Resource Fork

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Pre-OS X and some OS X Macintosh files have two forks: the data fork, and the resource fork, which is subdivided into resources. Many file formats use the resource fork to store data.
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{{FormatInfo
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|formattype=electronic
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|subcat=Filesystem
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:''This article is about the concept of a Macintosh resource fork, and the methods of storing it. For the usual '''file format''' used by a resource fork, see [[Macintosh resource file]].''
  
A resource has a four-character type code, an ID, and data. The type code is generally unique to the type of data stored within, but this may not be the case with application-specific formats.
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Pre-OS X and some OS X Macintosh files have two forks: the data fork, and the '''resource fork''', which is subdivided into resources. Many file formats use the resource fork to store data, stored in [[Macintosh resource file]] format.
  
The format is described in detail on pages 1-121 to 1-125 of Inside Macintosh: More Macintosh Toolbox.
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Resource forks are usually invisible to the end-user on a Mac platform, but when Mac files are placed in a medium where users of other operating systems can see them (e.g., Windows), they are often visible as an additional subdirectory called '''resource.frk''', or else a name with an underscore (_) as its first character (e.g., _MACOSX for OS X files) containing subdirectories and files that parallel the structure of the files they are associated with.
  
* http://developer.apple.com/legacy/mac/library/documentation/mac/pdf/MoreMacintoshToolbox.pdf
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Later (Unix-based) Mac systems used [[AppleSingle]] and [[AppleDouble]] formats instead of the "classic" resource fork format when using filesystems not supporting direct use of resource forks. This usage continues in some OS X filesystems.
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Other methods of storing a resource fork on a foreign filesystem include [[MacBinary]] and [[BinHex]].
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== References ==
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* [[Wikipedia:Resource fork|Resource fork (Wikipedia)]]
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== See also ==
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* Macintosh resource file: [[Macintosh resource file#References]].
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* Tyler Thorsted's discussion of Macintosh Resource forks at iPRES2022: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3iytNgWTNAA Short Paper 353: Macintosh Resource Forks - Choosing File Formats for Preservation]
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[[Category:File format details]]
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[[Category:Macintosh]]

Latest revision as of 13:02, 8 March 2023

File Format
Name Resource Fork
Ontology
This article is about the concept of a Macintosh resource fork, and the methods of storing it. For the usual file format used by a resource fork, see Macintosh resource file.

Pre-OS X and some OS X Macintosh files have two forks: the data fork, and the resource fork, which is subdivided into resources. Many file formats use the resource fork to store data, stored in Macintosh resource file format.

Resource forks are usually invisible to the end-user on a Mac platform, but when Mac files are placed in a medium where users of other operating systems can see them (e.g., Windows), they are often visible as an additional subdirectory called resource.frk, or else a name with an underscore (_) as its first character (e.g., _MACOSX for OS X files) containing subdirectories and files that parallel the structure of the files they are associated with.

Later (Unix-based) Mac systems used AppleSingle and AppleDouble formats instead of the "classic" resource fork format when using filesystems not supporting direct use of resource forks. This usage continues in some OS X filesystems.

Other methods of storing a resource fork on a foreign filesystem include MacBinary and BinHex.

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[edit] See also

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