Struggling to break free of Windows

I've been using my new Mac for about two days now. It is very comfortable and easy to use and understand. I love it. I am, however, still trying to break old windows habits. So here's my question:

In windows a software installation would spew tons of files all over the system, make registry entries and in general just bungle things up. What is involved with application installations on a Mac? What I understand so far is that when I run the disk image file it lets me choose where (in the applications folder) to install the new software. What other files are copied or installed. It looks like very little actually ends up in the application folder. Also, what is the file type for applications (like .exe in Windows?).

Finally, if I install an application that I no longer want what do I do to uninstall it?

More than likely I'm thinking way too much like a windows user and someone will come back with a one word answer explaining that Macs handle this process much more simply. I'll soon break free of my Windows ways. Now to convince my boss to let us use Macs at work.

Installing software on a Mac is generally a breeze. You get the software as a .dmg file usually. This is a virtual volume file. You double click it and it mounts itself as a virtual disk on your desktop and opens a Finder window. To install, simply drag the .app file to your Applications folder. For most applications, that is it! To uninstall, drag the .app file into the trash.

The beauty of this is that Mac apps do NOT spew zillions of little files all over the machine. The reason is that most Mac .app files are not in fact a single file, but rather an archive. That archive contains all those little files, all in one place. The app is more or less self contained. Hence to install, just copy to the Applications folder (even this is uncessary, but it does make the app available to all users of the machine, not just you).

To see this in action, go to your Applications folder, pick an application at random and right click it. Select "Show Package Contents" and you will see that full set of stuff in that app.

It is brilliantly simple, and so much more tidy than the Windows approach.

I'm so glad I switched to Mac. I still need to use a PC at work and it is making me feel cluttered and stressed out. Thanks for the help.

there is a caveat to this. some apps do have preference files, cache folders and such. for an example, spotlight "iphoto" or "itunes", and check the detailed results.

but generally, doing a search for the app name to find the files to remove is all that's necessary to completely remove an app.

there are also uninstallers, but i've uninstalled some more complex programs without needing one yet.

welcome to the forums and enjoy your new mac! let us know if you have any other questions or concerns!

I use a little program called AppDelete that gets rid of all references to a particular program, meaning the App itself, Library files, and any installation file(s). I keep it next to the Trash bin on the Dock, so I just drag the program down when I want to remove it.

Sure, I could just delete the app itself and not worry about the rest, but I guess some Windows habits die hard :black: