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Occasionally, every Mac user (from amateur to power user) has issues either installing stubborn applications or removing them. Fortunately, there are utilities for such instances, which every Mac user should keep handy.

Installation Woes

If you’re new to Macs, or just haven’t really noticed before, Mac OS X uses package files (with a file extension .pkg) for installing some applications. These files are optimized for OS X and are easier to manage than their equivalents in the Windows world (which would be a .exe file and many, many other little files littered around it). Double-clicking one of these packages will usually start the install, however occasionally you might run into one that doesn’t install correctly. Is there a solution? Enter Pacifist.

Pacifist, a $20 shareware application, is basically a power installer. Drop a package file onto Pacifist and you can quickly see the components of that installation, and selectively choose what you wish to install. Instead of reinstalling all OS X, you could quickly just reinstall Safari or Address Book, for instance.

Going a step further, Pacifist can also be used to verify current installations against the original package files, helping you to find specific files that are missing or may have incorrect permissions.

A word of warning, however: As Pacifist is a very powerful application, it can lead to incomplete installations and unexpected application behavior if used incorrectly.

Spring Cleaning

While some enjoy installing every third-party application they can find, others strive for a minimalist Zen quality that involves cutting the clutter by removing any unused ones.

In the Windows world, applications install data everywhere. The same is true for some Mac applications as well (though they tend to be installed in consistent and predictable places). To remove applications completely, I like to use another shareware application called AppZapper.

AppZapper, which retails for $12.95, bills itself as “the uninstaller Apple forgot” and that is a perfect description of what it does. Echoing the simple drag-and-drop nature of OS X, you simply drag an application icon into the AppZapper window. It scours your entire hard drive and finds all associated files (cache files, package receipts, log files, etc.) and in one click, instantly deletes all traces of the application.

Another unique feature of this application is the “genie lamp” icon which will scan your hard drive and show you all of the applications you have installed. At a glance, you can quickly see both what you have and how long it’s been since each application was last used. Cleaning out clutter couldn’t be any simpler!

Again, such a powerful application comes with a word of warning: be careful when deleting applications. But AppZapper does feature a “safety,” which will allow you to protect specific applications (including all system applications), and unlike red shirts in Star Trek, once an application has been zapped, you can still recover it (until you empty your trash).

A Secret Tip That Mama Never Told You

Even after you’ve “deleted” your application and it sits happily in the trash can, sometimes that stubborn can will just not empty itself. You try and you try but constantly get error messages telling you something is still in use. To fix this, make sure that any potentially associated applications are not running when you empty the trash. If the trash still refuses to empty, hold down the option key while clicking empty trash. If, after both of these steps, you still are having no luck, try logging out and logging back in to your user account. If all else fails, a restart should fix the problem.

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You’re running out of disk space? You want to clean your disk to free up some space and get rid of the clutter? Sponge is a tool to keep your Mac clean and tidy.

Features

Sponge combines three different techniques to clean up your Mac: removing applications, locating the large files on your drive and finding duplicates.

• Removing applications: Sponge generates a list of all the applications installed on your system, how much space these applications occupy, and their associated files and folders. Sponge then provides the facility to remove applications safely from the system.
• Sweeping disk hogs: Sponge will show which files and directories take up the most space, giving you a starting point for cleaning some of the clutter from your Mac. Once you’ve tracked them down, Sponge can conveniently swipe them off your disk.
• Finding duplicates: With all the attachments, memos, letters and other documents with which we are flooded in today’s world, it’s easy to lose track and accidentally save duplicates of files. Sponge makes finding these multiple copies easy.

Likes and Dislikes

The aspect of Sponge I’m most impressed with is that the creators have thought to put these three tools together in one piece of software. I commonly use similar software to sweep my disk and remove applications, and have never thought to perform an in-depth search for duplicate files before now. Finding duplicates works well and has a simple interface for determining which file is the most up to date.

Unfortunately, I haven’t completely fallen for the application uninstall feature. One main issue is that Sponge generates a list of all your installed applications — this takes time, and limits the choice of apps to uninstall. I’d prefer to be able to point to a file/application and have Sponge find all the associated resources to remove.

Finally, the ‘Sweep Disk Hogs’ tool impressed me with its speed. Previous applications I’ve used for this functionality have scanned the entire hard drive. Sponge allows you to drill down folder-by-folder, making it considerably quicker. It isn’t as easy to get a picture of your whole drive but is still straight forward to find large, cumbersome files.

Competing Utilities

Some other utilities which can perform similar functions to Sponge include AppZapper, a software uninstallation tool, and DiskInventory X, capable of showing the biggest files on your hard drive. From experience of using all three, I am of the opinion that AppZapper and DiskInventory perform a better overall job in their respective categories. However, Sponge seems unique in offering all three of these facilities in one package. If you’re looking for a single tool to help clean up the files on your system, Sponge could be a good option. It costs $19.95, but a full 15 day trial is available.

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Installation

On Windows when you download an application it is generally a .exe file. It is sometimes compressed in to a .zip file.

On OS X, a large majority of applications that you download will be in .dmg format. .dmg stands for “disk image” and it basically functions like a hard drive. DMG files can be mounted and ejected just like a regular hard drive. The purpose of the .dmg file is for compression. It can greatly reduce the size of the file you are downloading.

When you download this DMG file you simply double-click on it to mount/open it. Generally you will just see the application that you’d like to install. You then drag the application to your Applications folder.

After you’ve moved the application file to your Applications folder you then eject the “drive” the DMG created from your desktop to the trash can in the dock. This does not delete the DMG file, it just un-mounts it. Since you have installed the application, you no longer need the DMG file. Drag the DMG file to the trash to delete the DMG file itself.

And that’s it! It’s really less complicated that it may seem and after you’ve done it a couple of times you won’t even think twice about it. To launch the application you installed, just go to your Application folder and double-click on it.

Uninstall

So that snazzy application that you installed a few days ago has lost its luster and you realized you just don’t need it.

Uninstalling an application on OS X is even easier than installing it.

Simply go to your Applications folder, find the application you no longer need and drag it to your trash can in the dock. And that’s it!

Advanced Uninstall

Some purists here will argue that isn’t really “it” when it comes to uninstall an application and to an extent, they are correct. The majority of applications install small preference and configuration files elsewhere on your Mac. The files are so small that they don’t really have an impact on computer performance or your storage space, but should you want to keep your computer as clean as possible there are applications you can use to completely rid your computer of all traces of an application.

Here are a couple worth checking out:

• AppZapper – $12.95
• AppCleaner – Free

Screencast

Checkout the screencast below that covers the basics of installing and uninstalling an application.

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