Showdown: AppZapper vs. AppDelete

Posted by David Aviv on 03/1/07 in Utilities, Applications

What’s in a name? Well, as you can probably tell, both of these apps “zap” apps you don’t want anymore. You thought that deleting an app was as simple as throwing it into the trash? Welcome to the world of application reference files. These nasties get left behind by every app when it is first run. After a while, these little guys build up. Preferences, plugins, etc all are in these files. The best way to get rid of every file related to an app you want to delete is to use an app “zapper”/deleter. This showdown is dedicated to two apps that have recently been in the spotlight, AppZapper ($15) and AppDelete (freeware). If you want a detailed review of AppDelete, take a look at a previous post on MacApper here.

appsthatzap.tiff

Just A Note: I created a test “app” called “DemoFile.app” and a fake preference file named “com.macapper.demofile.plist”.

demofiles.tiff

Take command of your unused apps
AppZapper
When I dragged my demo app to AppZapper, it displayed a window with the two files associated with DemoFile.app, the preference file and the app itself. From here, you can uncheck any file that you don’t want “zapped”, which is a great feature. All I had to do was press “Zap” and boom, those two files were in the trash. A cool feature of this app is that it makes a zapping noise when you click Zap. This app also has an awesome user interface (UI), which is a plus.

appzapperready.tiff

AppDelete
This app may not have the great user interface that AppZapper has, but it still does the job. When I dragged my demo app to the AppDelete icon, it displayed a simple window asking if I want to delete all of the related files of DemoApp.app. Notice that you cannot choose what files you want to delete and what files you want to keep. After pressing Ok, my files were moved to the trash without a sound, literally.

appdeletedeletes.tiff

Other useful features
AppZapper
If you click on the genie lamp icon on the bottom-left of the “Drag The App You Want to Delete Here” window, it displays a list of all the apps you have installed, and you can check off which ones you want to delete. If you click on the lighting bolt tab next to the genie lamp, you can choose a widget/preference pane/ipod updater/screensaver/plugin that you want to zap. Very useful!

AppDelete
Puts all of the deleted items in a folder in the Trash labeled “AppDelete” plus the name of the app contained in the folder.

The Verdict
AppZapper wins by a large margin. With it’s awesome user interface and sound effects, AppZapper is the deleter of choice. Of course, if you are a) strapped for cash or b) cheap, then AppDelete does the job very well. I use AppDelete because I am to cheap Go grab a 5-Zap trial of AppZapper here. Enjoy zapping!

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30 Comment(s)

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Edward Scherf said on

March 1st, 2007 at 8:08 am

AppZapper is hands down the uninstaller of choice for me. It’s well worth the small cost of $12.95. AppZapper was really the first application if it’s kind to do what it does and the developers did an amazing job with it, so I didn’t mind shelling out the small amount of cash to help/thank them for their troubles. Plus you get free updates for life, so ya can’t go wrong there

Bill I said on

March 1st, 2007 at 8:19 am

For the next app-zapping showdown, you might compare AppZapper to CleanApp. It’s $10 and would make a better comparison to AppZapper than AppDelete, I think.

Here’s a link: http://synium.de/cleanapp/index.html

Tom Markiewicz said on

March 1st, 2007 at 9:20 am

I agree. I think you compared the wrong two apps. I did a side by side comparison on AppZapper vs. CleanApp last night and found CleanApp to be the clean winner. My main criteria? CleanApp was finding related files on numerous apps that AppZapper was missing.

loranger said on

March 1st, 2007 at 9:49 am

FYI, uApp (http://www.eagle-of-liberty.com/uapp/index_en.php) does the job too, without any sounds, but with the same approach as AppZapper.
I think you should give it a try : It’s free.

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Alec Feld said on

March 1st, 2007 at 9:53 am

You can’t really compare two small apps like these.

If you’re going to do a comparison between apps, at least do a nice, researched one that really shows a large comparison of apps out there, not just a showdown between two zappers.

Sorry, this isn’t really much of an article.

Jon Kantro said on

March 1st, 2007 at 9:57 am

Why not compare the cleaning apps people previously mentioned the appzapper and appdelete entries? That’s simple common sense.

maeks84 said on

March 1st, 2007 at 11:04 am

Are these uninstaller apps just searching for files with the name of the deleted app in them? Or are they looking something else that tells what files are associated with the app?

Mark said on

March 1st, 2007 at 11:47 am

What about Yank? http://www.matterform.com/mac_software/uninstaller/index.html

Indraneel said on

March 1st, 2007 at 3:06 pm

i’ve heard great things about appdelete

Indraneel said on

March 1st, 2007 at 3:07 pm

oops i meant appzapper, my bad

Yohannes Wijaya said on

March 1st, 2007 at 3:31 pm

@David, you forgot to mention in your article 2 missing great features in appzapper. 1) you can undo app that has been zapped w/ cmd+z and 2) you can also zapp app by right-clicking on the target app -> Automator -> Zap!, a huge time saving feature.

@maeks84, i suspect Yank does the latter with its proprietary “Sonar” technology. The fact that appzapper sometimes misses some associated files from zapped app probably stems from the former. As such occasionally i still need to mdfind the uninstalled app in terminal just to ensure every associated files are gone.

@Mark, thanks for sharing Yank, I never heard about it. With its promising “Sonar” technology, the day of orphan files may be gone. Trying it now.

There is another uninstaller app you guys might be interested to check it out: http://www.fecktory.com/SuperPop.html

William said on

March 1st, 2007 at 4:00 pm

I won AppZapper from Glenn Wolsey’s blog (at least I think that’s where I got it), and I love it.
I do agree though, that I would never have bought it for the full price.

Ian said on

March 1st, 2007 at 6:33 pm

Can the OP please use standard graphics file formats for images? Tiffs are not web-happy

This page doesn’t display images in Firefox.

Please keep it to Jpeg, GIF or PNG. There really is no reason to use Tiffs - especially when they require more bandwidth

David Aviv said on

March 1st, 2007 at 6:46 pm

@Ian: Sorry ’bout that!

Reggie said on

March 1st, 2007 at 9:56 pm

Hi this is Reggie the Developer for AppDelete. Just want to say thanks for the blog…and I think it’s great that you decided to compare AppDelete to AppZapper. AppZapper has been around for a while and is very popular…so I appreciate it. Well just want to say feel free to contact me directly through my site if you have any questions…and look for the new version coming out soon which will include some new features and improvements.

Sincerely,

Reggie

PS - AppDelete should make the standard “move to trash” sound when deleting. I’m not sure why it didn’t in the test here…but normally it should.

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Yohannes Wijaya said on

March 1st, 2007 at 11:53 pm

@Reggie, any chance user can choose what files to keep/delete on the to-be-uninstall application in the future version? This is useful in a scenario where i just download the latest version of an app, still in dmg/pkg format but i dont want it to get deleted when performing uninstallation.

Reggie said on

March 2nd, 2007 at 12:17 am

Hi Yohannes!

Hmmm…I know that is a popular request…and AppZapper has made that popular. Version 1.1 of AppDelete won’t have a completely re-designed interface so it might not be able to do it exactly like you’re asking. However, there will be some new features such as a Log Preview/View and of course there’s always Undo too. So it might be able to do a few new things…we’ll see…hehe. Possibly a future Version 2.0 would have a redesigned interface to allow more features.

I’ll try to get that new version out soon…I’ll think you’ll like it! Thanks for the post and the feedback…I appreciate it!

Reggie

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Chris Boulton said on

March 2nd, 2007 at 1:05 am

Who uses TIFF files for images on the web?

This is a poor quality “showdown” - you say that part of the reason AppZapper wins is because of the sound effects?

Your “test” application consisted of nothing more than the app itself as well as a preferences file - come up with a better test scenario which checks for other fragmented files (plugins etc) from the application to see which application correctly removes all files.

Oh and please, at least proof read your own articles:

“With it’s awesome” - With it is awesome would not make much sense would it? “With its awesome” would make much more sense.

“I am to cheap” - You are to cheap, not too cheap?

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Yohannes Wijaya said on

March 2nd, 2007 at 3:20 am

@Reggie, thanks for the update. one thing that i would like to suggest is probably adding quicksilver integration to appdelete, just another way of making uninstallation workflow faster n easier. Anway, keep up the good work! we’re all looking forward to your next release.

Reggie said on

March 2nd, 2007 at 4:02 am

Hi again Yohannes!

Ok thanks for the tip. Yes the next version will have a “right-click” Automator workflow…and here’s a link if you’re interested about using it with Quicksilver:

http://www.macosxhints.com/article.php?story=20070124062402636

And yes the new version will be slightly different the way the windows work…so you can use it with Quicksilver no problem!!!

Thanks again,

Reggie

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Yohannes Wijaya said on

March 2nd, 2007 at 4:17 am

@Reggie, that’s insanely great news. Cant wait for the release date. Thanks!!

Reggie said on

March 2nd, 2007 at 4:30 am

Hi again!

Your welcome…I was hoping to have it out in February but you know we always want to get it done faster than we can sometimes!!! But it will be soon. If you click on my name here in the post it will take you to my site…I have updates on RSS if you’re interested. And if you don’t use RSS I have an updates page. You can also contact me directly on my site if you like!

Thanks,

Reggie

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admin said on

March 2nd, 2007 at 10:08 am

Images fixed. Sorry about that guys

alej744 said on

March 2nd, 2007 at 4:45 pm

Everyone knows AppZapper is better.

David Aviv said on

March 2nd, 2007 at 8:44 pm

@Chris Boulton: I used “it’s” because I am signifying that it is possesive. Oh, and I do make typos!

@Reggie: I am very excited about an update to AppDelete! Keep ‘em coming!

—
Sorry about those images

Reggie said on

March 2nd, 2007 at 9:57 pm

Thanks David!!! I’m working on it…

Reggie

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Sherb said on

March 3rd, 2007 at 10:29 pm

I have to say, AppZapper is the bomb

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Douglas A. Brace said on

March 10th, 2008 at 7:45 am

I recommend using the demo version of AppZapper. When you have used up all your test “zaps” using AppDelete to uninstall AppZapper and then reinstall AppZapper.

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