Uninstall VW

[JHEarcht]

I have several generations of VW on my computer : VW12. VW08, VW09. I need to make room on my hard drive for some new programs. So I want to uninstall VW12 and VW08.

But when I run Windows XP Add/Remove Programs, none of the VW programs show up in the list. All other major apps are on the list.

When I run Revo Uninstaller, none of the VW programs are found. Sometimes Revo can find minor apps that don't showup in Add/Remove Programs.

When I run the Revo Hunter and click on the VW icon, it says no Install file found.

Apparently I am missing something here. How can I uninstall VectorWorks if there is no Install file, or Uninstall file?

[JHEarcht]

I don't know the significance of this, but . . .

In the Registry Editor under Microsoft/Windows/Uninstall/Vectorworks12, one of the items says "NOREMOVE".

[Pat Stanford]

VW was originally a Mac program, so it still kind of acts as one and does not put in much stuff that needs to be uninstalled.

For a simple uninstall, just drag the folders from the Programs folder to the Recycle bin and then empty it.

To do a more complete job you can edit the registry by hand. The following information from the knowledgebase will help.

http://kbase.vectorworks.net/questions/612/Uninstalling+VectorWorks+12

http://kbase.vectorworks.net/questions/557/Uninstalling+Vectorworks+2008

[JHEarcht]

Pat

Thanks for the explanation. Obviously I haven't tried to remove VW files in several years. But I don't remember ever manually deleting MiniCAD or VW apps before.

For what it's worth, I am not comfortable doing a manual uninstall (although I just did it). I mess around with the Registry all the time. But only when I'm forced to by mysterious problems with unruly apps. Windows users have been taught to be paranoid about touching the Registry. Apparently Mac users have one less thing to worry about.

I'd prefer that VW condescend to their wimpy Windozers, and add a little Uninstall folder to their program files, just like almost all other Windows apps in recent years. Is that too much to ask?

I used to have a utility program to track an install and allow an automatic uninstall. But in recent years almost all Windows apps have their own uninstall folder. I thought the Revo Uninstall application would find and remove those few oddball apps that don't show up in the Remove Programs list. But now I see it naively assumes that every app will have an Uninstall folder. Revo is a free download, and worth every penny!

Edited June 2, 2009 by JHEarcht

[Pat Stanford]

This is the most authoritative word on the subject I have found.

http://techboard.vectorworks.net/ubbthreads/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=96043&page=4

I agree that an uninstaller would probably save a lot of calls to tech support.

The other possibility is to recycle the application and then run a Registry cleaning program and let it delete the broken keys.

If you are really cramped for space, don't forget to delete the users folders also.

[brudgers]

It's been on the Windows platform for 13 years, the originally on a Mac explanation isn't much of an excuse in my opinion.

http://shop.acresso.com/product/fullproducts.asp#q

[Ray Libby]

When working on the registry, always export a backup before you start to the root level of the c drive. That way if you really mucked it up you can restore it from the Windows boot disk.