delete all the accompanying apps, or just run the uninstaller application that comes on the original installation DVD. </p>

</div>

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