Major alias issue with GC 7.1.1 (167)

[Gordon Alley]

Tonight I tried a process with GC X 7.1.1 (167) that worked fine a few days ago with GC 6.7.4.I had created a folder of application aliases and placed it in the Dock to produce a stack that I could run apps from. The problem was that many of the alias filenames ended with " alias", and I wanted to remove that word in each name. So I dragged the folder onto the GC X 7.1.1 (167) Dock icon to open it in the GC browser. The browser window opened in Icon view. I selected all the icons, clicked on the Action toolbar button, and selected Misc->Rename... from the dropdown menu. I checked "Find and replace" and entered " alias" in the Find box. I left the "Replace with" box empty. The "Current Name" and "Change to" tables indicated that each filename that ended with " alias" would be changed to delete the " alias" part. If that's what it had done, all would have been fine. But what actually happened after I clicked the Rename button was something else. There were only 17 files in the folder, but many many more filenames zipped by as the action ran its course. Some of the files appeared to be resources that might be inside a package (for example, .icn files). After the Rename function completed, the alias filenames were not changed at all. But most of the applications that were the targets of the aliases were damaged, whether the alias filename had ended with " alias" or not. Some put up an alert when I tried to launch them, saying that the app appeared to be damaged. Some would not launch at all. Most had acquired generic app icons, others generic app icons overlaid with the slashed-circle (I'm speaking of the icons as they appeared on the target app files in the Applications folder -- the aliases in my folder kept their original icons). My speculation is that instead of renaming the Alias files, GC resolved the aliases to the target application packages and renamed files within the packages. Since a few of the apps APPEARED to still function, I'm guessing it only renamed internal package files that included the string " alias". I restored all 17 apps from my Time Machine backup, and they appear to be OK now (this was very tedious, since the Time Machine interface was very slow, and many of the apps were in subfolders and couldn't be restored to the same location). I renamed the aliases manually in the Finder. Here are some other notes that may or may not be significant. When I first started building these alias folders, I just dragged the app icons to the folder while holding the CMD-OPT keys to create aliases. But I discovered that the alias icons would not display properly in the stack - they were just blank document icons. Then I noticed that when I right-clicked an app, there was a "Make alias" item in the popup menu. So I tried using that on an app icon, and it created an alias in the app's local folder with the name of the app followed by " alias". When this alias was copied to the dock stack folder, the icon DID appear when the stack was opened (with the alias badge). So I ended up creating all my aliases that way, which is why they all ended with " alias". It may be that the contextual menu "Make alias" command created a UNIX hard link, while the the CMD-OPT-drag method created a Finder alias, or something like that -- they both look the same in the finder, and their sizes are the same. I'm using OS X 10.6.6 on an iMac 2008 (24").-Gordon-- Gordon Alleyhttp://www.gordonalley.com http://facebook.com/gordonalleyhttp://t ... ordonalley

[thorstenlemke]

Hello, Thanks for your note. I resolve currently all aliases. Thorsten > Von: Gordon Alley <gordon.alley@gmail.com> > Antworten an: <gcmac@yahoogroups.com> > Datum: Tue, 8 Mar 2011 02:40:44 -0600 > An: <gcmac@yahoogroups.com> > Betreff: [gcmac] Major alias issue with GC 7.1.1 (167) >

[Gordon Alley]

Even if you do resolve the aliases, I wouldn't expect renaming an app package to go inside the package and mess with files inside. My renaming action damaged most of the apps, making them unusable.I'm going to experiment with this process again this evening and compare the behavior of GC 6.7.4 with GC X 7. I'm pretty certain that 6 didn't have this problem. -Gordon On Tue, Mar 8, 2011 at 6:01 AM, Thorsten Lemke <lemke@lemkesoft.de> wrote: Hello, Thanks for your note. I resolve currently all aliases. Thorsten > Von: Gordon Alley <gordon.alley@gmail.com> > Antworten an: <gcmac@yahoogroups.com> > Datum: Tue, 8 Mar 2011 02:40:44 -0600 > An: <gcmac@yahoogroups.com> > Betreff: [gcmac] Major alias issue with GC 7.1.1 (167) > -- Gordon Alleyhttp://www.gordonalley.comhttp://facebook.com/gordonalley http://twitter.com/gordonalleyhttp://ww ... ordonalley

[thorstenlemke]

Hello, Hmm, it goes recursive in the folders (an app is a folder, too). Thorsten > Von: Gordon Alley <gordon.alley@gmail.com> > Antworten an: <gcmac@yahoogroups.com> > Datum: Tue, 8 Mar 2011 09:05:09 -0600 > An: <gcmac@yahoogroups.com> > Betreff: Re: [gcmac] Major alias issue with GC 7.1.1 (167) > > Even if you do resolve the aliases, I wouldn't expect renaming an app > package to go inside the package and mess with files inside. My renaming > action damaged most of the apps, making them unusable. > > I'm going to experiment with this process again this evening and compare the > behavior of GC 6.7.4 with GC X 7. I'm pretty certain that 6 didn't have this > problem. > > -Gordon

[Gordon Alley]

Thorsten-Yeah, I can sort of see what's happening, but you wouldn't want to do that with a package. A user would expect the rename function to just rename the package, since they might not even be aware that the "file" is actually a package, or even know what a package is. Maybe an option checkbox in the rename dialog could be added to disable recursion for folders/packages. And it would be nice if there was an option to NOT resolve aliases (i.e., apply the rename to the alias name, not the target's name). I realize that GC is primarily intended for use with graphics files, which are not typically packages, but I've used its renaming capability with non-graphics files in the past, and it didn't occur to even me, a very experienced Mac and PC user, that applying the GC rename function to aliases of applications would end up trashing (not just renaming) the applications themselves. Luckily, I had backups of all the apps in Time Machine, but not all users keep regular backups. -Gordon On Tue, Mar 8, 2011 at 9:09 AM, Thorsten Lemke <lemke@lemkesoft.de> wrote: Hello, Hmm, it goes recursive in the folders (an app is a folder, too). Thorsten > Von: Gordon Alley <gordon.alley@gmail.com> > Antworten an: <gcmac@yahoogroups.com> > Datum: Tue, 8 Mar 2011 09:05:09 -0600 > An: <gcmac@yahoogroups.com> > Betreff: Re: [gcmac] Major alias issue with GC 7.1.1 (167) > > Even if you do resolve the aliases, I wouldn't expect renaming an app > package to go inside the package and mess with files inside. My renaming > action damaged most of the apps, making them unusable. > > I'm going to experiment with this process again this evening and compare the > behavior of GC 6.7.4 with GC X 7. I'm pretty certain that 6 didn't have this > problem. > > -Gordon-- Gordon Alleyhttp://www.gordonalley.comhttp://facebook.com/gordonalley http://twitter.com/gordonalleyhttp://ww ... ordonalley

[thorstenlemke]

Hello Gordon, Thanks for your reply. Yes, but normally the users does only apply rename to images. Thorsten > Von: Gordon Alley <gordon.alley@gmail.com> > Antworten an: <gcmac@yahoogroups.com> > Datum: Tue, 8 Mar 2011 09:24:17 -0600 > An: <gcmac@yahoogroups.com> > Betreff: Re: [gcmac] Major alias issue with GC 7.1.1 (167) > > Thorsten- > > Yeah, I can sort of see what's happening, but you wouldn't want to do that > with a package. A user would expect the rename function to just rename the > package, since they might not even be aware that the "file" is actually a > package, or even know what a package is. > > Maybe an option checkbox in the rename dialog could be added to disable > recursion for folders/packages. And it would be nice if there was an option > to NOT resolve aliases (i.e., apply the rename to the alias name, not the > target's name). > > I realize that GC is primarily intended for use with graphics files, which > are not typically packages, but I've used its renaming capability with > non-graphics files in the past, and it didn't occur to even me, a very > experienced Mac and PC user, that applying the GC rename function to aliases > of applications would end up trashing (not just renaming) the applications > themselves. Luckily, I had backups of all the apps in Time Machine, but not > all users keep regular backups. > > -Gordon

[Gordon Alley]

Thorsten-I understand. But in the past I've assumed that the rename function was generic enough that I could use it with any files. Maybe you should add some filtering to the rename function so that it will only recognize image files, or only files that are not folders or packages. Or, as I suggested, add a checkbox to turn on/off the recursion. I have to leave for work now, so more later, I guess.Thanks.-Gordon On Tue, Mar 8, 2011 at 9:25 AM, Thorsten Lemke <lemke@lemkesoft.de> wrote: Hello Gordon, Thanks for your reply. Yes, but normally the users does only apply rename to images. Thorsten > Von: Gordon Alley <gordon.alley@gmail.com> > Antworten an: <gcmac@yahoogroups.com> > Datum: Tue, 8 Mar 2011 09:24:17 -0600 > An: <gcmac@yahoogroups.com> > Betreff: Re: [gcmac] Major alias issue with GC 7.1.1 (167) > > Thorsten- > > Yeah, I can sort of see what's happening, but you wouldn't want to do that > with a package. A user would expect the rename function to just rename the > package, since they might not even be aware that the "file" is actually a > package, or even know what a package is. > > Maybe an option checkbox in the rename dialog could be added to disable > recursion for folders/packages. And it would be nice if there was an option > to NOT resolve aliases (i.e., apply the rename to the alias name, not the > target's name). > > I realize that GC is primarily intended for use with graphics files, which > are not typically packages, but I've used its renaming capability with > non-graphics files in the past, and it didn't occur to even me, a very > experienced Mac and PC user, that applying the GC rename function to aliases > of applications would end up trashing (not just renaming) the applications > themselves. Luckily, I had backups of all the apps in Time Machine, but not > all users keep regular backups. > > -Gordon-- Gordon Alleyhttp://www.gordonalley.comhttp://facebook.com/gordonalley http://twitter.com/gordonalleyhttp://ww ... ordonalley

[Gordon Alley]

Just verified that GC 6.7.4's "Rename selected files" function renames the alias files as its preview table predicts (and as I want it to), and v7.1.1 does not. So I guess I'll hang on to GC6 for renaming files. Can't think of any reason I would want Rename to resolve aliases or drill down into a package or folder. -Gordon On Tue, Mar 8, 2011 at 9:31 AM, Gordon Alley <gordon@gordonalley.com> wrote: Thorsten-I understand. But in the past I've assumed that the rename function was generic enough that I could use it with any files. Maybe you should add some filtering to the rename function so that it will only recognize image files, or only files that are not folders or packages. Or, as I suggested, add a checkbox to turn on/off the recursion. I have to leave for work now, so more later, I guess.Thanks.-Gordon On Tue, Mar 8, 2011 at 9:25 AM, Thorsten Lemke <lemke@lemkesoft.de> wrote: Hello Gordon, Thanks for your reply. Yes, but normally the users does only apply rename to images. Thorsten > Von: Gordon Alley <gordon.alley@gmail.com> > Antworten an: <gcmac@yahoogroups.com> > Datum: Tue, 8 Mar 2011 09:24:17 -0600 > An: <gcmac@yahoogroups.com> > Betreff: Re: [gcmac] Major alias issue with GC 7.1.1 (167) > > Thorsten- > > Yeah, I can sort of see what's happening, but you wouldn't want to do that > with a package. A user would expect the rename function to just rename the > package, since they might not even be aware that the "file" is actually a > package, or even know what a package is. > > Maybe an option checkbox in the rename dialog could be added to disable > recursion for folders/packages. And it would be nice if there was an option > to NOT resolve aliases (i.e., apply the rename to the alias name, not the > target's name). > > I realize that GC is primarily intended for use with graphics files, which > are not typically packages, but I've used its renaming capability with > non-graphics files in the past, and it didn't occur to even me, a very > experienced Mac and PC user, that applying the GC rename function to aliases > of applications would end up trashing (not just renaming) the applications > themselves. Luckily, I had backups of all the apps in Time Machine, but not > all users keep regular backups. > > -Gordon-- Gordon Alleyhttp://www.gordonalley.comhttp://facebook.com/gordonalley http://twitter.com/gordonalleyhttp://ww ... ordonalley

[sailormangangway]

Greetings all, From the beginning of GC 7, I have had a major problem viewing aliases in the browser. Some aliases view correctly and some look like the files Icon blown up, ie, very very fuzzy. If I look at the same aliases with GC 6 browser they all view correctly. If I use Quick View they show correctly. As a result if I have to view a folder of aliases then I use GC6 and if I view the files themselves I use GC7. It is very annoying. keith --- In gcmac@yahoogroups.com, Gordon Alley <gordon.alley@...> wrote: > > Just verified that GC 6.7.4's "Rename selected files" function renames the > alias files as its preview table predicts (and as I want it to), and v7.1.1 > does not. So I guess I'll hang on to GC6 for renaming files. Can't think of > any reason I would want Rename to resolve aliases or drill down into a > package or folder. > > -Gordon > > On Tue, Mar 8, 2011 at 9:31 AM, Gordon Alley <gordon@...> wrote: > > > Thorsten- > > > > I understand. But in the past I've assumed that the rename function was > > generic enough that I could use it with any files. Maybe you should add some > > filtering to the rename function so that it will only recognize image files, > > or only files that are not folders or packages. Or, as I suggested, add a > > checkbox to turn on/off the recursion. > > > > I have to leave for work now, so more later, I guess. > > > > Thanks. > > > > -Gordon > > > > > > On Tue, Mar 8, 2011 at 9:25 AM, Thorsten Lemke <lemke@...> wrote: > > > >> Hello Gordon, > >> > >> Thanks for your reply. > >> > >> Yes, but normally the users does only apply rename to images. > >> > >> Thorsten > >> > >> > Von: Gordon Alley <gordon.alley@...> > >> > Antworten an: <gcmac@yahoogroups.com> > >> > Datum: Tue, 8 Mar 2011 09:24:17 -0600 > >> > An: <gcmac@yahoogroups.com> > >> > Betreff: Re: [gcmac] Major alias issue with GC 7.1.1 (167) > >> > > >> > Thorsten- > >> > > >> > Yeah, I can sort of see what's happening, but you wouldn't want to do > >> that > >> > with a package. A user would expect the rename function to just rename > >> the > >> > package, since they might not even be aware that the "file" is actually > >> a > >> > package, or even know what a package is. > >> > > >> > Maybe an option checkbox in the rename dialog could be added to disable > >> > recursion for folders/packages. And it would be nice if there was an > >> option > >> > to NOT resolve aliases (i.e., apply the rename to the alias name, not > >> the > >> > target's name). > >> > > >> > I realize that GC is primarily intended for use with graphics files, > >> which > >> > are not typically packages, but I've used its renaming capability with > >> > non-graphics files in the past, and it didn't occur to even me, a very > >> > experienced Mac and PC user, that applying the GC rename function to > >> aliases > >> > of applications would end up trashing (not just renaming) the > >> applications > >> > themselves. Luckily, I had backups of all the apps in Time Machine, but > >> not > >> > all users keep regular backups. > >> > > >> > -Gordon > >> > >> > > -- > Gordon Alley > http://www.gordonalley.com > http://facebook.com/gordonalley > http://twitter.com/gordonalley > http://www.linkedin.com/in/gordonalley >