May 2007

The Software Series: .pkg Installer Files
Mac Tip #291/30-May-2007

Sometimes software you download ends up as a .pkg file after you’ve uncompressed it. The icon shows a distinctive yellow package inside a brown box.

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If there’s no ReadMe file to tell you what to do, then the simple answer is that you double-click the .pkg file.

This will usually start up an installer. Read what appears on screen and click the Continue button to go ahead and install the software. There are usually several screens to work through, often including a license agreement, and sometimes a serial number if you paid for the software.

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You may need to choose a destination disc: that would normally be the Macintosh HD. You may also need to enter the password for your computer. Once finished, the installer will let you know it has successfully installed the software. Click the Close or Finish button to quit the installer.

You can now delete the .pkg file as it has done its job.

Some software will force you to restart your computer once the installer has finished. It should warn you beforehand though and give you the opportunity to delay the installation.

Next week: Apple Software Updates.

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The Software Series: DMG Files
Mac Tip #290/23-May-2007

One very common way to distribute software is with .dmg files (Disk Images). Most of the software I’ve downloaded lately uses the .dmg format, one example being the fine free web browser called Opera.

Opera uses DMG files

After you download Opera, for example, you see a file with a name like this: Opera_9.21_Setup.dmg.

Double click that .dmg file, agree to the License terms, and a new window opens on screen with two icons: the red O of Opera.app and a folder labelled Applications.

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Note the curvy black arrow at bottom left of the Applications folder icon. That indicates that this icon is an alias of the real Applications folder.

Some disk images don’t include that alias. If you strike one that doesn’t then just drag the application you’re installing on to the Applications folder in the sidebar of your Finder window, or open a new window for Applications and drag the program into that window.

A pale grey arrow between the red O and the folder icon on the disk image suggests you should you drag the O onto the Applications folder alias. This copies Opera.app to your Applications folder.

If you already have a version of Opera an alert will appear to warn you and asking you to Replace the older version or Stop the copy. The alert may also include the words “older” or “newer” if the version you already have is older or newer than the one you’re trying to copy into Applications.

Once the copy is complete you can eject the disk image and, if you like, delete the file Opera_9.21_Setup.dmg. You no longer need either.

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One common mistake is to try to run the software directly from the disk image instead of first copying it to the Applications folder. While this may sometimes work, at other times it just creates problems. Always drag the software into the Applications folder, and then run the software from there.

Next week: Other formats.

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The Software Series: Find and install software
Mac Tip #289/16-May-2007

There are thousands of programs available to you from companies, groups and individual developers. Some cost substantial amounts, while others are free.

To find suitable software for your Mac try VersionTracker or MacUpdate, or even Google Mac.

Once you’ve found some software click the link to download it. That’s the easy part. It’s what comes next that many find confusing.

Most software is compressed or packaged up for sending via the Internet. There are different ways to do this, and you handle the file you receive in various ways. I’ll explain some examples.

Jumpcut — a tgz file

Jumpcut (free) is an application that provides access to text that you’ve cut or copied, even if you’ve subsequently cut or copied something else.

I use this program many times each day as it lets me paste something I copied earlier, even if I’ve copied dozens of other bits of text in the meantime.

The 503Kb file you download is called Jumpcut_0.61.tgz. It has been compressed using the ‘tar GNU zip’ format. The ‘tar’ part of that goes back to the days of keep archives on tapes: ‘tape archive’.

Once you have Jumpcut_0.61.tgz on your computer double click the file. Your Mac will automatically uncompress it and create another file called Jumpcut.app.

Move Jumpcut.app into your Applications folder and double click it to start using it. You can safely delete the original Jumpcut_0.61.tgz, as you no longer need it.

Don’t see the ‘.app’ part of the name? Go to the Finder menu and choose Preferences. Click on the Advanced tab and check the box for Show all file extensions. Then close the Preferences window. Showing the file extensions gives you a little more information, power and safety on your machine.

Other files you download may be zipped, or DMG files, or in other formats, and they may uncompress to be pkg files, installers or various other things. The next few Tips will reveal what they are and what to do with them.

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