AppZapper 1.5.2 and 1.6 —You tried it out, spurned it so then burn it

reviewed by Harry {doc} Babad

Developers: Brian Ball and Austin Sarner Support: support@appzapper.com PublisherÕs Website: http://appzapper.com/ Manufacturers List Price $13 [USD], Family Pac $18, Educational discount available. Requirements: Mac OS X 10.4 or later. Power PC and Universal Binary Released: June 15th, 2006 Audience: All user levels ItÕs localized in Japanese, Italian, French, Polish, Chinese, German and more. Strength — AppZapperÕs aim is to make uninstalling applications on OS X as easy as it is to install them. It surely meets the developersÕ goal. Weakness — None that I could find. Discount Coupon for AppZapper: MACCOMPANION Note: It's on AppZapper.com site, click the redeem coupon button. ItÕs NOT directly on the PayPal page you get when you click buy. Cost tom you $9.00
The software was tested on a 1 GHz dual processor PowerPC G4 Macintosh with 2 GB DDR SDRAM running under OS X 10.4.6.
Product and company names and logos in this review may be registered trademarks of their respective companies.

Introduction

IÕve now got a tool that is both simple and elegant. Therefore, other alternative will have to wait, perhaps until I change to Leopard. The only problem with the product is that its too easy to toss stuff I havenÕt used for a year or two that I may get over eager, like I did with Spring Cleaning on very late evening. However, thatÕs another story. IÕve also got backups for all my software (including license Information) on Shareware CDs so I can go back to an abandoned product should I need to. Its called belt-and-suspenders protection.

Everybody loves the drag and drop nature of OS X. Drag an app into your applications folder, and it's installed. You'd think it would be that easy to delete an app — just a matter of dragging it to the trash. No, it's not. Applications install preferences, caches, and other application support files throughout your computer that take up space and generate clutter. Leaving the behind, although not reported to put your system at risk, wastes disk space. Adding to the fun of playing hide and seek with the places installer stuff hides in, is the variable of whether youÕve chosen to install application for single user (you) or all users. Finding these files, especially with Spotlight, and the deleting these by hand every time you delete an application is a royal pain.

AppZapper is for people who want to confidently try new apps while knowing they can uninstall them easily. Drag one or more unwanted apps onto AppZapper and watch as it finds all the extra files and lets you delete them with a single click. Put simply, AppZapper is the uninstaller Apple forgot.

Working With AppZapper

The installation is as simple as most OS X apps. Open the .dmg file and it will be mounted. Once mounted, copy AppZapper application to Applications folder and then run the program.

Austin Sarner and Brian Ball have really concentrated on making the ÔzappingÕ of applications simple. The result is that the AppZapper interface relies on the Mac interface of dragging unwanted items like an application, into the Trash. I usually trash items by control clicking (right clicking with a 3-button mouse). With AppZapper drag and drop the application into the delete window. Once you drag the application to AppZapper, it shows you what it found, where it was found (file path), the file size, and lets you check or uncheck things that you want to throw or save. The software has a Spotlight button next to each found item that can show you that file in its Finder location.

In addition, a gear menu at the bottom of the delete window allows the user to select or deselect certain items such as preferences, caches, or support files automatically for deletion, something IÕve used to kill corrupted preference files; it takes less mousing around.

The softwareÕs preferences allow you to keep default apps (like iTunes, iPhoto) safe. [This can be unchecked if you want to do so.] It also allows you to set those apps you would like to be protected at all times, to prevent accidental ÔzapsÕ. You can also configure AppZapper to keep itÕs paws off some critical apps for a Òjust in caseÓ approach. [I strongly suggest you protect your various security applications such as Norton Antivirus.] The presence of a log, not easy to read, allows following what AppZapper has done. I did not use this but many of you who want to delve deeper will find that feature useful.

My Test Results

CandyBar — I did some detailed checking before and after when deleting CandyBar icon tool application delete, with both EasyFind and Spotlight. Both needed some actions on my part of get to the narrowly focused details I needed. The results of checking tuned up too many files (e.g., my software review notes, recipe documents that contained the term candy bar, and those few related to install ion of the software. To keep things simple, I temporarily stuffed by Candybar review file, deleting the unstuffed folder, and then re-ran EasyFind ending up with a more manageable list.

Spotlight dredged up more unrelated files then I knew existed, so I again abandoned using it for testing. When using EasyFind, on this deletion, I first had to zip my review comments and toss the uncompressed folder. This allowed me a list of manageable size with which to make before and after comparisons. Great! Click ÔZapÕ — the only indication that it worked was that the window showing to be deleted items closed and a, blat-zap (an SciFi Bronx cheer) sound (easily disabled from the Preferences).

More Test Results — I zapped four more applications IÕd previously reviewed and then either found wanting or didnÕt plan to use. It performed perfectly each time. If you had put aliasÕ to the deleted application In your dock or in alternate file access and launch tools such as UnsanityÕs FruitMenu (now 3.6) http://www.unsanity.com/haxies/fruitmenu or Devon Technologies X-menu (now 1.8) http://www.devon-technologies.com/products/freeware/index.html, these are not deleted. After all, you created them, not the software installation process. Finding these remaining odd and ends, using the freeware program EasyFind is a few seconds work. Drag the found results into the trash and the last ÒvirtualÓ remains of an application are gone.

The version I tested, according the publisherÕs web site, adds a new way to view and zap applications called ZapGenie. This allows users to browse their collection of apps, search them and sort them by the last time used — this, according to the developer, gives users an easy way to find applications that are no longer being used so they can be deleted. I found there was an amazing amount of stuff IÕd not used for 3-11 years on my hard disk. A few checkmarks, and a click - they were gone, zapped.

Although I did not need to use it, the well-illustrated help files are form those who do need assistance.

Safety features — The application wonÕt let you remove core programs needed by the operating system, or the Apple iApplication programs. Open programs you are currently using are safe, as are those you designate as protected. This protects your Ôsafe listÕ set of programs from accidental deletion

However, these safety features can be turned off in the AppZapper preference pane if you need to delete an application or part of an application that is protected. Then turn the protection back on after you deleted and likely reinstalled the malfunctioning application. I suggest you protect all of your security software, such as anti-virus protection. Who know what your grandkids are going to do.

Initial Concerns and Purposeful Limitations

Documents Associated with A Deleted Application — AppZapper is NOT designed to delete the entire document created by an application. If the data in such documents is no longer valuable, search for their extensions with EasyFind or Spotlight and delete them. If they are valuable, then find some way to export the data before you zap the application that created them. A little common sense helps when deleting things such as previously heavily used applications. AppZapper is a great tool but no one yet has created a program that can read you mind and thus do what the think it should. Perhaps this will be a feature of a future of a Jobsintosh computer.

Path to Protected Items - In the preference pane, I could not find a way to see the path to the items IÕd protected. Adding the Ôspotlight link, such as those found in the delete details window would be helpful.]

Shared Application Support Files — I did wonder, for example that the product does about files shared by number of application made by the same vendor. For example, Belight Software installs in the root level application support folder, a variety of tools that it share between Business Card Composer [BCC] and Disc Cover. When I indeed deleted BCC, I was pleased to see that the shared folders the developer created as application support (stored in the library folder) were not affected or deleted. Since during the deletion process, I saved the preferences file. When I reinstalled BCC my password was still intact as were my other preference selections.

Dragging Application AliasÕ — The software does not work when dragging an alias and will not remove a .dmg package. ItÕs not supposed to do the latter.

Deleting Files using the AppZapper Application Icon — No this doesnÕt work, to delete you must open AppZapper, and drag the target application to into the deletion window.

Deinstall Microsoft Word (some day) — The only test I needed to do, but avoided out of sheer cowardice was deleing MS Word 2004. This my most used application, behaved badly, quitting 2-3 time whenever I write any document thatÕs 3-5 pages or longer. It leaves work files around and never recovers anything when it spontaneously quits.

I know Microsoft offers a deinstall application with Office 2004, but the one time I tried it, and reinstalled word along with its updaters, it didnÕt cure the problem. I hesitate to do this since IÕd so customized MSW both toolbars and shortcuts that others canÕt easily use it.

Conclusions

The vast amount of freeware and shareware for the Mac [e.g., on MacUpdate.com, Version Tracker.com] is so great that the average user cannot be blamed for wanting to try out almost everything. If you review software for macCompanion or your favorite MUG, you get more than your fair share. [IÕm up to 110 reviews plus all sorts of software toys that IÕve not gotten to writing up.

The application is fast, easy and stable. The user interface as well as the window appearance of the application is so clean, simple that itÕs stunning.

AppZapper is an essential tool for the addicted shareware/freeware experimenter who wants the peace of mind of a clean uninstall. Although its not freeware which some stingy folks on the Internet have complained about, itÕs a bargain at $13.00. 



I rate this product 5.0 macCs.

P.S.
Performing a ÒA Philosophical Experiment Of course, there is this philosophical issue of uninstalling the AppZapper (not that I would ever want to). The question then is that is there a meta-AppZapper? Or to put it another way, who will zap the Zapper? As an experiment, I actually dragged AppZapper to the AppZapper window. Thankfully, it told me that this application was kept safe in my Preferences. If I turned that Preference off and tried to zap AppZapper, it appeared (and sounded zap) like it had been zapped. But a quick look at my Applications folder showed that it had not, until I closed the AppZapper. And it was gone. The AppZapper had zapped itself. Ó Jim Dalrymple of Macworld
http://www.macworld.com/news/2006/05/22/appzapper/index.php?pf=1

P.P.S.
AppZapper uses a combination of receipts, proprietary search technology and bundle identifier cross checking among other things.

P.P.P.S.
AppZapper is now available as version 1.6. Brian Ball commented that the changes in the new version include:

AppZapper 1.6 introduces Sparkle based updating for easily downloading and installing updates right within the AppZapper app. Staying up to date with the latest additions and tweaks to AppZapper is now just a few clicks away!

In addition to numerous adjustments and fixes, 1.6 also launches a new multi QuickZapª feature, for grabbing multiple preference panes, widgets, and plugins to zap at once.

I have not tested these new features, but encourage anyone interested in this fine application to download it and do so.

Ð Thanks Austin!