Uninstalling FTM for Mac

This article discusses the following:

• Basic uninstall of Family Tree Maker
• Complete uninstall of Family Tree Maker

Basic uninstall of Family Tree Maker

A basic uninstall of Family Tree Maker is sufficient in most cases. By uninstalling in this way, Family Tree Maker won't need to be re-registered, and should remember what file you had opened previously.

Note: Uninstalling Family Tree Maker removes only the software. Your family tree files will remain intact.

1. Open the Applications window by pressing Shift-Command-A on your keyboard.

   

   • You can also open the Applications window by clicking the Go menu in the Finder and selecting Applications.

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2. Select Family Tree Maker and press Command-Delete on your keyboard.

   

   • After selecting Family Tree Maker, you can also click the File menu and select Move to Trash.

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3. CTRL-Click the Trash can and select Empty Trash from the menu that appears.

   

   • You can also click the Finder menu and select Empty Trash.

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4. Family Tree Maker has now been removed from your system.

Complete uninstall of Family Tree Maker

A complete uninstall of Family Tree Maker not only removes the software, but also removes the Preference files associated with Family Tree Maker. Upon reinstall, you will need to re-register Family Tree Maker and will need to manually open your files again.

Note: Uninstalling Family Tree Maker removes only the software. Your family tree files will remain intact. Also, if you are uninstalling Family Tree Maker for Mac 2, you will need to add a ‘2’ to any portion of the following instructions that have you type out the name of the software. Files on your computer will also have a ‘2’ after them when viewing them. This is important to remember if you have both versions of the program installed on your machine.

After following the basic uninstall steps listed above:

1. Return to the Finder and press Shift-Command-U on your keyboard to open the Utilities folder.

   

   • You can also open the Utilities window by clicking the Go menu in the Finder and selecting Utilities.

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2. Find and open Terminal from the programs listed.

   

3. In the terminal window, please type chflags nohidden ~/Library/ and press Enter on your keyboard.
4. Next, type sudo pkgutil --forget com.ancestry.pkg.FamilyTreeMaker and press Enter on your keyboard.

   

   • If prompted, enter your Password and again press Enter. This is not your Ancestry password, but the password for your Mac computer.
5. After the Terminal window finishes it’s task, please quit Terminal by pressing Command-Q on your keyboard or by going to the Terminal menu and selecting Quit.

   

6. Return again to the Finder and press Shift-Command-H on your keyboard to open the Home folder.

   

   • You can also open the Home window by clicking the Go menu in the Finder and selecting Home.

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7. Open the folder labeled Library.

   

   If you can't locate the Library folder on your Mac in OSX 10.7.x (Lion), it is hidden. Please use the following instructions to access the correct folder:

   1. Click on Finder in the dock.
   2. On the top menu bar, click Go then Go to Folder...
   3. Type in: ~/Library/Preferences/

   Look for any Family Tree Maker.... .plist files and delete them.

8. Open the folder labeled Preferences.

   

9. Find and select the two files labeled com.ancestry.FamilyTreeMaker.LSSharedFileList.plist and com.ancestry.FamilyTreeMaker.plist. You can multi-select files by holding down Command on your keyboard as you click each one.

   

10. With both files selected, press Command-Delete on your keyboard to delete the files.

    

    • You can also delete both files by clicking the File menu and selecting Move to Trash.

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11. Option-Click the Trash can and select Empty Trash from the menu that appears.

    

    • You can also click the Finder menu and select Empty Trash.

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12. Family Tree Maker has now been removed from your system.