So you've got a Mac, it's got so many cool programs out-of-the-box but you've got to have another program. But how do you install this sweet piece of a software on your Mac? This article gives you the three main ways applications can be installed and how to do it.
Disk Images
Double Click on the disk image and it should mount the image and open a new window with its contents.
A drive appears with your contents.
Look through the given files to find the application.
Compressed Files
Uncompress the file.
If you have a file that ends in .zip you only have to double-click on the file and OSX will uncompress it into a new folder.
Open the new folder to find the application.
Package Files
Double-click on the package.
This will launch an installation wizard for the application. The installation wizard will perform all the necessary tasks to correctly install the application. Once the installation wizard has finished the application will typically be found in the Applications folder, ready to run.
Tips
- Sometimes, though not very often, you may already have the application file. Just move that to the Application folder and it will be installed.
- If you install applications to your dock your computer and the application will start and run slower.
- You can install applications to other folders but Spotlight may not index them.
Warnings
- There are dangerous applications so always know and trust the source of your applications before you run or install them.