Forcing OSX to update the .DS_Store file

A

aicul

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Does anyone know of a way to force OSX to write information it is holding - presumably in cache - into the .DS_Store file.

I have encountered this problem whilst burning a CD. All the finder presentation setting I defined (specifically a Finder background picture in icon view) were not included in the CD. After investigation I noticed that the .DS_Store file was not uptodate.
 
When you change the View settings in a folder you have to "convince" the Finder that you really meant to do that as a permanent change. which can sometimes be a bit of a trick. Usually changing the View and View Options, then resizing the window and possibly moving the view window on the screen will convince Finder that you really really mean it this time. At least that usually works for me.

Of course, all this has to be done before burning the CD.
 
Could this not be tested by making a disk image (.img) of the potential CD before burning and seeing if everything lines up ok. If it does then burn away. At least this will save on potential coasters.
 
I believe that's how most developers do it -- make an image (.DMG, not .IMG -- that was OS 8/9), set the positioning of the icons and background image, then unmount the image. Upon re-mounting the image, the icons and background should be the same.

Then, burn away like MrNivit1 said!
 
Thanks for the feed-back. I burnt the CD using finder (down and out standard).

I did several tests myself (I switched to a RW CD on try 3!!). Eventually I succeded to force OSX to update the .DS_Store by creating a file in the CD, moving it to the Trash and Emptying the Trash. Afterwards to be real tidy I deleted the .Trash folder using unix before burning.

I'll look into the .DMG solution as this probably is cleaner.

But my question on this subject is how do I burn the DMG onto the CD as a CD. I don't really want to have to load the CD then load the DMG. Or am I missing something? :confused:
 
aicul said:
Afterwards to be real tidy I deleted the .Trash folder using unix before burning.
Click to expand...
Now that's just unnecessary; simply use secure delete if you're worried about it.

As for burning a DMG, use Disk Utility.
 
Um.. I think what he meant is that he deleted ".Trashes" from the cd image... not securely deleted it's content. .Trashes on a CD is pointless anyway.
 
Randman said:
I'd just delete the .ds_store and let them be recreated, if needed.
Click to expand...
And just exactly how do you plan to recreate the .DS_Store file on a read only media like a CD? And what if you want the CD to open with the icons displayed in a specific order or pattern if there is not .DS_Store file on the CD to tell Finder what the View settings are? :confused:
 
Do this:

Make a folder that you'd like to burn to CD. Set the view exactly the way you want it, then close the Finder window of that folder. Re-open the folder to make sure the settings stuck, then close it again.

Next, open Disk Utility (Applications > Utilities > Disk Utility). Then, select Images (from the menubar) > New > Image from Folder. Select the folder you created, and a DMG file should be created.

To burn it to a CD, simply select the "Burn" icon in the top bar of Disk Utility, select the DMG file that was created, and burn away...

That should get your CD looking the way you want it.
 
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