14.6. Built-in Module macfs

Whenever a function or method expects a file argument, this argument can be one of three things: (1) a full or partial Macintosh pathname, (2) an FSSpec object or (3) a 3-tuple (wdRefNum, parID, name) as described in Inside Mac VI. and the standard file package can also be found there.

FSSpec (file) -- function of module macfs

Create an FSSpec object for the specified file.

RawFSSpec (data) -- function of module macfs

Create an FSSpec object given the raw data for the C structure for the FSSpec as a string. This is mainly useful if you have obtained an FSSpec structure over a network.

RawAlias (data) -- function of module macfs

Create an Alias object given the raw data for the C structure for the alias as a string. This is mainly useful if you have obtained an FSSpec structure over a network.

FInfo () -- function of module macfs

Create a zero-filled FInfo object.

ResolveAliasFile (file) -- function of module macfs

Resolve an alias file. Returns a 3-tuple (fsspec, isfolder, aliased) where fsspec is the resulting FSSpec object, isfolder is true if fsspec points to a folder and aliased is true if the file was an alias in the first place (otherwise the FSSpec object for the file itself is returned).

StandardGetFile ([type, ...]) -- function of module macfs

Present the user with a standard ``open input file'' dialog. Optionally, you can pass up to four 4-char file types to limit the files the user can choose from. The function returns an FSSpec object and a flag indicating that the user completed the dialog without cancelling.

PromptGetFile (prompt[, type, ...]) -- function of module macfs

Similar to StandardGetFile but allows you to specify a prompt.

StandardPutFile (prompt, [default]) -- function of module macfs

Present the user with a standard ``open output file'' dialog. prompt is the prompt string, and the optional default argument initializes the output file name. The function returns an FSSpec object and a flag indicating that the user completed the dialog without cancelling.

GetDirectory ([prompt]) -- function of module macfs

Present the user with a non-standard ``select a directory'' dialog. prompt is the prompt string, and the optional. Return an FSSpec object and a success-indicator.

FindFolder (where, which, create) -- function of module macfs

Locates one of the ``special'' folders that MacOS knows about, such as the trash or the Preferences folder. Where is the disk to search, which is the 4-char string specifying which folder to locate. Setting create causes the folder to be created if it does not exist. Returns a (vrefnum, dirid) tuple.

The constants for where and which can be obtained from the standard module MACFS.

Menu

FSSpec objects

alias objects

FInfo objects