Help - I have two apps folders!

[Project]

I downloaded XMenu the other day, but couldnt get it to work. It wouldnt let me put in whatever files I wanted into it. I just noticed it had 4 or 5 apps, including Photoshop which I recently installed as well as iTunes 6 and Backup3, again recently installed. I thought nothing of it.

Fast forward to now, and I was mooching around my system and clicked Macintosh HD from the finder. I was messing about with aliases to create an organised apps folder I could place in my dock - so I doubled clicked on a folder called Applications in the Mac HD. Lo and behold it only had about 5 apps in there. I instantly recognised them as the same apps that XMenu picked up. Inside this folder were Photoshop, Quicktime, iTunes, Backup and an Applescript folder, as well as some random Adobe stuff.

Now my normal apps folder, located in my home folder, has iTunes and Quicktime in it, as well as all my other apps. Thats fine. But in this folder it is iTunes 5, but its iTunes 6 in this other apps folder. I suspect its an older version of Quicktime in there too. Photoshop and Backup are NOT in my regular apps folder.

My question is this: Apple programs are notoriously inflexible. I dont think I can just pick up my iTunes file from the weird apps folder and dump it in my proper apps folder. Same goes with Quicktime and Backup. Im scared to death of moving the behemoth that is Photoshop too. I might just uninstall that though aS its just a try out (tho I cant find an uninstaller anywhere). How do I go about transferring this stuff to my proper apps folder safely?

 

[varmit]

I downloaded XMenu the other day, but couldnt get it to work. It wouldnt let me put in whatever files I wanted into it. I just noticed it had 4 or 5 apps, including Photoshop which I recently installed as well as iTunes 6 and Backup3, again recently installed. I thought nothing of it.

Fast forward to now, and I was mooching around my system and clicked Macintosh HD from the finder. I was messing about with aliases to create an organised apps folder I could place in my dock - so I doubled clicked on a folder called Applications in the Mac HD. Lo and behold it only had about 5 apps in there. I instantly recognised them as the same apps that XMenu picked up. Inside this folder were Photoshop, Quicktime, iTunes, Backup and an Applescript folder, as well as some random Adobe stuff.

Now my normal apps folder, located in my home folder, has iTunes and Quicktime in it, as well as all my other apps. Thats fine. But in this folder it is iTunes 5, but its iTunes 6 in this other apps folder. I suspect its an older version of Quicktime in there too. Photoshop and Backup are NOT in my regular apps folder.

My question is this: Apple programs are notoriously inflexible. I dont think I can just pick up my iTunes file from the weird apps folder and dump it in my proper apps folder. Same goes with Quicktime and Backup. Im scared to death of moving the behemoth that is Photoshop too. I might just uninstall that though aS its just a try out (tho I cant find an uninstaller anywhere). How do I go about transferring this stuff to my proper apps folder safely?

Um, your normal Apps folder should not be located in your home folder. The normal Apps folder is in the Macintosh HD area. The reason they are installed there and not in the home folders is so that the programs are avaliable for everyone, not just for that individual user. They are not inflexible, they just install so that everyone has access to them. You can drag and drop them right on out of the real normal Apps folder into the one you keep in your home folder. And you don't have to make a folder full of aliases to your apps to put the folder in the dock. I put my home and apps folder in the dock.

 

[Project]

thanks for your reply! it solved it. i was just worried moving apps like that would break something, especially coming from a MS background.

and re the aliases, i just wanted to set up something like this: