Remove Mac Apps

Remove Mac Apps

A Technical Site Providing Uninstall Tutorial For Mac OS X

Remove Xkeys effectively - Mac Uninstall Guide

How to uninstall Xkeys on Mac computer? If you encounter problem when trying to delete Xkeys as well as its associated components, read through this removal tutorial and learn about how to perfectly remove any unwanted applications on your Mac.

Things you should know about Mac app removal:

Uninstalling applications in macOS/Mac OS X is quite different from that in Windows operating system. In normal cases Mac users just need to simply drag and drop the target app to the Trash and then empty the Trash to perform the standard uninstallation. Generally speaking, most Mac applications are separate bundles that contain the executable and any associated resources for the app, and therefore users can easily remove any unwanted software (if they are installed properly) from their Macs.

However, a fact is often neglected that, even the stand-alone software may might still leave its configuration and preferences files on multiple system directories after you carry out a basic uninstall. These vestiges can be very small in size, thus leaving them alone may not affect your Mac performance, yet they can also be a large chunks of useless files that occupy a large portion of your hard drive space. In the latter case it is quite necessary to clean out those junk files from your Mac for complete removal.

For some novice users, they may have no idea how to remove Xkeys in a proper way. Even for the experienced users, they may also get lost when trying to uninstall a problematic, stubborn or even malicious application. In this post we will discuss the following questions: (1) What is the correct way to uninstall Xkeys? (2) How to ensure all its accompanying components are removed safely? And (3) is there a shortcut for both Mac novices and experts to take to accomplish Xkeys removal effortlessly?

Conventional Steps to Uninstall Xkeys for Mac

Prior to the removal of Xkeys, you should first log into your Mac with an administrator account, and turn Xkeys off if it is running. To deactivate an app, right click its icon in the dock and select Quit option (or choose Xkeys > Quit Xkeys on the Menu bar).

Also, you can access the Activity Monitor (located in /Applications/Utilities/ folder), and see if there is any background process pertaining to the app. If Xkeys cannot be quit normally, you can select the app in Activity Monitor, click the large red “Quit Process” button in the left corner and click Force Quit button in the pop-up dialog.

Option 1: Drag Xkeys icon to the Trash

  1. Open up the Finder, click Applications on the left side, and then select Xkeys.
  2. Drag Xkeys to the Trash (or right click on it and then select Move to Trash option).
  3. Right click the Trash icon and select Empty Trash option to start the uninstall.

This drag-to-delete method works in all versions of Mac OS X. Most 3rd party apps can be smoothly uninstalled in that way, but you cannot delete built-in apps by doing this. Some apps installed using the Mac package installer will prompt you for a password when you try to move it to the Trash. In any case you cannot move Xkeys to the Trash or empty the Trash, try holding the Option key as you choose Empty Trash from the Finder menu, or reboot your Mac and try it again later.

Warming: It is important to point out that, emptying the Trash will instantly wipe off Xkeys as well as other files you’ve thrown into the Trash, and that this act is irrevocable, so make sure you haven’t mistakenly deleted anything before emptying the Trash. Any time you change your mind and wanna undo the deletion of apps or files, just right click the item in the Trash and select Put Back option.

Option 2: Delete Xkeys in the Launchpad

  1. Open up Launchpad, and type Xkeys in the search box on the top.
  2. Click and hold Xkeys icon with your mouse button until it starts to wiggle. Then click the “X” that appears on the left upper corner of Xkeys to perform the uninstall.

This tap-and-hold method is applicable for the apps installed through the App Store, and it requires OS X lion or later. Once you click the X icon, the uninstallation of Xkeys will be handled immediately, and there is no need to empty the Trash afterwards. This way cannot uninstall built-in apps as well.

Option 3: Launch Xkeys built-in uninstaller

It is worth mentioning that, some applications for Mac come with their own dedicated uninstallers, e.g. Adobe and Microsoft. Those apps will install additional software to provide extended functions, or place library files and associated application dependencies elsewhere in OS X. You can manually delete all the accompanying components as well, but it would be better to run the specialized uninstaller to fully remove the application alone with its bundled software or associated items.

  1. Locate the Xkeys installation file and double click to open it up.
  2. Select the [uninstaller] in the package and double click to run it.
  3. Follow the onscreen prompts to complete the uninstalling process.

To uninstall the software and plugins that don’t show up in the Application folder or come with a uninstaller, you are supposed to go to their official websites and look for their own downloadable uninstallers or the uninstallation instructions provided there. As for some apps that are built in macOS, you can either run commands in the Terminal to delete it, or try the uninstall tool offered in the last section of this post.

Delete Xkeys Library Files, Caches & Preferences

Most OS X application are self-contained packages that can be easily uninstalled by dragging them to the Trash, but there are exceptions too. Some of you may wonder if the classic methods mentioned above help remove the associated files or folders created by Xkeys. Well, even though completely uninstalling apps on OS X is much more simple than that on Windows, you may need to check if there are support and preference files left on your hard drive after Xkeys has been deleted. Xkeys vestiges may not do much harm to your system but do take up a certain disk space. Therefore, if you are not gonna use Xkeys any more, these remnants can be deleted permanently.

There are tow locations where apps store their preferences and supporting files, and both are named Library. Apart from these files, Xkeys may also scatter its components like login items, startup daemons/agents, or kernel extensions around the system.

To remove all the traces of Xkeys from your Mac, do the following steps:

Part 1. Top Level Library on Hard Disk: /Library

  1. Open the Finder, click on the Go from the Menu Bar, and select Go to Folder.
  2. Type the path of the top level Library on hard disk: /Library, and hit Enter key.
  3. Search for the items with the name of Xkeys in the following locations:
    • /Library
    • /Library/Caches
    • /Library/Preferences
    • /Library/Application Support
    • /Library/LaunchAgents
    • /Library/LaunchDaemons
    • /Library/PreferencePanes
    • /Library/StartupItems
  4. Right click the matched files or folders, and select Move to Trash option.

Part 2. User Library inside Home Folder(~/Library)

  1. Head to Go > Go to Folder, type ~Library in the box and hit Enter key.
  2. Identify and delete the similar named files or folders in the same set of folders:
    • ~/Library
    • ~/Library/Caches
    • ~/Library/Preferences
    • ~/Library/Application Support
    • ~/Library/LaunchAgents
    • ~/Library/LaunchDaemons
    • ~/Library/PreferencePanes
    • ~/Library/StartupItems
  3. Empty the Trash to delete Xkeys leftovers permanently.

Application components may appear in a wide range of locations, including but not limited to the aforementioned file paths. For instance, some antivirus and security software will install additional kernel extensions which are by default located in /System/Library/Extensions. For the leftovers that are not obvious to identify, you might do a Google search for the app components, and perform the removal carefully.

Manually deleting Xkeys leftovers can be a laborious task for inexperienced Mac users. If you are still not sure how to delete app remnants entirely, or you would like to save time in removing Xkeys alone with all its remnants, well, utilizing a professional removal tool is a better option for you, compared with the manual removal.

Effective Solution to Thoroughly Remove Xkeys

Look for an all-in-one solution to handling any application removal on your Mac? You might need the help of a specialized and advanced Mac uninstaller, which will spare you from the tedious searching for app vestiges. A outstanding uninstaller should be featured by intuitive interface, easy operation, powerful performance, and satisfactory effects. Now you can get all of these features in Osx Uninstaller.

Utilizing Osx Uninstaller can be the most effective way to remove any corrupted, stubborn and malicious application for your Mac. It will scan your whole system for every piece of target application and then remove them in one click, thus to finally free up your Mac hard disk space. Continue reading to know more about this tool.

Q1: How to remove Xkeys by using Osx Uninstaller?

Step 1. Launch Osx Uninstaller in the Launchpad after quiting Xkeys in the Dock. Step 2. Select Xkeys on the interface and click Run Analysis button to scan Xkeys. Step 3. Click Complete Uninstall in Step 2, and click Yes to confirm removal.

After you click Yes in the dialog, the uninstall process will be activated immediately, and you will be informed that Xkeys has been successfully removed. The whole process is quite straightforward (3 steps: launch - select - remove), and it may take only a few seconds to complete. Fast and simple, right? Just give it a try now!

Q2: Why is it better to apply Osx Uninstaller?

A clean uninstall of unwanted application is what most computer users desire for, but manually hunting down app stuffs is never an easy job to do. Once you start to use Osx Unisntaller, there is no need to manually locate app files left behind any more. You will save the trouble of crawling over the system looking for ambiguous remnants, and you don’t have to deal with various uninstall problems that may occur.

Osx Uninstaller, an high-efficient uninstall utility designed for Mac, helps remove not only the built-in applications but also the software and plugins that don’t appear in the Application folder. You can download this removal tool for free and try it out first. If you think it meets your demand, you can pay for the full version.

Summary: This guide offers several approaches to uninstall Xkeys on Mac. The manual ways require more time and skills to ensure a clean, complete uninstallation, while the automated uninstaller could handle any app removal smoothly and swiftly.

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Thank you for reading this post. Does it help resolve your uninstall issues? We will be glad if you share your thoughts or any suggestion about this removal guide.

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