Programmatically create aliases to unmounted servers?
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All,
I'm looking for a way to construct an alias file (a bookmark file) with a specific but unmounted file server location. That is, I want to put an icon on user's desktops that says "Network Space" and have it resolve to afp://ser.ver.add.ress/mount/username.
I can create an NSURL with the encoded path correctly, and I've tried to construct a bookmark file using NSURL's -bookmarkDataWithOptions:includingResourceValuesForKeys:relativeToURL:error: and + writeBookmarkData:toURL:options:error:. When I use a "smb" or "afp" URL I get a file that, when double clicked, opens in TextEdit with the contents of the bookmark file (that is, the URL). I'm pretty sure my code is correct because if I change the URL to a local file I get a working bookmark file. It also works if I construct the URL to a local path when the server is mounted (/Volumes/Server) - unmounting and opening the bookmark will re-mount the server.
I've stared at the NSURL and File Manager references and it seems like there's no way to go from a text server reference to a bookmark file. Is there a way to make an alias without mounting the server first?
Thanks,
--Jim -
What you might want to do is create an AppleScript that is maybe run-only and is on the desktop.
Way less pain.
On Jan 24, 2012, at 4:24 PM, Zajkowski, James wrote:
> All,
>
> I'm looking for a way to construct an alias file (a bookmark file) with a specific but unmounted file server location. That is, I want to put an icon on user's desktops that says "Network Space" and have it resolve to afp://ser.ver.add.ress/mount/username.
>
> I can create an NSURL with the encoded path correctly, and I've tried to construct a bookmark file using NSURL's -bookmarkDataWithOptions:includingResourceValuesForKeys:relativeToURL:error: and + writeBookmarkData:toURL:options:error:. When I use a "smb" or "afp" URL I get a file that, when double clicked, opens in TextEdit with the contents of the bookmark file (that is, the URL). I'm pretty sure my code is correct because if I change the URL to a local file I get a working bookmark file. It also works if I construct the URL to a local path when the server is mounted (/Volumes/Server) - unmounting and opening the bookmark will re-mount the server.
>
> I've stared at the NSURL and File Manager references and it seems like there's no way to go from a text server reference to a bookmark file. Is there a way to make an alias without mounting the server first?
>
> Thanks,
>
> --Jim
>
-
On Jan 24, 2012, at 4:24 PM, Zajkowski, James wrote:
> I'm looking for a way to construct an alias file (a bookmark file) with a specific but unmounted file server location. That is, I want to put an icon on user's desktops that says "Network Space" and have it resolve to afp://ser.ver.add.ress/mount/username.
If I drag the above URL out of Mail and to the Finder, the Finder creates a .afploc file (like it would create a .webloc if I drag a web URL). That .afploc file has a very straightforward format. It's just a plist dictionary with a single key, "URL", with a string value which is the URL.
You could create one of those. Would that be sufficient?
Regards,
Ken -
On Jan 24, 2012, at 10:50 PM, Ken Thomases wrote:
> On Jan 24, 2012, at 4:24 PM, Zajkowski, James wrote:
>
>> I'm looking for a way to construct an alias file (a bookmark file) with a specific but unmounted file server location. That is, I want to put an icon on user's desktops that says "Network Space" and have it resolve to afp://ser.ver.add.ress/mount/username.
>
> If I drag the above URL out of Mail and to the Finder, the Finder creates a .afploc file (like it would create a .webloc if I drag a web URL). That .afploc file has a very straightforward format. It's just a plist dictionary with a single key, "URL", with a string value which is the URL.
>
> You could create one of those. Would that be sufficient?
Well that does work, and it may have to be the interim solution. The advantage of a true alias is that file dialogs will mount the server when the alias is clicked on, but they don't won't see the afploc files as a navigable thing.
--Jim
