Cocoa mail archive
Re: How to add a URL-tile to the Dock from an Installer?
FROM : Darkshadow
DATE : Fri Dec 31 13:42:21 2004
The problem is that the file is getting owned by root, and since
*.plist files are only rw for the owner, the user's dock can't access
its preferences anymore and so starts up with the default preferences.
You'll need to either set the owner back, or change the permissions so
that everyone can read/write. I'd choose the former.
Err, and if it helps, the scripts that are run don't actually *have* to
be scripts - you can make a small tool to do the job. The installer
will run anything that's executable.
Hope that helps,
Darkshadow (aka Michael Nickerson)
On Dec 30, 2004, at 8:10 PM, Jay Koutavas wrote:
> My product requirements are asking me to "Add two URL item-thingies to
> the Dock on product install" (paraphrased. :))
>
> Reading through the cocoa-dev archive, there seems to be consensus
> along the lines of "One shouldn't force something onto the Dock, it's
> up to the user to define." Which I'm in agreement with too, one should
> prompt the user for that. So, my Installer will do the right thing and
> prompt first.
>
> Now, getting down to the engineering business of modifying a live
> running Dock, I first wrote the following shell script to do an
> addition of a URL tile to the Dock. (A URL tiles are those shiny metal
> '@' icons with a spring attached, seen on the right-hand side of the
> Dock).
>
> The script works great when executed from the command line, though
> naturally the hard-coded user path needs to scoot. Here's the script:
>
> ----
> #!/bin/bash
>
> defaults write /Users/jay/Library/Preferences/com.apple.dock
> persistent-others -array-add
> '<dict><key>tile-data</key><dict><key>label</key><string>http://
> www.heynow.com</string><key>url</key><dict><key>_CFURLString</
> key><string>http://www.heynow.com</string><key>_CFURLStringType</
> key><integer>15</integer></dict></dict><key>tile-type</
> key><string>url-tile</string></dict>'
>
> killall -HUP Dock
> ----
>
> The problem I'm running into is when I try to use the above within my
> PackageMaker's postinstall script. What occurs is the entire
> com.apple.dock.plist file gets reset to the factory default.
>
> My postinstall script must be silently failing somehow (no mention of
> an error in Console or the Install log) clobbering the com.apple.plist
> and that the Dock, on restart wants to fallback to its factory default
> com.apple.dock.plist as a recovery scheme. Any suggestions on what to
> do? Any explanation of what my postinstall shell script is doing
> wrong?
>
> I realize that this post is a bit off topic for Cocoa-dev, but there
> has been some discussion of programmatically tweaking the Dock
> previously on this list. Nonetheless, suggestions on where to
> cross-post are also welcome.
>
> Happy New Year
>
> /Jay
> --
DATE : Fri Dec 31 13:42:21 2004
The problem is that the file is getting owned by root, and since
*.plist files are only rw for the owner, the user's dock can't access
its preferences anymore and so starts up with the default preferences.
You'll need to either set the owner back, or change the permissions so
that everyone can read/write. I'd choose the former.
Err, and if it helps, the scripts that are run don't actually *have* to
be scripts - you can make a small tool to do the job. The installer
will run anything that's executable.
Hope that helps,
Darkshadow (aka Michael Nickerson)
On Dec 30, 2004, at 8:10 PM, Jay Koutavas wrote:
> My product requirements are asking me to "Add two URL item-thingies to
> the Dock on product install" (paraphrased. :))
>
> Reading through the cocoa-dev archive, there seems to be consensus
> along the lines of "One shouldn't force something onto the Dock, it's
> up to the user to define." Which I'm in agreement with too, one should
> prompt the user for that. So, my Installer will do the right thing and
> prompt first.
>
> Now, getting down to the engineering business of modifying a live
> running Dock, I first wrote the following shell script to do an
> addition of a URL tile to the Dock. (A URL tiles are those shiny metal
> '@' icons with a spring attached, seen on the right-hand side of the
> Dock).
>
> The script works great when executed from the command line, though
> naturally the hard-coded user path needs to scoot. Here's the script:
>
> ----
> #!/bin/bash
>
> defaults write /Users/jay/Library/Preferences/com.apple.dock
> persistent-others -array-add
> '<dict><key>tile-data</key><dict><key>label</key><string>http://
> www.heynow.com</string><key>url</key><dict><key>_CFURLString</
> key><string>http://www.heynow.com</string><key>_CFURLStringType</
> key><integer>15</integer></dict></dict><key>tile-type</
> key><string>url-tile</string></dict>'
>
> killall -HUP Dock
> ----
>
> The problem I'm running into is when I try to use the above within my
> PackageMaker's postinstall script. What occurs is the entire
> com.apple.dock.plist file gets reset to the factory default.
>
> My postinstall script must be silently failing somehow (no mention of
> an error in Console or the Install log) clobbering the com.apple.plist
> and that the Dock, on restart wants to fallback to its factory default
> com.apple.dock.plist as a recovery scheme. Any suggestions on what to
> do? Any explanation of what my postinstall shell script is doing
> wrong?
>
> I realize that this post is a bit off topic for Cocoa-dev, but there
> has been some discussion of programmatically tweaking the Dock
> previously on this list. Nonetheless, suggestions on where to
> cross-post are also welcome.
>
> Happy New Year
>
> /Jay
> --
