Re: Problem getting position of desktop items
Re: Problem getting position of desktop items
- Subject: Re: Problem getting position of desktop items
- From: Martin Orpen <email@hidden>
- Date: Sun, 25 Jul 2004 11:22:03 +0100
on 20/7/04 11:41 pm, Allen Watson at email@hidden wrote:
>
I've been experimenting with Late Night Software's XML Tools. They come with
>
example scripts for saving and restoring the position of desktop items. I
>
presume this worked in OS 9, but it does not in OS X.
The OS X Finder is a PITA because of the amount of glue and sticky tape that
holds it all together.
I think that the Desktop icon positions are stored in /Desktop/.DS_Store -
which is another PITA because the binary data is inaccessible and the only
way you can force the file to be updated is by logging out or restarting.
You can store a specific icon layout by doing something like:
1. Copy your current Desktop layout by using the Terminal to copy the
~/Desktop/.DS_Store
2. Make your new icon arrangement - by clicking and moving :-(
3. Logout and then back in again
4. Copy the ~/Desktop/.DS_Store again
Replace the ~/Desktop/.DS_Store with the first copy and then relaunch the
Finder and you'll see that your icons are back in their unarranged state
(you can also simply delete the .DS_Store to get the Finder to use the
System defaults).
Replace the ~/Desktop/.DS_Store with your second copy and then relaunch the
Finder and you'll get your icon arrangement back again.
I don't think that this can be put to any real use as the .DS_Store also
contains comment and icon information which will be lost if you've made any
changes since the last restore.
Have Apple published any information about the .DS_Store data format - or
are there any hacks available?
--
Martin Orpen
Idea Digital Imaging Ltd -- The Image Specialists
http://www.idea-digital.com
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