How to safely delete preinstalled apps

Hello, I fell in love with zorin lite lately but I'd like to remove some apps I would never use, hopefully to make it even smoother (old notebook here, acer aspire 5610), is it safe or I risk to make zorin less stable?
what's better? sudo apt remove and then autoremove or from software center?

I'm talking about apps like gimp, xfburn, some multimedia apps, libre office draw/calc, maybe bluetooth manager (I don't use it).

Some one on the web, while I was using lubuntu told me using -purge could damage the operative system

thank you

Doncic wrote:Hello, I fell in love with zorin lite lately but I'd like to remove some apps I would never use, hopefully to make it even smoother (old notebook here, acer aspire 5610), is it safe or I risk to make zorin less stable?
what's better? sudo apt remove and then autoremove or from software center?

I'm talking about apps like gimp, xfburn, some multimedia apps, libre office draw/calc, maybe bluetooth manager (I don't use it).

Some one on the web, while I was using lubuntu told me using -purge damage the operative system

thank you

I use the purge command to remove software I have installed all the time. It has never damaged anything. Nor do I see any way that it could damage the system. The purge command removes only what was just installed and was not there when you started.
However--- when the purge command is used on a piece of software that was prebuilt in the O.S., you CAN run the risk of removing integrated software.
Using remove --purge on software that you installed removes the additional software and configuration files that otherwise would be left behind, This is the same function when using Synaptic Package Manager that is called "Remove Completely".


Removing Integrated Software is where your biggest threat is.


So, whether you use the terminal, Software or Synaptic, the principle is the same: Always Check what is being Removed! Read the lists of additional packages that is going to be removed before accepting the removal. If in doubt, hesitate until you are certain. When it comes to lib files doing a removal of software that you installed, you are generally always going to be ok. But if you are removing Thunar, for example, it will take most of the desktop with it, messing up your whole system.

You can safely remove gimp, xfburn, multimedia apps and Libre. I have removed all of the above in order to reinstall (I prefer Gimp 2.8 over 2.10 so I removed Gimp, then installed the older version, then placed a package hold on it). I am not so sure about the Bluetooth manager, however. You can just disable Bluetooth so it never runs.

Thank you very much!

For a safe removal of software, start the Software channel from the menu, then select installed then you will see a list of all the apps installed - to remove just click on the 'remove' button.

@Aravisian - why 2.8 over 2.10 in GIMP? There were crashing issues in 2.10.8 and this was resolved in 2.10.20 - plus I have it just how I like it and made a video for my team at work - sorry it's private video - but if I can help you get round issues, please let me know.

Swarfendor437 wrote:For a safe removal of software, start the Software channel from the menu, then select installed then you will see a list of all the apps installed - to remove just click on the 'remove' button.

@Aravisian - why 2.8 over 2.10 in GIMP? There were crashing issues in 2.10.8 and this was resolved in 2.10.20 - plus I have it just how I like it and made a video for my team at work - sorry it's private video - but if I can help you get round issues, please let me know.

Con:The one issue with 2.8 is that the Cage Transform does not work.

Pros: What I like about 2.8 more than 2.10:
-2.8 follows my gtk2 theme. 2.10 does not, it has its own and its own themes sucks.
-2.8 is very modular. I can detach toolbox and image windows and spread them across multiple monitors. 2.10 bunches everything all together in one tiny window. It is cluttered, cramped and confusing. I hate it.
-Free Select in 2.8 works properly. In 2.10, you can use it, but then must select a DIFFERENT tool (like rectangle select) in order to get the Free Selection to take- THEN you can cut. It's counter-intuitive, an extra unneeded step that did not used to be there and STUPID.
-Free select in 2.10 also consumes more RAM and it crashes out, even in 2.10.20. The Free Selection will suddenly close its own loop before you are finished making your selections. This causes you to have to start over from the beginning.

OK, your needs are clearly greater than mine! I used to hate the floating toolboxes - I prefer the fixed layout and for Teaching Assistants who are (no disrespect to them) not Software Savvy like you, they only need the basics for picture tidying.

Swarfendor437 wrote: I used to hate the floating toolboxes

I did too, at first. But, being able to move them out of the way and zoom in massively on an image is a Great Help.

The quickest way to zoom I find is selecting pre-selection of View | Zooom | 4 : 1 - works every time for me on my editing.