Comments on: Understanding file downloads and their remnants

By: Bob

Bob — Sat, 14 Apr 2012 18:23:13 +0000

I guess I can delete all the downloads in the download folder and not lose any installed item correct? Want to completely clean out this folder.

Thanks….Bob

By: Scott Haneda

Scott Haneda — Sun, 08 Apr 2012 01:33:49 +0000

Hi Linda,

Just locate the Downloads folder, which is in your home folder with the other folders like Library, Music, Photos, Documents, Public, Shared.

You can also search the site for “Dock” and find information there. http://osxhelp.com/?s=Dock&submit=GO

Take the downloads folder and drag it on the dock where you want it. Move it around until the left or right or top and bottom icons nearby move out of the way. At that point release the mouse and your folder I’d back.

Right click any item in your dock to configure how that item behaves when you click on it.

By: Linda Wink

Linda Wink — Fri, 06 Apr 2012 03:33:55 +0000

Question…I accidently deleted the download file from my dock, and can’t figure out how to get it back. Would you help?

By: Hansine

Hansine — Tue, 05 Apr 2011 01:00:06 +0000

Thank you for this excellent article. It was a great help.

By: Scott Haneda

Scott Haneda — Tue, 20 Apr 2010 17:33:50 +0000

@Wayne,
Your best option will be to save the .dmg. Copying files out of a DMG can render them broken. Depending on how the DMG was made, different paths to the files may be relative to the DMG itself. By copying the uninstaller out of the DMG, those paths can be rendered broken.

I tend to shy away from any app that has an installer, if I can not install it by copying a single file as an application, then I try to find an alternative. Often times, that is not possible.

In your case, the best I can offer, is to safe the DMG. However, that in itself can be problematic, as the uninstaller is only good for that version. If the application does auto updating, then the uninstaller may not remove all the correct bits, or may fail entirely.

This is again why I shy away from installer based applications, and try to stick with single file drag and drop applications.

There is no perfect answer, but I think the best is to save the DMG. Myself, I usually will go to the google and type in “app name uninstaller” and usually can find instructions on how to remove every bit that has been installed, though I do have to do that by hand. Sometimes I will have to email support, but I feel it is worth it to get my machine back to how it was before I installed it.

I wrote a small script that watches my installs, and will report to me all files that were installed, so I know exactly what to remove. Unfortunately, that script is not something i would readily release on the public. — Good luck

By: Wayne

Wayne — Tue, 20 Apr 2010 17:15:03 +0000

I find many .dmg files have an uninstall program in them that does not get installed with the app. Should I have a need to uninstall this application in the future, I would not have the uninstall. If any time has passed the download may not be available and I really do not want to waste the time to find it, download and run it again, just to do a simple uninstall. The problem gets extended because every app calls the file uninstall. Many times there are readme files that also do not get installed with the app that may have critical information, especially when dealing with an uninstall. So I guess my question would be should I save only the files related to uninstalls in another directory, save the dmg, or perhaps even copy the dmg contents to a folder that I zip or compress? Or perhaps is there a better option that I do not know about?

By: Barb

Barb — Tue, 20 Apr 2010 11:44:35 +0000

I started over by deleting the dmg. file. Then I downloaded the file again and reinstalled. Sure enough when I plugged in the adapter the computer recognized the device and I was good to go. Can’t explain why it didn’t work the first time. Thanks again.

By: Scott Haneda

Scott Haneda — Mon, 19 Apr 2010 20:00:41 +0000

@Barb,
Would you mind telling us what it was that you did to work it out, so that others here can learn and possibly use that for their troubleshooting?

By: barb

barb — Mon, 19 Apr 2010 16:22:12 +0000

Scott, got this worked out. Thanks for your time and expertise.

By: barb

barb — Mon, 19 Apr 2010 11:09:52 +0000

Thanks Scott for your suggestions, but I do have that Apple USB adapter.
I have also followed the instructions from the Tidbits article, but after downloading and installing the dmg. file found here I still can’t get the adapter to work. Any other solutions?

By: Scott Haneda

Scott Haneda — Mon, 19 Apr 2010 10:34:07 +0000

@Barb, I take it this is not the Apple USB to Ethernet adapter? That one would in fact work right out of the box, no additional software needed. Otherwise, you are going to have to read this TdBits article, follow the links, and see what you can come up with. I believe what they are offering is free, but I am not 100% sure. My best suggestion, return the one you have, and buy one that is known to work reliably and perfectly with Apple products, such as the Apple USB to Ethernet Adapter.

By: barb

barb — Mon, 19 Apr 2010 00:00:51 +0000

So glad I found this site! Hope to get some help… My built in ethernet (imac 10.4) was zapped by lightening, so I purchased an apple USB ethernet adapter. I assumed it would just plug in and work. No go. I found a download just for this but I am having trouble downloading the dmg. file. I install the file, restart and nothing happens. My computer still doesn’t recognize the adapter. Any suggestions?

By: Scott Haneda

Scott Haneda — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 03:46:41 +0000

@gonzobe,

This is one topic. What to do with the dmg file after the app has been installed. From a windows perspective, you don’t get rid of anything program related. So even tho I have read to eject the dmg, I just wasn’t convinced.

A dmg is literally a single file, that when opened, will mount a virtual disk. You can eject (put in trash) the virtual disc that the dmg mounts, with no harm. Once you have copied the files you need from the dmg, or ran the installer, you can safely eject the white icon, and also throw away the dmg with zero ill effects.

Yes, you can save the dmg to an external drive, or you could just keep in on your computer in some folder where you decide to save such things. It is not really a habit I would recommend getting into. You are saving a file that is an installer, or an application for a specific version of software. Most Mac software developers are releasing software updates on a speedy and regular basis.

You will end up saving a dmg that has an older version of software on it. If for whatever reason you ever need to reinstall it, I would just go to the website, and download it again. This assures you that you have the most current version. Most apps are relatively small, and can be downloaded in a few minutes.

Something like Adobe’s Creative Suite may be worth saving the installer, but even that is not that terrible of a download if you have a decent internet connection.

can the dmg be saved to an external drive and be reused or is it “empty”?

The dmg is not empty in any way. As a matter of fact, a dmg for a software installer is in almost all cases going to be a read only dmg, meaning, you can not alter it even if you were desirous to do so. You may be able to move an icon around within the window, but you would not be able to delete the files on it. Feel free to try, no harm can come from it, and it will help you understand the process a little better.

If you are worried about being able to locate the files, rather than saving the dmg, perhaps you should consider developing a system of bookmarks where you bookmark the download page for the software. My personal recommendation is that saving a dmg is a waste of disk space, and will only get you in potential trouble, as you will be installing old software.

Consider the following scenario:
Download and install coolapp version 1.3
Save coolapp 1.3 installer on your computer for future use

coolapp 1.3 has an internal update mechanism. You launch coolapp 1.3 and it says “hey, we have released coolapp 1.4, would you like to update?

Of course, you do update, and are now at coolapp 1.4. This goes on for a few months and you end up at coolapp 1.7, and all of a sudden, something goes wrong with coolapp 1.7.

You revert back to your saved dmg, and install coolapp 1.3. However, all the files and preferences for coolapp are in the format that coolapp 1.7 used to read. You are now asking coolapp 1.3 to understand an aspect of itself that was not yet programmed into it at the time of release.

In extreme cases, the above procedure can corrupt your files to the point that they are broken. Good developers will protect you from this. For example, if you try to open a newer iPhoto library with an older version of iPhoto, it simply will not allow it to happen, and tell you to update iPhoto first.

I do strongly suggest you look to sites like macupdate.com for your software as well, not so much to locate and download the software, it is always better to go directly to the source of the software, but more to read the reviews.

There is a lot of software out there, much of which is junk, or could potentially cause your computer to become unstable. The reviews on MacUpate can be helpful. Another tactic is just a google search for “Mac OS X _insert software name here_ sucks”. That will get you a good idea of others impressions of the software as well.

Let us know if you have any other questions.

By: gonzobe

gonzobe — Sun, 17 Jan 2010 22:53:33 +0000

Excellent article. I am a two week mac newbie & I love my iMac. I have been stuck on dos pcs since computers had two floppies and no hard drive. Vista was my last straw. I have only had two questions/problems and have been searching the net for answers. This is one topic. What to do with the dmg file after the app has been installed. From a windows perspective, you don’t get rid of anything program related. So even tho I have read to eject the dmg, I just wasn’t convinced. I do have one question tho, after installing the app, can the dmg be saved to an external drive and be reused or is it “empty”? I don’t want to have to search the net again for say tux paint & other cool apps if I accidently trash the app. I am so windows oriented, the process on the mac to uninstall apps is awesome as well as graphics, processing speed, quietness, safety, and …………

By: Candace

Candace — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 22:27:46 +0000

Thank you so much.

I’m new to Mac and this has been very helpful.

They seem to forget to explain how to do the simple things.

By: Scott Haneda

Scott Haneda — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 02:20:35 +0000

@Dannie Thank you for the comment. I have always wondered how well a blind person can get along on the Macintosh. I am aware of the Accessibility options that Apple provides, and I am aware, that in my light browsing of them, comparing the features to the offerings on Windows, I find Apple’s superior.

Far from perfect, as myself, with fair enough eyesight, find some things frustrating, and I have a luxury others may not.

If there is anything in particular you get stuck on, try to find a relevant post, and leave us a comment. Please mention your disability so I can compose my reply appropriately.

Good luck with your new Mac.

By: Dannie R

Dannie R — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 20:52:53 +0000

Hi. I’m a fairly new Mac user. I switched from windows early this month. I’m totally blind so I use Voiceover and what a brilliant thing it is. Thanks for this website. i’m learning a lot from it. Your bookmark organisation strategy is excellent – I should have done something like that a long time ago on windows. And thanks for mentioning unarchiver. I downloaded stuffit because I didn’t know there was another alternative. It’s now going to be removed.

By: Scott Haneda

Scott Haneda — Fri, 10 Apr 2009 22:10:23 +0000

@John, yes, this means that at some point, you installed Stuffit Expander. You could delete it, safely, I have not had it installed in years, and find Unarchiver to work better, and be easier to locate and get ahold of versus the way in which Stuffit is hidden for the free version on their website.

By: John

John — Fri, 10 Apr 2009 17:45:24 +0000

I just got my first mac (iMac OS X) and was gong to download the unarchiver, when the download window popped up it and states “open with stuffit (default)” or save file. Does this mean I already have Stuffit?

By: Scott Haneda

Scott Haneda — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 06:22:08 +0000

@Jerry, thanks for noticing. We actually talked about that very aspect. As you probably know there are 100′s of Mac sites out there, our edge over them, if you can call it that is we try to being it down to normal language levels. People do not care about what SATA, eSATA, USB, and all the other acronyms are, we just want to teach you what the general concepts are. Once you get the general ideas, there are plenty of places to dig deeper if you so desire.

Thanks again.

By: Jerry

Jerry — Sun, 06 Jul 2008 04:49:46 +0000

Scott:
The best thing about your site is that you explain in language that anyone (even I) can understand. Too often, those who know don’t know how to communicate to those who don’t know (I’ve found this problem asking questions in Apple Support Discussions), which leaves the questioner (me) feeling dumb and, at times, more confused than before. Thanks for the clarity!

By: Joe Cotellese

Joe Cotellese — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 02:55:55 +0000

I’ve posted a videocast demonstrating the download process at Learning OS X. You can see the video here.

http://www.learningosx.com/2008/06/where-do-my-downloads-go/

By: Peter Giger

Peter Giger — Sun, 06 Apr 2008 07:25:49 +0000

I am an experienced win and linux user. This post helped me to understand dmg-files, which seemed to behave strangely. Thank you…

By: Scott Haneda

Scott Haneda — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 22:57:05 +0000

@Mary, by downloads, we mean the actual files that are downloaded. In Leopard 10.5, they will end up in your Downloads folder, which is in your home folder. You can access this by going to the “Go” menu in the Finder, and selecting “Home” then opening the “Downloads” folder.

The dialog box you are talking about is just a download history in Safari, that shows you what you have downloaded in the past. You can click on the small magnifying glass icon and it will also take you right to the file you downloaded, assuming it still exists and you have not deleted it.

By: Mary Apodaca

Mary Apodaca — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 17:18:33 +0000

I loved this post because I’m a minimalist and have but worried. What do you mean by one’s downloads? The dialog box that shows what you’ve downloaded that invites you to clear it each time? Thanks!