Reading Writing ".DS_  Store" Files
1 ".DS_  Store" Files and Entries
read-ds-store
write-ds-store
ds
iloc
fwind
2 Finder Aliases
path->alias-bytes
Bibliography
6.11

Reading Writing ".DS_Store" Files

A ".DS_Store" file is a metadata file on Mac OS X that holds information about folder and icons as viewed and manipulated in Finder. One common reason to manipulate ".DS_Store" files is to create a nice-looking disk image for a Mac OS X installer.

".DS_Store" reading and writing is based on a reverse-engineered description of the file format [DS_Store].

1 ".DS_Store" Files and Entries

 (require ds-store) package: ds-store-lib

procedure

(read-ds-store path [#:verbose verbose?])  (listof ds?)

  path : path-string?
  verbose? : any/c = #f
Reads the ".DS_Store" file at path returning a list of store items.

procedure

(write-ds-store path dses)  void?

  path : path-string?
  dses : (listof ds?)
Writes dses to the ".DS_Store" file at path, replacing the file’s current content.

struct

(struct ds (path id type data)
    #:transparent)
  path : (or/c path-element? 'same)
  id : symbol?
  type : (or/c 'long 'shor 'bool 'type 'ustr 'blob)
  data : 
(or/c exact-integer? boolean? symbol? string?
      bytes? iloc? fwind?)
Represents a entry in a ".DS_Store" file. A ".DS_Store" file typically has multiple entries for a single file or directory in the same directory as the ".DS_Store".

The path should be 'same only for a volume root directory; information about a directory is otherwise recorded in its parent directory’s ".DS_Store" file.

The id symbols should each have four ASCII characters. See the ".DS_Store" format description [DS_Store] for more information id and type values.

The data field long should be an exact integer for 'long and 'shor types, a boolean for the 'bool type, a 4-character ASCII symbol for the 'type type, a string for the 'ustr type, and either a byte string, iloc, or fwind for the 'blob type.

struct

(struct iloc (x y)
    #:transparent)
  x : exact-integer?
  y : exact-integer?
Represents an icon location for an 'Iloc entry.

struct

(struct fwind (t l b r mode sideview?)
    #:transparent)
  t : exact-integer?
  l : exact-integer?
  b : exact-integer?
  r : exact-integer?
  mode : symbol?
  sideview? : any/c
Represent a window location for a 'fwi0 entry. The mode field should have four ASCII characters, and recognized modes include 'icnv, 'clmv, and 'Nlsv.

2 Finder Aliases

A 'pict entry in a ".DS_Store" file references a file through a Finder alias.

 (require ds-store/alias) package: ds-store-lib

procedure

(path->alias-bytes path [#:wrt wrt-dir])  (or/c bytes? #f)

  path : path-string?
  wrt-dir : (or/c #f path-string?) = #f
Constructs a byte string to represent a Finder alias but using the "CoreFoundation" library on Mac OS X.

Bibliography

[DS_Store] Wim Lewis and Mark Mentovai, “DS_Store Format.” http://search.cpan.org/~wiml/Mac-Finder-DSStore/DSStoreFormat.pod