The Abbyy OCR code in PB3 is installed in one’s home directory in ~/Library/Application Support. It takes up 236MB.
I much prefer to keep my home directory for my personal files, and to have code and standardized components of programs installed in the common locations outside of individual user directories. That separation helps one keep track of private files and streamlines backup.
Thanks.
Don’t think you’re going to have much luck. This sort of stuff BELONGS in ~/Library/Application Support, per the OS X developer guidelines.
If you really don’t like it, you can create a symbolic link from ~/Library to somewhere outside your home folder. But be aware that MANY applications store their data in there. And having the OCR stuff there, versus embedded in the application itself like it was previously, makes updates MUCH faster as there is much less stuff to download for each DTP update.
Maybe go look at ~/Library/Application support… I bet it’s WAY larger than just the OCR stuff. Most applications that store their own data in a database format (as opposed to as files like Word, Excel, etc.,) store it there.
I was thinking that the top level /Library/Application Support would make more sense. Adobe uses that location extensively and has a very large installation there, which is fine with me. I don’t see why one would need to put it in the user directory.
I agree that most or all of it should be able to be installed under that sharable system location.
Though I wouldn't use this as an example: [quote] Adobe uses that location extensively and has a very large installation there, which is fine with me. [/quote] Adobe's installers stink:Adobe CS4: Yet another lousy Adobe installer
Notes from Adobe installer management
… and of course the numerous tirades from John C. Welch.
But maybe there’s hope:
[quote] I don't see why one would need to put it in the user directory. [/quote] If properly written, only any user-specific data might be required to be there. Best if the rest have the ability to be sharable. But a lot of apps don't optimally differentiate /Library (system) vs. ~/Library (user) locations.Hey-
/Library/Application Support might make more sense than ~/Library/Application Support, but then it becomes available to all users of the computer.
My brief experience with ABBYY’s Scansnap edition made me feel that they like their software really locked down.
HTH, Charles
Which is exactly the point if you have multiple users of the software on a single system, i.e. why require each used to store a redundant copy?
More power to 'em if they believe per-user copies are a good method for doing that. 
My point was that ABBYY seem to be a single-user license, LITERALLY. Not a license for all the users of your computer…
Single-user licenses exist for software that’s installed system/network-wide. Adding additional licenses for its usage on a single system needn’t require additional copies of the software to be installed. Abbyy’s being lazy about it. 
Hmm, as a counter-example, I don’t like this. I even install all applications in my user account because I rsync it to a second machine to keep a fully working copy of everything without duplication the system itself. I guess it depends on your personal usage style. But a symlink should do what you want.