AppZapper: The Uninstaller Apple Forgot in OSX
AppZapper proclaims itself as the application uninstaller that Apple forgot about when it was creating Mac OSX. And the truth is that they are probably right!
A frequent complaint with OSX is that users are able to merely delete software from the applications folder with no recourse and end up encountering trouble or finding that remnants of the software are left scattered all over the user's hard drive, in ~/Library and elsewhere.
So what's the best way to deal with this? Well aside from not deleting applications, the next best way is to use a third party app to uninstall said software packages.
Uninstalling Something You Deleted
OKAY. So you have to admit that you deleted a trial application and now are having problems installing the FULL version of the same software because it says that you already have an existing version of that software installed. That happens a lot with the Adobe, and formerly Macromedia applications. So what's the best plan of attack?
Well, in this instance, I would start by finding the trial version installer and actually going ahead and reinstalling the software you have just tried to delete. Once this is done, I would double-check and ensure that there is in fact no uninstaller mechanism combined with the application installer, as was almost 100% the case on Mac OS9 and earlier. The reason you need to install the trial again is that AppZapper needs the full app, and the associated installer package receipt, to find all the other files that were installed.
If there is indeed no unisntaller mechanism I would go ahead and download and install AppZapper. Registering the shareware app is only a small sum of 12.95 USD and is well worth the money. Once up and running all you need to do is drag and drop the sofware you wish to remove onto the uninstall dock and AppZapper will take care of the rest.
Conclusion: Featured Up
AppZapper is more than just a simple uninstall application and comes with the ability to safeguard certain applications from falling foul of your temptation to hit the trash without thinking first. AppZapper is definitely a useful little app and is worth the money if you want to try and clear all the dross from your hard drive when deleting this, that or some other trial application or problematic software you have installed previously.
Find out more about AppZapper at appzapper.com.