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So I have an app that I want to "reset". I delete it and reinstall it and it still has my data from before I deleted it. I can't figure out how to start anew. Why wont my data delete? For those wondering the app is PyCharm if that helps...
saltytwo wrote:
So I have an app that I want to "reset". I delete it and reinstall it and it still has my data from before I deleted it. I can't figure out how to start anew. Why wont my data delete? For those wondering the app is PyCharm if that helps...
That's a huge and very tricky problem. In many cases, people uninstall apps and then reinstall them hoping it will somehow "fix" something. In those cases, they actually expect their data and settings to still be there when they run the app again. This happens so much that no developers ever deletes user data for any reason, even when uninstalling. Such people usually don't have backups either.
Furthermore, in many cases, apps will scatter data throughout the system. There are some specific locations for app data, but they are only defined "by convention". This is not required in any way. Again, as you might expect, many app developers have never even used a Mac before, let alone wrote software for one. Therefore, they have no idea about any such "conventions" and make it up as they go.
The exception to the previous paragraph is Mac App Store apps. These apps operate like iOS apps. They can only access their own "container" located deep within a hidden folder. But you shouldn't delete an app's container unless you are completely uninstalling the app and never intend to use it again.
And finally, we get to "PyCharm". The fact that it starts with "Py" means you are in for a wold of pain. You can assume that the people who wrote this app are not only unfamiliar with the Mac and don't use one, they probably didn't even build the app on a Mac. Its data files could be anywhere. All you can do is contact the developer and ask for support. Good luck!
saltytwo wrote:
So I have an app that I want to "reset". I delete it and reinstall it and it still has my data from before I deleted it. I can't figure out how to start anew. Why wont my data delete? For those wondering the app is PyCharm if that helps...
That's a huge and very tricky problem. In many cases, people uninstall apps and then reinstall them hoping it will somehow "fix" something. In those cases, they actually expect their data and settings to still be there when they run the app again. This happens so much that no developers ever deletes user data for any reason, even when uninstalling. Such people usually don't have backups either.
Furthermore, in many cases, apps will scatter data throughout the system. There are some specific locations for app data, but they are only defined "by convention". This is not required in any way. Again, as you might expect, many app developers have never even used a Mac before, let alone wrote software for one. Therefore, they have no idea about any such "conventions" and make it up as they go.
The exception to the previous paragraph is Mac App Store apps. These apps operate like iOS apps. They can only access their own "container" located deep within a hidden folder. But you shouldn't delete an app's container unless you are completely uninstalling the app and never intend to use it again.
And finally, we get to "PyCharm". The fact that it starts with "Py" means you are in for a wold of pain. You can assume that the people who wrote this app are not only unfamiliar with the Mac and don't use one, they probably didn't even build the app on a Mac. Its data files could be anywhere. All you can do is contact the developer and ask for support. Good luck!
Deleting App Data
