Installing Applications

Introduction: In this video, we’re going to look at the different ways to install applications on the Mac. We have about four different ways to install an app, and it all depends on where you find the app and how the developer has it packaged. Let’s see what I mean. Let’s go to my Mac.

Installing Apps from the App Store: The first way is through the app store. The app store is pretty simple. We open up the app store and find the app that we want to install. In this case, I have Permute 3. This is an app that will convert videos into Mac-friendly videos. If I want to install this, all I do is click on the price here and install it. When it installs it, it installs it into my applications folder. Remember, what we want to do is we want to make sure that once we install an app, it’s installed in the Applications folder. The app store does this automatically. You download the app, and it installs it into the Applications folder.

Downloading an App from the Developer: Now, I mentioned that there were other ways. Well, what we can also do is download the app directly from the developer’s website. When we download it from a developer’s website, it can come in three different forms. We can download the app directly, and then we drag that into our applications folder. We can download an installer or a package. We double click on that package, and then it’ll install it into our Applications folder. We can also download a DMG file, which means we have to open up that file, and then we install it into the Applications folder. Now, this is up to the developer. They can have you download the app directly or as an installer package or as a DMG file. Let’s take a look at these three different types of files or downloads. Let’s go and hide the app store, and now what we’re going to do is we’re going to go to Safari.

Downloading Directly from the App Store: What we’re going to do is we’re going to go back over to that Permute, the developer’s website where I can get that Permute. Now, what we’re going to do is we’re going to go to this website. As I mentioned earlier, I can download it from the app store, but I can also download it from the developer. You’re going to see that the developer has a free trial. Well, this is what I want to do. I want to download this free trial. A little side note, a lot of times, if you find an app in the app store, you can go to that developer’s website and see if they have a free trial. If you like it, then you can go back over to the app store and purchase it.

What I want to do is I want to download this free trial. When I download this free trial, what it’s going to do is it’s going to download the app directly to my Mac, and it’s going to place it into my downloads folder. Then what I’m going to have to do is I’m going to have to install it into the Applications folder. Now, let’s go and download the free trial and watch. You’re going to see an animation showing that it’s going to my downloads folder. I click on it, there’s the animation, and we can see it’s downloading. I can also go up to Safari here, and in the toolbar, I have the progress, and once it’s done downloading, I can click on it and see what has been downloaded.

I want to open it up in the Finder; I click on the magnifying glass. Let’s go ahead and click on this, and now we can see it in my Finder. It is in my downloads folder. What I did is I downloaded the app directly to my Mac. All I have to do now is just double click on this and then open up that app, but remember what we want to do is we want to install this in our Applications folder. Now what I would do is I would drag this over to my Applications folder. When you go to a developer’s website, and you download the app, what you’ll need to do is you’ll need to drag it over to the Applications folder to finish the install.

Downloading an App with an Installer: When you download an installer or what we call a package in the Mac world, I’m going to close this window, and now what I’m going to do is I’m going to go to MAMP. MAMP is another software that I use. With MAMP, what I can do is I can build a website directly on my Mac. What I want to do is I want to download this to my Mac. All I have to do is click on free download, and then click on the version that I want. When I do this, we’re going to see that animation again. It’s going to go to my downloads folder just like it did when I downloaded Permute, but in this case, what it’s going to do is it’s going to download a package and installer.

Now let’s go and click on this. We have our animation, and now we can see it is downloading it. I want to see the progress. All I have to do is go up to Safari’s toolbar, click on this, and now I can see the progress. When it is finished, it’ll be in my downloads folder. Now what I’m going to do is I’m just going to go and hide Safari here, and we can see that it is downloading, it is almost finished. Now we have our package. Now let’s click on this. Now what I need to do is I need to open up the package. Instead of just dragging this over to my applications folder, what I need to do is I need to install it.

When I install it, the installer or the package will install it into my applications folder. If you download an app and it comes in a little box like this, what you need to do is you need to open it and then go through and install it. Again, when you install it, it’ll install it into the Applications folder. Now we have a third way of installing apps when we download it from a developer. This time what we’re going to do is we’re going to go to Google. We’re going to download Google Chrome. Let’s go back over to Safari, and now I’m going to type in here Google Chrome, and we’re going to go to Google Chrome here, and what I want to do is I want to download this.

Downloading an App in a DMG File: We’ve seen that we can download the app directly. Then we have to drag it into the applications folder. We can download an installer or a package. We open up that package, and it installs it into our applications folder for us, or what we can do is we can download a DMG file. Let’s go ahead and click on this. This is going to be our DMG file. We can see that it is downloading it, and again, we have it up in our toolbar. Let’s go and hide Safari, and now our file is downloaded. When you download an app, and it looks like this, it looks like a virtual disc; it’s what we call a DMG file. What we need to do is we need to open up this DMG file.

When we open up this DMG file, we’ll get the app, and then what we have to do is we have to drag that app into the applications folder. Now let’s go and open this up. We’re going to see the DMG file on our desktop because it is just a virtual disk. There it is on our desktop, and in this virtual disk, we have Google Chrome. Now, I would drag this down into my applications folder to install it. Once I do that, what I can do is I can go and eject this. To eject this, I just dragged this down to the trash.

Now, what some people will do is they will double click on this file here. Google Chrome will run if I were to double click on this, but it’s not going to be installed correctly because it is not in the Applications folder. Also, if you restart your computer, the virtual disk will disappear, and then you’re going to lose Google Chrome. What do you do then?

You’ll have to go back down to your downloads and then open up the DMG file and open up Google Chrome. This is why you do not want to open it up from this window here. What you want to do is you want to drag this down into your Applications folder. Then it will be in your Applications folder. You can go and eject this disc, this is a virtual disc, so you have to eject it. To eject it, you drag it down to the trash here, and then Google Chrome will be in your applications folder.

Those are the different ways to install applications on the Mac.