Installing and Unistalling downloaded programs

Question

Hi, I'm new to mac and don't know where to begin when it comes to installing and unistalling downloaded programs correctly. Please help. Many thanks.

Answer 1

Hi, carpi.
Installing applications
Generally, packaged commercial software is distributed on CDs or via downloads and includes installation instructions that should be readily obvious.
Many of the shareware and freeware applications you will download are distributed in disk images, files with the .dmg extension. A disk image is a virtual hard drive in a single file.
Double-clicking the .dmg file mounts the disk image, like mounting a drive, and opens a new Finder window showing its contents.
On your desktop, an unmounted disk image appears as follows:
Whereas a mounted disk image might look like this:
If you download a disk image containing an application, double-click the disk image file, then examine the Finder window that opens. Usually it will contain:• A "Read Me" file that tells you how to install the app, uninstall the app, get support, etc. If there's a "Read Me" or "Read Me First" document, be sure to read that first.
• One of the following:• The application, as a single icon. This is known as a bundle. It contains all the files associated with the application in a folder that is also the application's icon. One drags-and-drops these to the Macintosh HD > Applications folder to install the app and make it available to all user accounts on your Macv. If you want the application available to only your account, drag-and-drop it to your Home > Applications folder. If you do not have a Home > Applications folder, simply create such a folder.
• An installer package for the application. If it uses the Mac OS X Installer, the installer package looks like a cardboard box containing objects. One double-clicks normally this to install the application.• Other files the developer decided to include, sometimes icon that are actually hyperlinks to their Web site, etc.After you've installed the application, you can eject the mounted disk image by any of the following means:• Dragging its icon to the Trash. This ejects the mounted disk image: it does not Trash it.
• Control-click the mounted disk image's icon and select Eject from the resulting contextual menu.
• Click the Eject button next to the mounted disk image's icon in the Finder's Sidebar.
• Launch Disk Utility (in the Applications > Utilities folder), select the mounted disk image in the left column, then click Eject on the Disk Utility toolbar.After you have ejected the mounted disk image, you can trash the unmounted disk image, i.e. the .dmg file you downloaded.
You can learn more about disk images by reviewing these files from Mac Help (Finder > Help > Mac Help) and Disk Utility Help.
Uninstalling Applications
See my "Uninstalling applications" FAQ for important advice on uninstalling software.
Learning more...
You wrote: "I'm new to mac"Since you've "new to Mac," my "Learning About Mac OS X" FAQ has a number of resources that you will find helpful including books, online trainging, and more. Educating yourself about Mac OS X will significantly speed your transition from Windows and is easier than the "trial and error" method.
Good luck!
Dr. Smoke
Author: Troubleshooting Mac® OS X
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