Path: utzoo!utgpu!water!watmath!clyde!ima!think!barmar From: barmar@think.COM (Barry Margolin) Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac Subject: Re: What is the Desktop file? Message-ID: <20665@think.UUCP> Date: 11 May 88 04:53:21 GMT References: <440008@hpdstma.HP.COM> Sender: usenet@think.UUCP Reply-To: barmar@kulla.think.com.UUCP (Barry Margolin) Organization: Thinking Machines Corporation, Cambridge, MA Lines: 27 The Desktop file is used by the Finder to keep extra information about files that only it needs. It contains copies of all the icons that are in use for files (so that the Finder doesn't have to open all the files that it is displaying), it contains the locations of all applications keyed by their creator string (used to find the application when you double click on a document), and it contains the finder comments. In the MFS file system it also kept all the folder and icon location information; in HFS this is stored in file system directories. As for other invisible files, there are some other applications that maintain some internal data in invisible files. I think this used to be more common than it is now, and it is probably more common with games. For example, some game disks have their startup screens in invisible files. Finally, some virii may create invisible files; for example, I think the Scores virus creates an invisible Desktop file in the System folder (as opposed to the root folder, where the real Desktop file lives). Your best bet is to use something like the DiskInfo DA or ResEdit to look at the creator string of the invisible file, and then see if you can find an application with that creator. Barry Margolin Thinking Machines Corp. barmar@think.com uunet!think!barmar