How To Delete A Download File On Mac

Can't Delete File Because File Is in Use on Mac. When MacOS thinks the file you are trying to delete is in use by another process, emptying the Trash will not work. Therefore, the first thing to do is to quit all other programs to ensure no other application could use any of the files on your Mac. To force quit apps on the dock. Deleting downloads on your Mac helps clear out files you no longer need, especially duplicate files on Mac laptop that appear each time you double-click to check those files. These useless and duplicate files decrease the storage level of your Mac and hence, the Download folder has to be cleared out. Step 3: If you want to do a deeper cleanup to delete downloaded files on Mac, then choose “Deep Clean” part to continue. Select the items you want to delete and click the 'Clean' to delete those annoying downloads on your Mac in a flash. With the help of this app, you can easily and quickly delete downloads files instead of manual removal. The folders containing temp file will open in Mac. Now select all the files and delete them, The files now move to trash which you also need to empty. Steps to Clear Unwanted files from Mac: Step1: Download and install Remo MORE in your Mac machine and launch it.

Summary: This blog describes a few ways to remove Mac leftover files from the Mac start-up disk.
1. Clean up Mac Leftover Files through Manual Process
2. Automate Clean-up Task through a Clean Up Software
Download the 30-day free clean-up software for Mac to remove your leftovers and junk files.

Uninstalling applications from Mac is quite common and relatively straightforward. macOS has built-in functionality to uninstall an app. But, often, the uninstallation leaves behind traces of programs in the form of preference files, support documents, log files, etc. The app creates these files during usage, but they aren’t removed automatically from your Mac when you uninstall it.

Such files are known as “application leftovers.” And though they don’t harm the system in any way, they do eat up storage space and eventually contribute to slowing your Mac down.

When you free up Mac storage space to optimize system performance, removing or deleting such leftovers is also essential. Here are a few ways by which you can quickly clean up Mac leftovers files.

1. Clean Up Mac Leftover Files through Manual Process

You can uninstall an application on Mac through a simple drag-and-drop to Trash. Though trashing works for most programs, some applications include uninstallers to uninstall them.

To find and remove Mac leftover files after you uninstall an app, do the following:

  • Go to the /Home/Library/Preferences/ folder, find leftover preference files of apps that you’ve already uninstalled, and delete them manually.
  • Go to the /Home/Library/Applications Support/ folder, find any folders and components of removed apps, and delete them. Delete leftover Application Support folders too.
  • Go to the /Library/StartupItems/ and /Home/Library/StartupItems/ folders one at a time, look for leftover start-up items, and remove them.
  • Go to System Preferences > Accounts > Login Items and find the item in the list for the application you want to remove. Then click on the “” button to delete it from the list.
  • One by one, go to the /Library/LaunchAgents/ and /Library/LaunchDaemons/ and /Home/Library/LaunchAgents/ folders, look for leftover start-up daemons or agents, and delete them.
  • Go to the/Library/Receipts/ folder, find any files that have .pkg extension, and delete them. These files are used by macOS to determine installed apps.
  • To find and remove any other leftover files, conduct a Finder search using the application name or the developer name as the search term. Delete any resultant files that you find.

2. Automate Clean-Up Task through a Clean Up Software

If the above manual method seems tedious, you can use a third-party Mac cleaner software to remove all application leftovers with a click of a button. Steps are as follows:

Step1: Download & install the *trial version of Speedup Mac on your MacBook, iMac, or Mac mini.

Step 2: Launch the software and select Macintosh HD from the left pane.

Step 3: Press the Scan button to initiate the scanning process on the selected drive.

Step 4: Check the total size of Mac storage space occupied by the leftover files.

Step5: Click the “SpeedUpNow” button to remove leftovers and other unwanted Mac files.

Step 6: Let the software perform the cleaning task on the Mac storage drive.

Step 7: Click OK on the “Process Completed” dialog box.

*The trial version of SpeedUp Mac software is free for 30 days. If you wish to continue using the software beyond the trial period, activate it for a nominal annual charge.

Conclusion

Getting rid of Mac leftover files is essential if you wish to have ample free space on your SSD or hard drive. And, SpeedUp Macserves the purpose well. The software is secure and reliable and comes in handy when you need to clean your Mac drive free from the data that isn’t required by macOS. Plus, the tool frees up drive space to help improve data access speed and overall system performance. You can even automate the clean-up task at a scheduled time using the software.

Aug 28, 2020 • Filed to: Solve Mac Problems • Proven solutions

'Agh! Why I can’t delete a file?' is a common frustration with most Mac users. Usually, you find yourself having no clue on what to do next. Well, this article will guide you to your next and final step.

There are various reasons to delete a file. However, whatever reason you might have, your Mac might not agree with you.

Since the creation of on-screen technologies, terms such as 'delete', 'erase', and 'format' has been the go-to options in situations where somebody wanted to get rid of a file or application. Also, to safeguard a system in terms of freeing up space or easy removal of malware, the delete key has been beneficial.

However, in recent versions of operating systems, we have been unable in some cases to delete files from our computers. You have probably faced warnings such as ‘folder in use, cannot delete.’

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So, how to delete files that won’t delete in Mac?

Well, we shall explain why you can’t delete a file and also the solutions in the sections below:

Part 1. Why I Can’t Delete File on Mac?

You have often wondered why you can’t delete an app on Mac. Adobe photoshop cs6 full version free download for mac os x. The presence of a Trash bin on Mac has always made it easy to sort out what you don’t need. However, this is not true.

There are underlying obstacles that can hinder you from clearing your system of specific files. At times these hindrances save us from deleting sensitive data, probably those required by the system to run.

However, the obstacles can, at times, go overboard. It is when you are unable to get rid of the average local files that you know are not useful to you and the system.

So why would the system or anything else keep you from doing so?

Canon eos digital info v1.4 download mac. Well, some of the reasons include:

  • Your Mac system locks the file: Mac locks sensitive system files that are a must for its operations. When deleted, their absence can cause your Mac OS to ‘break.’ It might not even be able to boot up.
  • The file or folder is in use and can’t be deleted: Mostly happens when a file, e.g., a word document is opened and is in use. It prevents the disruption of your ongoing work. You might have wanted to delete the data accidentally.
  • An app has locked the file: When an application is developed such that its files cannot be tampered with, e.g., to prevent them from being edited or copied, they might be locked. It is thus a security measure for the program with regards to copyright restrictions.
  • The file is not available: Sometimes files are visible but cannot be accessed for one reason or the other. These could be music, documents, or a folder. Usually, they are ‘ghost files.’ You can’t delete such files because they are not there in the first place. It could be a thumbnail left behind.
  • Presence of a Finder bug: A bug, in this case, is a glitch of some sort that prevents the system or an app from carrying out its normal operations.

Part 2. Can't Delete Files? Go to the Finder

Usually, the most natural solution to cannot delete files is by dragging them to the Trash. In case you'd want the data back, command + Z would automatically undo your action. To empty Trash, you can access Finder by either double-clicking the Trash icon on your dock or go to the top left section on your Mac and select 'Finder.'

From the Finder menu, you can click on Empty Trash. Also, from the Trash icon at your dock, you can right-click and select Empty Trash.

How To Delete Mac File

But that doesn’t always work. An error “file can’t be deleted” may pop-up to alert you of this. In such a scenario, you can do the following:

Solution 1. Relaunch Finder

  1. Simultaneously press Command + Shift + Escape.
  2. On the menu that pops up select Relaunch

Make sure that the Finder loading is complete before you can start deleting.

Solution 2. Force quit Finder

There are several ways to force quit Finder. From the Apple logo at the top right.

  1. Click the Apple logo.
  2. From the menu, click on 'Force Quit Finder'.

It is the general way of doing it.

Solution 3. Secure Empty Trash

If you are familiar with the Terminal, you can use the ‘killall’ command to force quit Finder. After the successful deletion of a file, you may not be able to empty Trash as the file can’t be deleted from the Trash.

  1. Go to Finder on the top left.
  2. If Empty Trash didn’t work for you, select secure Empty Trash under it.

You can also press command and right-click the Trash icon to secure empty Trash.

Part 3. Cannot Delete Files? Fixes Without Finder

Where the Finder method of deleting apps has not worked out for you, try the following:

Where the item is a folder, delete each file manually to isolate the single erroneous file. If all files get deleted such that the folder is empty, try Trashing it.

Change permissions to empty the Trash. This method makes use of the Terminal using the command ‘chflags’.

  1. Go to Finder on the top left.
  2. If Empty Trash didn’t work for you, select secure Empty Trash under it.
  3. Change the folder to that of the Trash. Type “cd ~/.Trash” without the quotes.
  4. Change permissions by using “chflags -R nouchg ” without the quotes.

The command line can also be used to forcibly empty the Trash using the command ‘sudo rm -rf’. Beware, this command erases everything in the Trash without warning.

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  1. Open the Terminal as described above. Also, you can use the spotlight to search for Terminal
  2. In the Terminal, change to the Trash folder as described above.
  3. Type “ls “to get a list of files in the Trash.
  4. Remove the specific stubborn file by typing “rm file.png,“ where the data is the item of your choice.

Using the sudo command erases everything in the Trash. Thus, you should only use it if you know what you are doing. You can also do a workaround.

  1. Create a file or folder with the same name as the file that can’t be deleted but in a separate location.
  2. Move this newly created file to the same location as the stubborn one and allow it to replace.
  3. The previous one automatically disappears. Now you can quickly delete the new one.
  4. Create a folder into which you then move the items you want to delete. The newly created folder will hopefully have permissions different from the previous one.
  5. Lastly, try to log in using an admin account. It will give you more power over your content.

If you accidentally deleted important files, just jump to Part 5 for the solutions or directly download Recoverit Data Recovery. It will help you recover all deleted files.

Part 4. Can't Delete File Because File Is in Use on Mac

When MacOS thinks the file you are trying to delete is in use by another process, emptying the Trash will not work. Therefore, the first thing to do is to quit all other programs to ensure no other application could use any of the files on your Mac.

To force quit apps on the dock:

  1. While pressing option on your keyboard, right-click on the app.
  2. On the menu that appears, click on force quit.

With this method, you’ll have to quit all apps one by one.

Using the Apple menu:

  1. Click on the logo on the top left.
  2. On the drop-down menu, select Force Quit.
  3. On the next menu of available apps, select the app, you would want to quit and click on the Force Quit button.

After force quitting all apps, now try deleting the file or folder.

If force quitting all programs doesn’t work for you, you can try restarting your Mac or even shutting it down then power it on.

Part 5. How to Retrieve Deleted Files on Mac

In the process of trying to delete one file, you can end up deleting several of them, and in extreme cases, you might get frustrated and accidentally format your drive.

However, that is not the end of the road. Wondershare offers you Recoverit Data Recovery Mac version 8.0. Recoverit data recovery software is a suitable comprehensive way to cater for recovery options irrespective of how data was lost.

The software has access to various storage devices including a corrupted Mac Hard drive, USB drive, iPod, SD card, etc. featuring compatibility with FAT 16/32, NTFS, and HFS+ file systems.

  • A more organized main menu page: The main menu now displays drives that are both internal and external, including lost partitions.
  • Enhanced precision: You can now choose the specific location on which to run a scan.
  • Enhanced retrieval of files: Recoverit can now retrieve raw files from internal drives and other external devices that even the computer cannot recognize.
  • Better preview of images: When scanning for images, recoverit data recovery software offers a sneak preview of images, videos, and documents in a larger window to enhance the experience.
  • Allows for recovery of data from Drone camera and GoPro
  • It’s able to recover files from more than ten drives.
Delete

So, how do you use Recoverit to recover lost files?

Step 1. Select a location where files are deleted

Launch the software and select the drive from where the data files are lost. If you don’t know which drive to search, tap on the “I can’t find my partition” option and hit the Start button.

Step 2. Scan the selected location

Typically, the software will run an all-around scan and search for the lost and deleted files on the entire drive.

Step 3. Preview and recover deleted Mac files

When the scan completes, the files will be listed on the screen. The software will sort out the files according to format to make the search easier. You can select multiple files at a time and have a preview at them.

You also have the option of doing a deep scan of the files at the bottom.

How To Delete Download Files On Macbook Air

Part 6. Tips Against 'Can't Delete Files on Mac'

Some of the issues that you face with deleting files on your Mac and end up believing that they can’t be deleted is false. “Why so?” You ask.

  • 1. Settle your mind

First things, first, you needed to relax. Frustrations often lead to irrational behavior. When you feel like it’s becoming impossible and you have done everything don’t start throwing tantrums. Realize that some files can’t be deleted for a reason or you probably are yet to find out.

  • 2. Research online on various methods
How To Delete A Download File On Mac

How To Delete A Download File On Mac

To find out what kind of files you should or shouldn’t get rid of, check on sites and articles such as this one. You can look at various methods of troubleshooting for an easy time.

  • 3. Use past experiences

As a Mac user, you must have heard of similar cases from friends. Ask yourself what they did differently and try to follow their footsteps.

  • 4. Seek assistance

When memory fails you, and you can’t remember what to do, call the right people. Reach out to online experts who can assist.

  • 5. Be cautious

Finally, with all that you do, be cautious. While struggling to delete a file, you can quickly end up getting rid of something as important as a system file. Double-check on stubborn files when clearing your Hard drive.

Conclusion

Clearing your system is as vital as deleting files and emptying the Trash on your Mac since, with everyday use, your device accumulates unnecessary files. So, when a file error such as 'file in use, cannot be deleted' pops up, be careful. Also, you should double-check the kind of files you install, especially third-party apps.

However, when you or anybody else is stuck on how to delete files that won’t be deleted, direct them to check out this article. I am sure you have significantly benefited from it so, help others too.

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