New to Mac...how to install software
hello,
im new to the mac and im not sure how to install certain software i was given. i heard there are several ways to isntall software on a mac depending on what kinda of file extension the program icon has.
for example i have the following extensions ".sit" and ".dmg"
if there are any other methods or extensions i should know about please let me know.
thanks,
Danny
im new to the mac and im not sure how to install certain software i was given. i heard there are several ways to isntall software on a mac depending on what kinda of file extension the program icon has.
for example i have the following extensions ".sit" and ".dmg"
if there are any other methods or extensions i should know about please let me know.
thanks,
Danny
Comments
With .sit, Stuffit Expander will open and decompress it. With a .dmg (which means Disk Image) it'll open a icon on your desktop that you will need to double click on to install.
Usually with disk images, you can just drag the application to your applications folder to use it.
Originally posted by Cake
Just double click on it.
With .sit, Stuffit Expander will open and decompress it. With a .dmg (which means Disk Image) it'll open a icon on your desktop that you will need to double click on to install.
More descriptive than the above but not actually any more complicated:
.dmg:
- Double click file icon
(it gets busy)
- Usually a white disk icon will show up on your desktop (that is a virtual disk ... the files you want are on it). And usually a window will automatically open up showing you the files you want, often in big icons with some descriptive text as to what to do next.
- Depending on the situation, you will either just drag the application's icon to the desktop or anyplace you want to keep it. Otherwise you will double click an installer and follow the prompts.
- When done, close the window. You will then want to "unmount" the new icon that is on the desktop (should be a white icon with the same name as your .dmg file). This can be dragged to the trash icon to "eject"/"unmount" it (virtually).
Since using the Trash to eject a disk makes PC users nervous, an easier way to unmount is control-Click ("cntrl" key) on the virtual disk icon adn choose "Eject <name>".
(control-Click is the Mac's version of right mouse click, and is good for many things.)
Thanks John for the clarification.
Originally posted by Cake
Sorry about that. I was a bit to simplistic.
Thanks John for the clarification.
Oh, no, I had started my reply anyway. I like your version, covered everything nicely. I think dj might prefer yours to mine anyway
Mine was more "if you are interested in more info"...
Originally posted by johnq
...
Since using the Trash to eject a disk makes PC users nervous, an easier way to unmount is control-Click ("cntrl" key) on the virtual disk icon adn choose "Eject <name>".
Small point. With OS X things changed. Now when you drag a volume towards the dock the trash icon changes to an eject icon. You no longer dismount a volume by dragging it to the trash. Just one of the little thousand and one touches made over the years.