Installing on a different location.

When installing any application, it should be installed in the default folder which is the Application Folder. That is where Mac OS expects it to be; if you were to put it elsewhere, it may not work properly; but more importantly, if you want to check for updates, it would not be able to find it. You can create a sub folder in the Applications folder to, say, put all apps you install in it, if you like.

Or you could create subfolders under Applications for families of software, such as browsers in one, word processors in one, etc. Depends on how obsessive compulsive you are 🙂

Would you like to borrow my reading glasses?

+You can create a sub folder in the Applications folder to, say, put all apps you install in it, if you like.+

😁

Edit: just occurred to me - you were addressing me???? I am not obsessive compulsive!!!!

Message was edited by: Barbara Daniels1

+*I am not obsessive compulsive!!!!*+

But you are German, isn't that a requirement???

You're no longer permitted to drink beer 🙂

Am I correct in assuming you thought that was humorous?

Just poking a litle fun, I am sorry if it offended you, Barbara...really did not intend to.

I realize that, but that one crossed the line.... 😉

Not to worry, we've been friends for a while, but I had to call him on that one!
I'm not up on acronyms - what is OC please?

In any case, creating folders is very easy (you don't do it during installation; you can do it any other time). If the app gets installed in the regular folder, simply move it to your newly created sub folder later:

Open Applications folder (I view mine in column view, but it doesn't matter). Do not select anything within that folder. Go to File Menu at the top menu bar. Click on "New Folder". It will be placed within the Applications folder and named "untitled" - so, if you're viewing it alphabetically, it'll be towards the bottom. Scroll down and you can rename it to whatever you like. That's it.

You can also simply do it while in Finder with just your desktop showing - same procedure. Once you place applications in it, simply drag 'n drop it into your Applications folder.

You can also create folders to hold other files - I have a "my Doc's" sub folder in the Documents folder with about 40 sub/sub folders holding all my correspondence, bills, financial info, etc.

If the field underneath the folder changes before you can type in a name, simply highlight it, hit return on the keyboard, and the field changes into an editable area.

Just get used to ignore that question - in almost all instances, it is not applicable and the application should be installed as determined by the OS, not the user. There are some exceptions; for instance, some pro applications such as Aperture or Final Cut allow you to install their very large libraries on an external hard drive, so the app itself is on your internal, but the library is elsewhere.

As for folder creation: absolutely any time (except during an install) and you can drag 'n drop things into or out of them at any time as well - I sometimes create temporary folders if I transfer a lot of photos from my camera and don't want 50 pic icons on my desktop. I'll create a folder and park them all in there until I've had a chance to look at them and decide where they should go. When I'm done, I throw the folder in the trash. As long as you only put new folders either on your desktop, in your User (good place is the Documents folder) or within your Applications folder, everything is fine - better not to add folders to any Library or the System folder though.

Ministrel wrote:
. . .
'do you wish to install on a different location; (or something like that) during installation of a new software or download.Is it asking about an external hard drive?

Yes, that's exactly the option it's giving you. Sometimes folks will have another partition on their internal HD with a different version of OSX, and/or often they'll have a "bootable clone" on an external HD, as a backup. Some will install updates and new apps to the clone first, to make sure everything's ok, before putting it on their main OSX volume.

By the way, don't put Apple apps in different folders; leave them in their original location (either /Applications or /Applications/Utilities). Some won't work if they're elsewhere, and won't get updated by Software Update unless they're where it expects them.

And be careful about putting other apps in other places, too. Some, especially ones that you just drop, are fine, but some others, especially ones that come with their own installers, won't work properly anywhere else and/or won't be updated.

If you need to organize them differently, leave the apps where they are, and put aliases to them wherever you wish.