This Utility Greatly Speeds up Installing Mac Applications From the Internet
I’m always looking for Mac apps that speed up repetitive tasks, and Rapidmg is my latest find . This is a handy utility for MacOS that speeds up the installation process for many programs outside the Mac App Store. While you can download and install apps through Homebrew for the fastest possible experience, many apps aren’t available for installation through a package manager. Instead, they are available for download through your favorite developers’ websites, where you can download a DMG (disc image) file to install the application. Rapidmg automates the process of installing applications from DMG files and performs a number of steps that will save you a lot of time.
What happens to DMG files?
The DMG format for Mac is similar to the ISO format in Windows, which can be used to mount virtual volumes, clone entire drives, and more. This is a common way to distribute Mac applications online. For you, opening a DMG file looks like you are launching the application itself, since it uses the application’s icon and name. Once you open the DMG file, you’ll see a small window with an application icon that you drag into the Applications folder on your Mac. The DMG format allows developers to customize the size and background of this window, creating unique installation layouts.
This Aymeric on Software blog post does a great job of documenting the history of the DMG file in case you want to know more about it.
How Rapidmg speeds up your installation workflow
Once you open the DMG file, it will be mounted as a volume and you will see the installation window pop up. You drag the app icon to your Applications folder to complete the installation. The application will be installed, but you need to do two more things. You need to unmount the volume (right-click it on the desktop and select Eject ) and delete the unnecessary DMG file, which is useless once the application is installed. Rapidmg can automate this entire process for you.
Once Rapidmg opens the DMG file, it will automatically move the application to your Mac’s Applications folder, unmount the volume, and delete the DMG file (if that’s what you want). To use it, install Rapidmg and then right-click on any DMG file. Select “Get Info” and under “Open with: ” select Rapidmg . You can click Change All to make Rapidmg the default application for opening DMG files.
After that, just double-click on any DMG file and Rapidmg will do the rest for you. To make the process easier, launch Rapidmg, then click the gear icon in the top right corner to configure it. Select the drop-down menu next to After Extension and select Remove Disk Image to get rid of the installation file.
That’s it! Rapidmg is free to download through the Mac App Store and you can use it for free for one week. After that, you can pay $1 to unlock the app forever.
As always, be careful when downloading Mac apps from unknown developers. Although macOS provides protection against the launch of suspicious apps, you should still only download apps from reputable developers to avoid accidentally installing malware. Using Rapidmg is safe and does not make you more vulnerable to security threats, but be careful when downloading any applications from the Internet.