Message app

I want to clean out the message app on my iMac and know you can delete them from the app but is there a way to go into the GOon the finder and put in something in that box to clear out message in the GO in the finder section. See attachement,


Thank you all for your help.


Frank

Posted on Apr 1, 2021 9:14 AM

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Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Posted on Apr 1, 2021 8:05 PM

Deleting from the app is guaranteed to produce the desired result. All the pieces (files) associated with the deleted messages are removed also. The Library is normally made not visible to the user, for good reason. Deleting files or folders from the Library can lead to malfunctioning applications because some applications have other pieces or files in other locations that point to, reference, or index entries. There are also caches that store additional information that some applications may or may not use. Just deleting a folder or the contents of a folder in the Library may leave other related pieces untouched.


For instance, in another folder, the Preferences folder, there are multiple files named com.apple.imessage.* and com.apple.ichat.* and com.apple.message*.* etc. Should those simply be left as is, even though you might be deleting files and folders where the messages' contents are stored?


I can assure you that if you delete messages from the app, you will get the intended result. Delete individual files and folders from your Library, you MAY get your intended result but you MAY get something that you did not intend.

4 replies
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Apr 1, 2021 8:05 PM in response to KODIAKGRIZZLY-BEAR_01

Deleting from the app is guaranteed to produce the desired result. All the pieces (files) associated with the deleted messages are removed also. The Library is normally made not visible to the user, for good reason. Deleting files or folders from the Library can lead to malfunctioning applications because some applications have other pieces or files in other locations that point to, reference, or index entries. There are also caches that store additional information that some applications may or may not use. Just deleting a folder or the contents of a folder in the Library may leave other related pieces untouched.


For instance, in another folder, the Preferences folder, there are multiple files named com.apple.imessage.* and com.apple.ichat.* and com.apple.message*.* etc. Should those simply be left as is, even though you might be deleting files and folders where the messages' contents are stored?


I can assure you that if you delete messages from the app, you will get the intended result. Delete individual files and folders from your Library, you MAY get your intended result but you MAY get something that you did not intend.

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Message app

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