Alain wrote:

> I'm on the way to converting my prefs to CFPreferences, but I'm  
> stuck at the moment with a specific problem whose solution eludes me.
>
> We've been used to store file information as aliases in the  
> resource fork of our preference files, haven't we? Now that  
> resources are deprecated in OS X, what is the correct way to handle  
> such a situation?
>
> In the first plist I have examined, I have seen a file path and I  
> thought that was the new method recommended by Apple. I modified my  
> program so that it could store that info in the preference file. So  
> far, so good. But, all my attempts to convert back the file path to  
> an FSSpec, via an FSRef, have failed up to now.
>
> Furthermore, I'm not sure this is really the way to go, because if  
> the end-user changes in the Finder any folder name belonging to the  
> path or the file name, I believe the path will be broken.
>
> Anybody has an answer to this question?
>

Alain,

I added these functions to the CFPrefs library a couple days ago.  
Hope they help.

Bernie


'----------
// Aliases.h
toolbox fn FSNewAlias( const FSRef * fromFile, const FSRef * target,  
Handle * inAlias ) = OSErr
toolbox fn FSResolveAlias( const FSRef * fromFile, Handle alias,  
FSRef * target, Boolean * wasChanged ) = OSErr


// CFPrefsGetFSRef takes no default parameter.
local mode
local fn CFPrefsGetFSRef( key as Str255, @fsRef as ^FSRef )
'~'1
dim as Handle   @ h
dim as Boolean    fromPrefs, @ wasChanged

h = 0
fromPrefs = fn CFPrefsGetHandle( key, @h )
long if ( fromPrefs )
if ( fn FSResolveAlias( #0, h, #fsRef, @wasChanged ) ) then fromPrefs  
= _false
DisposeHandle( h )
end if
end fn = fromPrefs


local mode
local fn CFPrefsSetFSRef( key as Str255, fsRef as ^FSRef )
'~'1
dim as Handle  @ h

h = 0
long if ( fn FSNewAlias( #0, #fsRef, @h ) == _noErr )
fn CFPrefsSetHandle( key, h )
DisposeHandle( h )
end if
end fn


// CFPrefsGetFSSpec takes no default parameter.
local mode
local fn CFPrefsGetFSSpec( key as Str255, @fs as ^FSSpec )
'~'1
dim as Handle   @ h
dim as Boolean    fromPrefs, @ wasChanged

h = 0
fromPrefs = fn CFPrefsGetHandle( key, @h )
long if ( fromPrefs )
if ( fn ResolveAlias( #0, h, #fs, @wasChanged ) ) then fromPrefs =  
_false
DisposeHandle( h )
end if
end fn = fromPrefs


local mode
local fn CFPrefsSetFSSpec( key as Str255, fs as ^FSSpec )
'~'1
dim as Handle  @ h

h = 0
long if ( fn NewAlias( #0, #fs, @h ) == _noErr )
fn CFPrefsSetHandle( key, h )
DisposeHandle( h )
end if
end fn
'----------