How to locate where programs are installed on iMac and how to uninstall

Most programs install themselves in your "Applications" folder. To install a program it usually asks you to drag and drop the icon directly into the applications folder, therefore overwriting an existing program of the same name if you're upgrading or re-installing.

To uninstall, you simply drag the icon out of the applications folder and toss it in the trash.

I don't know of a cleaner way to uninstall as far as getting rid of every file created by any given program, so if someone has any input on this I'd like to know as well.

Uninstalling Software: The Basics

Most OS X applications are completely self-contained "packages" that can be uninstalled by simply dragging the application to the Trash. Most applications create preference files which are stored in the /Home/Library/Preferences/ folder. Although they do nothing once you delete the associated application, they do take up some disk space. If you want you can located them in the above location and delete them, too.

Some applications may install an uninstaller program that can be used to remove the application. In some cases the uninstaller may be part of the application's installer, and is invoked by clicking on a Customize button that will appear during the install process.

Some applications may install components in the /Home/Library/Applications Support/ folder. You can also check there to see if the application has created a folder. You can also delete the folder that's in the Applications Support folder. Again, they don't do anything but take up disk space once the application is trashed.

Some applications may install a startupitem or a Log In item. Startupitems are usually installed in the /Library/StartupItems/ folder and less often in the /Home/Library/StartupItems/ folder. Log In Items are set in the Accounts preferences. Open System Preferences, click on the Accounts icon, then click on the LogIn Items tab. Locate the item in the list for the application you want to remove and click on the "-" button to delete it from the list.

If an application installs any other files the best way to track them down is to do a Finder search using the application name or the developer name as the search term.

There are also several shareware utilities that can uninstall applications:

AppZapper
CleanApp
Yank
SuperPop
Uninstaller
Spring Cleaning

Look for them at VersionTracker or MacUpdate.

For more information visit The XLab FAQs and read the FAQ on removing software.

This may sound really stupid but, I installed a game from the internet and now I am trying to uninstall it. I have used Finder to find its default location but, it states "O" results found. I have tried various names without success. What is the easiest way to get rid of a game, so I can be sure everything associated with it is uninstalled? I think Kappy posted the easiest answer but I'm always afraid I'm going to delete something I shouldn't. Pretend I'm the worst computer user and needs TLC when it comes to intructions. Thanks. 🙂 Oh! BTW, Can I create a "Games" folder in Applications so I can keep all my games in one folder and in one place? How?

As frequently reported on this forum, the Finder’s Find and Spotlight frequently do not find some files. In Finder’s Find I just did a search for “Spotlight” and it did not find the spotlight.plist file, although it exists in my preferences folder. You may want to try a 3rd party Find application like EasyFind which you can download for free from VersionTracker.

To create a “Games” folder in your Applications folder, open the Applications folder and select New Folder from the File menu or use the shortcut Shift-Command-n. Then move or save your games to that folder.

Bruce Etnyre wrote:
As frequently reported on this forum, the Finder’s Find and Spotlight frequently do not find some files. In Finder’s Find I just did a search for “Spotlight” and it did not find the spotlight.plist file, although it exists in my preferences folder. You may want to try a 3rd party Find application like EasyFind which you can download for free from VersionTracker.

The Finder's Find can find these files, but you have to specifically tell it to. In the Find window, click the plus sign at the extreme right. Then select the Kind button. If the list doesn't include System Files, select other. Then navigate to System Files in the list it shows, click the "in menu" box to add it to the default menu. The second box that was labelled Any will change to Don't Include (the default). Change that to "Include".

For the original question about locating Applications, leave the Kind button alone and select Applications from the Any list. Note that Apple ships all apps in the top-level Applications folder. If you download other apps and place them there, any and all users can use them.

If you want to hide any such apps from other users, create an Applications folder in your home folder and put them there. (Do not, however, put any Apple apps in sub-folders -- they may not be found or not work properly).

One more recommendation: make a Downloaded/Purchased folder in your Applications folder for all your non-Apple apps. That will help greatly in the future, for such things as removing obsolete or un-used apps, or to ease figuring out whether such apps are compatible when preparing to upgrade OSX. (Do not, however, put any Apple apps in sub-folders -- they may not be found or may not work properly.)