[Brass]

I guess I could post this in the OS X forum, but since the problem was created by an application I developed, I thought I'd start here.

I've got an application that used be document based, and created package documents (ie, each document was a folder full of files, but appeared in the Finder as a single item). This worked fine.

However, I recently decided that the application really doesn't need to be document based, and it now simply saves all its support files in the same file format that it used for documents but just in the one location (under '~/Library/Application Support/'.

I think I've done all that's required to make the support folder NOT appear as a package, but any time I create a folder (using the Finder, eg) that has a name ending with what used to be the extension for the documents of my application, the new folder is treated as a package! Even if the application is completely deleted (trash emptied), any such new folder is treated as a package.

However, if I create a new folder with this extension using a different Mac OS X account, it is NOT treated as a package.

This implies that the problem is related specifically to my account. But I cannot find any preference file that could be doing this.

Does anyone have any ideas what could be causing this and how to fix it?

(I've tried restarting and that doesn't help either )

[arcticmac]

Two things to try.

First, try making sure the direcory doesn't have a "contents" directory inside of it. That tends to make the Finder treat it as a package.

The other thing to try would be to delete the LaunchServices database.

[Chuckit]

LaunchServices is my guess.

[Brass]

the problem exists for empty folders so...

Where is the launchservices database, and is deleting it going to cause any other problems?

[Brass]

I've had a look in ~/Library/Preferences/com.apple.launchservices.plist (after dumping it to XML text), and I can't see anything in it that would relate to my application.

I loaded it into TextEdit, and did a Find, and it came up empty.

[Brass]

hmmm... removing ~/Library/Preferences/com.apple.LaunchServices.plist and logging out/in did not help...

any other ideas?

[Chuckit]

See this hint. I believe deleting the database will also reset the "Open With" setting for document types.

[Brass]

Originally Posted by Chuckit 

See this hint. I believe deleting the database will also reset the "Open With" setting for document types.

aha! Thanks for pointing me to that. the lsregister command fixed it immediately.

Looks like Apple need to get this sort of thing working a bit better. It's not something anyone should ever have to worry about.

thanks!