Couple newbie questions

avoravor
Posted:
in Genius Bar edited January 2014
Hey Just got my Mac book Pro yesterday and can't figure out a couple (easy) things;



If I'm playing a game full screen (ex WarCraft III) I'm not sure how to switch in between programs. I've tried the apple+tab and other things but it doesn't seem to work for me.



The other I'm just unsure of; installing stuff is so easy on this - is uninstalling just dragging the item from the Application folder to the trash? I'm assuming it's the opposite of installing; but being used to Windows I don't know if applications tend to throw their dependencies throughout the system.



Thanks!

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 4
    MarvinMarvin Posts: 15,324moderator
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Avor


    If I'm playing a game full screen (ex WarCraft III) I'm not sure how to switch in between programs. I've tried the apple+tab and other things but it doesn't seem to work for me.



    Sometimes expose works when you are in a game. You can also try command-h.



    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Avor


    The other I'm just unsure of; installing stuff is so easy on this - is uninstalling just dragging the item from the Application folder to the trash? I'm assuming it's the opposite of installing; but being used to Windows I don't know if applications tend to throw their dependencies throughout the system.



    Some applications install dependencies but they usually come with an uninstaller. Mostly OS X programs can just be deleted. They are really folders that contain all the stuff the program needs whereas .exes tend to be the executable alone. The mac equivalent of the exe is inside the application package - if you right-click an app and choose show package contents then go contents > MacOS and the file in there that has the name of the app is the executable. This can often be run from the command-line.
  • Reply 2 of 4
    ricksbrainricksbrain Posts: 517member
    In a full screen game, isn't the OS often hijacked, making program switching impossible?
  • Reply 3 of 4
    jon-e-orangejon-e-orange Posts: 104member
    For uninstalling try Appzapper http://appzapper.com/
  • Reply 4 of 4
    sherman homansherman homan Posts: 167member
    Most Mac programs uninstall be simply trashing the program. Some have more complicated installs that create folders and put plug-ins in other places but those usually have uninstallers to help out. Microsoft Office is a good example.



    However, all programs that I know of create some preference file somewhere. Those will not get deleted by throwing away the program. The files are small and they are not like DLL's in Windows so they usually aren't problematic. However they can add up so jon-e-orange's suggestion of AppZapper is a good one.



    You can also use monolingual to get rid of the thousands of language files that OS X installs. But be careful with it, it is powerful and it will do exactly what you tell it to do, including deleting required fonts and drivers.
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