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NSWorkspace Class Reference

Inherits from
Conforms to
Framework
/System/Library/Frameworks/AppKit.framework
Availability
Available in Mac OS X v10.0 and later.
Companion guide
Declared in
NSWorkspace.h
Related sample code

Overview

An NSWorkspace object responds to application requests to perform a variety of services:

There is one shared NSWorkspace object per application. You use the class method sharedWorkspace to access it. For example, the following statement uses an NSWorkspace object to request that a file be opened in the TextEdit application:

[[NSWorkspace sharedWorkspace] openFile:@"/Myfiles/README"
    withApplication:@"TextEdit"];

Tasks

Accessing the Shared NSWorkspace Instance

Accessing the NSWorkspace Notification Center

Opening Files

Manipulating Applications

Manipulating Files

Manipulating Uniform Type Identifier Information

Requesting Information

Image Animation

Requesting Additional Time Before Logout

Tracking Changes to the File System

Updating Registered Services and File Types

Tracking Changes to the Defaults Database

Tracking Status Changes for Applications and Devices

Providing Custom Icons

Unmounting a Device

Working with Bundles

Class Methods

sharedWorkspace

Returns the shared NSWorkspace instance.

+ (NSWorkspace *)sharedWorkspace

Return Value

The NSWorkspace object associated with the process.

Availability
Related Sample Code
Declared In
NSWorkspace.h

Instance Methods

absolutePathForAppBundleWithIdentifier:

Returns the absolute file-system path of an application bundle.

- (NSString *)absolutePathForAppBundleWithIdentifier:(NSString *)bundleIdentifier

Parameters
bundleIdentifier

The bundle identifier string. This value corresponds to the value in the CFBundleIdentifier key of the application’s Info.plist file. For example, the bundle identifier of the TextEdit application is com.apple.TextEdit.

Return Value

The file system path to the application bundle identified by bundleIdentifier, or nil if the bundle cannot be found.

Availability
Related Sample Code
Declared In
NSWorkspace.h

activeApplication

Returns a dictionary with information about the current active application.

- (NSDictionary *)activeApplication

Return Value

A dictionary with information about the application. The dictionary contains as many of the keys described in “Constants” as are available.

Availability
See Also
Declared In
NSWorkspace.h

checkForRemovableMedia

Polls the system’s drives for any disks that have been inserted but not yet mounted.

- (void)checkForRemovableMedia

Discussion

This method doesn’t wait until such disks are mounted; instead, it requests that the disk be mounted asynchronously and returns immediately. Currently has no effect.

Availability
See Also
Declared In
NSWorkspace.h

extendPowerOffBy:

Requests the system wait for the specified amount of time before turning off the power or logging out the user.

- (NSInteger)extendPowerOffBy:(NSInteger)requested

Parameters
requested

The number of milliseconds to wait before turning off the power or logging off the user.

Return Value

The number of milliseconds granted by the system.

Discussion

Currently unimplemented.

Availability
Declared In
NSWorkspace.h

fileNameExtension:isValidForType:

Returns whether the specified filename extension is appropriate for the Uniform Type Identifier.

- (BOOL)filenameExtension:(NSString *)filenameExtension isValidForType:(NSString *)typeName

Parameters
filenameExtension

A string containing the filename extension.

typeName

A string containing the Uniform Type Identifier.

Return Value

YES if fileNameExtension is a valid extension for typeName, NO otherwise

fileSystemChanged

Returns a Boolean value indicating whether a change to the file system has been registered with a noteFileSystemChanged message since the last fileSystemChanged message.

- (BOOL)fileSystemChanged

Return Value

Currently, this method always returns NO.

Availability
Declared In
NSWorkspace.h

findApplications

Examines all applications and updates the records of registered services and file types.

- (void)findApplications

Availability
Declared In
NSWorkspace.h

fullPathForApplication:

Returns the full path for the specified application.

- (NSString *)fullPathForApplication:(NSString *)appName

Parameters
appName

The name of the application.

Return Value

The full path for the application, or nil if the specified application was not found.

Availability
Declared In
NSWorkspace.h

getFileSystemInfoForPath:isRemovable:isWritable:isUnmountable:description:type:

Describes the file system at fullPath.

- (BOOL)getFileSystemInfoForPath:(NSString *)fullPath isRemovable:(BOOL *)removableFlag isWritable:(BOOL *)writableFlag isUnmountable:(BOOL *)unmountableFlag description:(NSString **)description type:(NSString **)fileSystemType

Parameters
fullPath

The path to the file-system mount point.

removableFlag

On input, a boolean variable; on return, this variable contains YES if the file system is on removable media.

writableFlag

On input, a boolean variable; on return, this variable contains YES if the file system writable.

unmountableFlag

On input, a boolean variable; on return, this variable contains YES if the file system is unmountable.

description

On input, a pointer to a string object variable; on return, if the method was successful, this variable contains a string object that describes the file system. You should not rely on this description for program logic but can use it in message strings. Values can include “hard,” “nfs,” and “foreign."

fileSystemType

On input, a pointer to a string object variable; on return, if the method was successful, this variable contains the file-system type. Values can include “HFS,” “UFS,” or other values.

Return Value

YES if the information was successfully returned, otherwise NO.

Availability
Declared In
NSWorkspace.h

getInfoForFile:application:type:

Retrieves information about the specified file.

- (BOOL)getInfoForFile:(NSString *)fullPath application:(NSString **)appName type:(NSString **)type

Parameters
fullPath

The full path to the desired file.

appName

The application the system would use to open the file.

type

On input, a pointer to a string object variable; on return, if the method is successful, this variable contains a string object with the filename extension or encoded HFS file type of the file.

Return Value

YES if the information was retrieved successfully; otherwise, NO if the file could not be found or the application was not associated with the file.

Availability
See Also
Declared In
NSWorkspace.h

hideOtherApplications

Hides all applications other than the sender.

- (void)hideOtherApplications

Discussion

The user can hide all applications except the current one by Command-Option-clicking on an application’s Dock icon.

Availability
Declared In
NSWorkspace.h

iconForFile:

Returns an image containing the icon for the specified file.

- (NSImage *)iconForFile:(NSString *)fullPath

Parameters
fullPath

The full path to the file.

Return Value

The icon associated with the file.

Discussion

The returned image has an initial size of 32 pixels by 32 pixels.

Availability
See Also
Related Sample Code
Declared In
NSWorkspace.h

iconForFiles:

Returns an image containing the icon for the specified files.

- (NSImage *)iconForFiles:(NSArray *)fullPaths

Parameters
fullPaths

An array of NSString objects, each of which contains the full path to a file.

Return Value

The icon associated with the group of files.

Discussion

If fullPaths specifies one file, that file's icon is returned. If fullPaths specifies more than one file, an icon representing the multiple selection is returned.

Availability
See Also
Declared In
NSWorkspace.h

iconForFileType:

Returns an image containing the icon for files of the specified type.

- (NSImage *)iconForFileType:(NSString *)fileType

Parameters
fileType

The file type, which may be either a filename extension or an encoded HFS file type.

Return Value

The icon associated with files of the given type.

Discussion

The returned image has an initial size of 32 pixels by 32 pixels.

Availability
See Also
Related Sample Code
Declared In
NSWorkspace.h

isFilePackageAtPath:

Determines whether the specified path is a file package.

- (BOOL)isFilePackageAtPath:(NSString *)fullPath

Parameters
fullPath

The full path to examine.

Return Value

YES if the path identifies a file package; otherwise, NO if the path does not exist, is not a directory, or is not a file package.

Availability
Declared In
NSWorkspace.h

launchApplication:

Launches the specified application.

- (BOOL)launchApplication:(NSString *)appName

Parameters
appName

The name of the application to open.

Return Value

YES if the application was successfully launched or was already running; otherwise, NO.

Discussion

The appName parameter need not be specified with a full path and, in the case of an application wrapper, may be specified with or without the .app extension, as described in “Use of .app Extension”.

Before this method begins, it posts an NSWorkspaceWillLaunchApplicationNotification to the NSWorkspace object’s notification center. When the operation is complete, it posts an NSWorkspaceDidLaunchApplicationNotification.

Availability
See Also
Related Sample Code
Declared In
NSWorkspace.h

launchApplication:showIcon:autolaunch:

Launches the specified application using additional options.

- (BOOL)launchApplication:(NSString *)appName showIcon:(BOOL)showIcon autolaunch:(BOOL)autolaunch

Parameters
appName

The name of the application to open.

showIcon

If NO, the application's icon is not placed on the screen. (The icon still exists, though.)

autolaunch

If YES, the autolaunch default is set as though the specified application were autolaunched at startup.

Return Value

YES if the application was successfully launched or was already running; otherwise, NO.

Discussion

This method is provided to enable daemon-like applications that lack a normal user interface. Its use is not generally encouraged.

Returns YES if the application is successfully launched or already running, and NO if it can’t be launched.

Before this method begins, it posts an NSWorkspaceWillLaunchApplicationNotification to the NSWorkspace object’s notification center. When the operation is complete, it posts an NSWorkspaceDidLaunchApplicationNotification.

Availability
See Also
Declared In
NSWorkspace.h

launchAppWithBundleIdentifier:options:additionalEventParamDescriptor:launchIdentifier:

Launches the application corresponding to the specified bundleIdentifier.

- (BOOL)launchAppWithBundleIdentifier:(NSString *)bundleIdentifier options:(NSWorkspaceLaunchOptions)options additionalEventParamDescriptor:(NSAppleEventDescriptor *)descriptor launchIdentifier:(NSNumber **)identifier

Parameters
bundleIdentifier

A bundle identifier string. This value corresponds to the value in the CFBundleIdentifier key of the application’s Info.plist file. For example, the bundle identifier of the TextEdit application is com.apple.TextEdit.

options

Options to use when launching the application. Values for this parameter are described in “Constants.”

descriptor

Additional options specified in an AppleEvent-style descriptor. For example, you could use this parameter to specify additional documents to open when the application is launched.

identifier

On input, a pointer to a number object variable. On return, the variable contains a number object with a unique identifier for the launch attempt. You can use this value to distinguish individual launch requests. This parameter may be nil.

Return Value

YES if the application was found and launched; otherwise, NO.

Availability
See Also
Declared In
NSWorkspace.h

launchedApplications

Returns an array of dictionaries, one entry for each running application.

- (NSArray *)launchedApplications

Return Value

An array of NSDictionary objects. Each dictionary contains as many of the keys described in “Constants” as are available.

Availability
See Also
Declared In
NSWorkspace.h

localizedDescriptionForType:

Returns the localized description for the specified Uniform Type Identifier

- (NSString *)localizedDescriptionForType:(NSString *)typeName

Parameters
typeName

A string containing the Uniform Type Identifier.

Return Value

An NSString containg the localized description of typeName.

Discussion

The localized description is suitable for displaying to the user.

Availability
Declared In
NSWorkspace.h

mountedLocalVolumePaths

Returns the mount points of all local volumes, not just the removable ones returned by mountedRemovableMedia.

- (NSArray *)mountedLocalVolumePaths

Return Value

An array of NSString objects, each of which contains the full pathname of the mount point for any local volumes.

Availability
Declared In
NSWorkspace.h

mountedRemovableMedia

Returns the full pathnames of all currently mounted removable disks.

- (NSArray *)mountedRemovableMedia

Return Value

An array of NSString objects, each of which contains the full pathname of a mounted removable disk.

Discussion

If the computer provides an interrupt or other notification when the user inserts a disk into a drive, the Finder will mount the disk immediately. However, if no notification is given, the Finder won’t be aware that a disk needs to be mounted. On such systems, an application should invoke either mountNewRemovableMedia or checkForRemovableMedia before invoking mountedRemovableMedia. Either of these methods cause the Finder to poll the drives to see if a disk is present. If a disk has been inserted but not yet mounted, these methods will cause the Finder to mount it.

The Disk button in an Open or Save panel invokes mountedRemovableMedia and mountNewRemovableMedia as part of its operation, so most applications won’t need to invoke these methods directly.

Availability
See Also
Related Sample Code
Declared In
NSWorkspace.h

mountNewRemovableMedia

Returns the full pathnames of any newly mounted disks.

- (NSArray *)mountNewRemovableMedia

Return Value

An array of NSString objects, each of which contains the full pathname to a newly mounted disk.

Discussion

This method polls the system’s drives for any disks that have been inserted but not yet mounted and waits until the new disks have been mounted. This method posts an NSWorkspaceDidMountNotification to the NSWorkspace object’s notification center when it is finished. Currently provides the same functionality as mountedRemovableMedia.

Availability
See Also
Declared In
NSWorkspace.h

noteFileSystemChanged

Informs the NSWorkspace object that the file system has changed.

- (void)noteFileSystemChanged

Discussion

The NSWorkspace object then gets the status of all the files and directories it is interested in and updates itself appropriately. This method is used by many objects that write or delete files.

The NSDocument and NSSavePanel objects use this method when saving a file. If you create a file directly, you should call noteFileSystemChanged so that the Finder can update the folder if it is open.

Availability
See Also
Declared In
NSWorkspace.h

noteFileSystemChanged:

Informs the NSWorkspace object that the file system changed at the specified path.

- (void)noteFileSystemChanged:(NSString *)path

Parameters
path

The full path that changed.

Discussion

The NSWorkspace object then gets the status of all the files and directories it is interested in and updates itself appropriately. This method is used by many objects that write or delete files.

Availability
See Also
Related Sample Code
Declared In
NSWorkspace.h

noteUserDefaultsChanged

Informs the NSWorkspace object that the defaults database has changed.

- (void)noteUserDefaultsChanged

Discussion

The NSWorkspace object then reads all the defaults it is interested in and reconfigures itself appropriately. For example, this method is used by the Preferences application to notify the Finder whether the user prefers to see hidden files. Currently has no effect.

Availability
See Also
Declared In
NSWorkspace.h

notificationCenter

Returns the notification center for workspace notifications.

- (NSNotificationCenter *)notificationCenter

Return Value

The notification center object.

Availability
Related Sample Code
Declared In
NSWorkspace.h

openFile:

Opens the specified file specified using the default application associated with its type.

- (BOOL)openFile:(NSString *)fullPath

Parameters
fullPath

The full path to the file.

Return Value

YES if the file was successfully opened; otherwise, NO.

Discussion

The sending application is deactivated before the request is sent.

Availability
See Also
Related Sample Code
Declared In
NSWorkspace.h

openFile:fromImage:at:inView:

Opens a file using the default application for its type and animates the action using a custom icon.

- (BOOL)openFile:(NSString *)fullPath fromImage:(NSImage *)anImage at:(NSPoint)point inView:(NSView *)aView

Parameters
fullPath

The full path to the file.

anImage

The icon for the file.

point

The point in aView at which to display the icon.

aView

The view in which to display the icon.

Return Value

YES if the file was successfully opened; otherwise, NO.

Discussion

The Finder provides an animation before opening the file to give the user feedback that the file is to be opened. To provide this animation, anImage should contain an icon for the file, and its image should be displayed at point, specified in the coordinates of aView. Currently provides the same functionality as openFile:.

The sending application is deactivated before the request is sent.

Availability
See Also
Declared In
NSWorkspace.h

openFile:withApplication:

Opens a file using the specified application.

- (BOOL)openFile:(NSString *)fullPath withApplication:(NSString *)appName

Parameters
fullPath

The full path to the file.

appName

The name of the application to use when opening the file.

Return Value

YES if the file was successfully opened; otherwise, NO.

Discussion

The appName parameter need not be specified with a full path and, in the case of an application wrapper, may be specified with or without the .app extension, as described in “Use of .app Extension”. The sending application is deactivated before the request is sent.

Availability
See Also
Related Sample Code
Declared In
NSWorkspace.h

openFile:withApplication:andDeactivate:

Opens the specified file and optionally deactivates the sending application.

- (BOOL)openFile:(NSString *)fullPath withApplication:(NSString *)appName andDeactivate:(BOOL)flag

Parameters
fullPath

The full path to the file.

appName

The name of the application to use when opening the file.

flag

If YES, the sending application is deactivated before the request is sent, allowing the opening application to become the active application.

Return Value

YES if the file was successfully opened; otherwise, NO.

Discussion

The appName parameter need not be specified with a full path and, in the case of an application wrapper, may be specified with or without the .app extension, as described in “Use of .app Extension”. If appName is nil, the default application for the file’s type is used.

Availability
See Also
Related Sample Code
Declared In
NSWorkspace.h

openTempFile:

Opens the specified temporary file using the default application for its type.

- (BOOL)openTempFile:(NSString *)fullPath

Parameters
fullPath

The full path to the temporary file.

Return Value

YES if the file was successfully opened; otherwise, NO.

Discussion

The sending application is deactivated before the request is sent. Using this method instead of one of the openFile:... methods lets the receiving application know that it should delete the file when it no longer needs it. Currently provides the same functionality as openFile:.

Availability
See Also
Declared In
NSWorkspace.h

openURL:

Opens the location at the specified URL.

- (BOOL)openURL:(NSURL *)url

Parameters
url

A URL specifying the location to open.

Return Value

YES if the location was successfully opened; otherwise, NO.

Availability
Related Sample Code
Declared In
NSWorkspace.h

openURLs:withAppBundleIdentifier:options:additionalEventParamDescriptor:launchIdentifiers:

Opens one or more files from an array of URLs.

- (BOOL)openURLs:(NSArray *)urls withAppBundleIdentifier:(NSString *)bundleIdentifier options:(NSWorkspaceLaunchOptions)options additionalEventParamDescriptor:(NSAppleEventDescriptor *)descriptor launchIdentifiers:(NSArray **)identifiers

Parameters
urls

An array of NSURL objects, each one identifying a URL for the application to open.

bundleIdentifier

A bundle identifier string or nil to use the default system bindings. This value corresponds to the value in the CFBundleIdentifier key of the application’s Info.plist file. For example, the bundle identifier of the TextEdit application is com.apple.TextEdit.

options

Options to use when launching the application. Values for this parameter are described in “Constants.”

descriptor

Additional options specified in an AppleEvent-style descriptor. For example, you could use this parameter to specify additional documents to open when the application is launched.

identifiers

On input, a pointer to an array object variable. On return, the variable contains an array of NSNumber objects. Each number object contains a unique identifier (one for each URL) for the launch attempt. You can use these values to distinguish individual launch requests. This parameter may be nil.

Return Value

YES if the application was found and launched; otherwise, NO.

Availability
See Also
Related Sample Code
Declared In
NSWorkspace.h

performFileOperation:source:destination:files:tag:

Performs a file operation on a set of files in a particular directory.

- (BOOL)performFileOperation:(NSString *)operation source:(NSString *)source destination:(NSString *)destination files:(NSArray *)files tag:(NSInteger *)tag

Parameters
operation

The file operation to perform. The possible values for this parameter are described in “Constants.”

source

The full path to the directory containing the files on which to operate.

destination

The full path to the destination directory of the operation.

files

An array of NSString objects specifying the names of the files and directories to be manipulated. Each string must not contain any path information other than the name of the file or directory. In other words, all of the files and directories must be located in the source directory and not in one if its subdirectories.

tag

On input, a integer variable; on return, this variable contains a negative integer if the operation fails, 0 if the operation was performed synchronously and succeeded, or a positive integer if the operation was performed asynchronously. If the value is a positive integer, the value is a tag that identifies the requested file operation.

Return Value

YES if the operation succeeded; otherwise, NO.

Discussion

Some operations—such as moving, copying, and linking files—require a destination directory to be specified. If not, destination should be the empty string (@""). Before this method returns, it posts an NSWorkspaceDidPerformFileOperationNotification to the NSWorkspace object's notification center.

Availability
Related Sample Code
Declared In
NSWorkspace.h

preferredFilenameExtensionForType:

Returns the preferred filename extension for the specified Uniform Type Identifier.

- (NSString *)preferredFilenameExtensionForType:(NSString *)typeName

Parameters
typeName

A string containing the Uniform Type Identifier.

Return Value

The appropriate filename extension for typeName, or nil if no extension could be determined.

Availability
Declared In
NSWorkspace.h

selectFile:inFileViewerRootedAtPath:

Selects the file specified by fullPath.

- (BOOL)selectFile:(NSString *)fullPath inFileViewerRootedAtPath:(NSString *)rootFullPath

Parameters
fullPath

The full path of the file to select.

rootFullPath

If a path is specified, a new file viewer is opened. If you specify an empty string (@"") for this parameter, the file is selected in the main viewer.

Return Value

YES if the file was successfully selected; otherwise, NO.

Availability
Related Sample Code
Declared In
NSWorkspace.h

setIcon:forFile:options:

Sets the icon for the file or directory at the specified path.

- (BOOL)setIcon:(NSImage *)image forFile:(NSString *)fullPath options:(NSWorkspaceIconCreationOptions)options

Parameters
image

The image to use as the icon for the file or directory.

fullPath

The full path of the file or directory.

options

The icon representations to generate from the image. You specify this value by combining the appropriate NSWorkspaceIconCreationOptions constants, listed in “Constants,” using the C bitwise OR operator. Specify 0 if you want to generate icons in all available icon representation formats.

Return Value

YES if the icon was set; otherwise, NO.

Discussion

The image can be an arbitrary image, with or without transparency. This image is automatically scaled (as needed) to generate the icon representations. The file or folder must exist and be writable by the user.

It is recommended that applications include the NSExclude10_4ElementsIconCreationOption option for compatibility with pre-Mac OS X v10.3 Finder. Icons that include the high resolution elements prevent custom icons from being displayed on earlier systems.

Availability
Declared In
NSWorkspace.h

slideImage:from:to:

Animates a sliding image from one point to another.

- (void)slideImage:(NSImage *)image from:(NSPoint)fromPoint to:(NSPoint)toPoint

Parameters
image

The image to animate.

fromPoint

The starting point, in screen coordinates.

toPoint

The ending point, in screen coordinates.

Discussion

Currently unimplemented.

Availability
Declared In
NSWorkspace.h

type:conformsToType:

Returns a Boolean indicating that the first Uniform Type Identifier conforms to the second Uniform Type Identifier.

- (BOOL)type:(NSString *)firstTypeName conformsToType:(NSString *)secondTypeName

Parameters
firstTypeName

A string containing the Uniform Type Identifier that should conform to secondTypeName.

secondTypeName

A string containing a Uniform Type Identifier.

Return Value

YES if firstTypeName conforms to the uniform type identifier hierarchy of secondTypeName, NO otherwise.

Discussion

Use this method instead of comparing Uniform Identifier Types for equality. See Uniform Type Identifiers Overview for information about Uniform Type Identifier conformance.

This method will always return YES if the two strings are equal. It is appropriate to use this method with other type names, including those declared in CFBundleTypeName Info.plist entries.

Availability
Declared In
NSWorkspace.h

typeOfFile:error:

Returns the uniform type identifier of the specified file, if it can be determined..

- (NSString *)typeOfFile:(NSString *)absoluteFilePath error:(NSError **)outError

Parameters
absoluteFilePath

The absolute path of the file.

outError

If the Uniform Type Identifier of the file at absolutePath can’t be determined, outError contains an NSError object that describing why.

Return Value

An NSString containing the uniform type identifier of the file at absoluteFilePath. If no UTI can be determined the return value is nil.

Discussion

If the file at the specified path is a symbolic link, the type of the symbolic link is returned.

Availability
Declared In
NSWorkspace.h

unmountAndEjectDeviceAtPath:

Unmounts and ejects the device at the specified path.

- (BOOL)unmountAndEjectDeviceAtPath:(NSString *)path

Parameters
path

The path to the device.

Return Value

YES if the device was unmounted; otherwise, NO.

Discussion

When this method begins, it posts an NSWorkspaceWillUnmountNotification to the NSWorkspace object’s notification center. When it is finished, it posts an NSWorkspaceDidUnmountNotification.

Availability
Related Sample Code
Declared In
NSWorkspace.h

userDefaultsChanged

Returns a Boolean value indicating whether a change to the defaults database has been registered with a noteUserDefaultsChanged message since the last userDefaultsChanged message.

- (BOOL)userDefaultsChanged

Return Value

Currently, this method always returns NO.

Availability
Declared In
NSWorkspace.h

Constants

The following table describes keys for an NSDictionary object containing information about an application. This dictionary is returned by activeApplication and launchedApplications, and is also provided in the userInfo of NSWorkspace notifications for application launch and termination.

Key

Value

@"NSApplicationPath"

The full path to the application, as a NSString object.

@"NSApplicationName"

The application's name, as an NSString object.

@"NSApplicationBundleIdentifier"

The application’s bundle identifier, as an NSString object.

@"NSApplicationProcessIdentifier"

The application's process id, as an NSNumber object.

@"NSApplicationProcessSerialNumberHigh"

The high long of the process serial number (PSN), as an NSNumber object.

@"NSApplicationProcessSerialNumberLow"

The low long of the process serial number (PSN), as an NSNumber object.

File Types

These constants specify different types of files returned by getInfoForFile:application:type:.

NSString *NSPlainFileType;
NSString *NSDirectoryFileType;
NSString *NSApplicationFileType;
NSString *NSFilesystemFileType;
NSString *NSShellCommandFileType;

Constants
NSPlainFileType

Plain (untyped) file

Available in Mac OS X v10.0 and later.

Declared in NSWorkspace.h.

NSDirectoryFileType

Directory

Available in Mac OS X v10.0 and later.

Declared in NSWorkspace.h.

NSApplicationFileType

Cocoa application

Available in Mac OS X v10.0 and later.

Declared in NSWorkspace.h.

NSFilesystemFileType

File-system mount point

Available in Mac OS X v10.0 and later.

Declared in NSWorkspace.h.

NSShellCommandFileType

Executable shell command

Available in Mac OS X v10.0 and later.

Declared in NSWorkspace.h.

Declared In
NSWorkspace.h

File Operation Constants

These constants specify different types of file operations used by performFileOperation:source:destination:files:tag:.

NSString *NSWorkspaceMoveOperation;
NSString *NSWorkspaceCopyOperation;
NSString *NSWorkspaceLinkOperation;
NSString *NSWorkspaceCompressOperation;
NSString *NSWorkspaceDecompressOperation;
NSString *NSWorkspaceEncryptOperation;
NSString *NSWorkspaceDecryptOperation;
NSString *NSWorkspaceDestroyOperation;
NSString *NSWorkspaceRecycleOperation;
NSString *NSWorkspaceDuplicateOperation;

Constants
NSWorkspaceMoveOperation

Move file to destination. Behaves the same as movePath:toPath:handler:.

Available in Mac OS X v10.0 and later.

Declared in NSWorkspace.h.

NSWorkspaceCopyOperation

Copy file to destination. Behaves the same as copyPath:toPath:handler:.

Available in Mac OS X v10.0 and later.

Declared in NSWorkspace.h.

NSWorkspaceLinkOperation

Create hard link to file in destination. Behaves the same as linkPath:toPath:handler:.

Available in Mac OS X v10.0 and later.

Declared in NSWorkspace.h.

NSWorkspaceCompressOperation

Compress file. This operation always returns an error.

Available in Mac OS X v10.0 and later.

Declared in NSWorkspace.h.

NSWorkspaceDecompressOperation

Decompress file. This operation always returns an error.

Available in Mac OS X v10.0 and later.

Declared in NSWorkspace.h.

NSWorkspaceEncryptOperation

Encrypt file. This operation always returns an error.

Available in Mac OS X v10.0 and later.

Declared in NSWorkspace.h.

NSWorkspaceDecryptOperation

Decrypt file. This operation always returns an error.

Available in Mac OS X v10.0 and later.

Declared in NSWorkspace.h.

NSWorkspaceDestroyOperation

Destroy file. Behaves the same as removeFileAtPath:handler:.

Available in Mac OS X v10.0 and later.

Declared in NSWorkspace.h.

NSWorkspaceRecycleOperation

Move file to trash. The file is moved to the trash folder on the volume containing the file using the same semantics as NSWorkspaceMoveOperation. If a file with the same name currently exists in the trash folder, the new file is renamed. If no trash folder exists on the volume containing the file, the operation fails.

Available in Mac OS X v10.0 and later.

Declared in NSWorkspace.h.

NSWorkspaceDuplicateOperation

Duplicate file in source directory.

Available in Mac OS X v10.0 and later.

Declared in NSWorkspace.h.

Declared In
NSWorkspace.h

NSWorkspaceLaunchOptions

Constants representing different launch options. 

typedef unsigned int NSWorkspaceLaunchOptions;

Discussion

See “Launch Options” for possible values.

Availability
Declared In
NSWorkspace.h

Launch Options

These constants define launch options you can pass to launchAppWithBundleIdentifier:options:additionalEventParamDescriptor:launchIdentifier: and openURLs:withAppBundleIdentifier:options:additionalEventParamDescriptor:launchIdentifiers:. 

enum {
   NSWorkspaceLaunchAndPrint = 0x00000002,
   NSWorkspaceLaunchInhibitingBackgroundOnly = 0x00000080,
   NSWorkspaceLaunchWithoutAddingToRecents = 0x00000100,
   NSWorkspaceLaunchWithoutActivation = 0x00000200,
   NSWorkspaceLaunchAsync = 0x00010000,
   NSWorkspaceLaunchAllowingClassicStartup = 0x00020000,
   NSWorkspaceLaunchPreferringClassic = 0x00040000,
   NSWorkspaceLaunchNewInstance = 0x00080000,
   NSWorkspaceLaunchAndHide = 0x00100000,
   NSWorkspaceLaunchAndHideOthers = 0x00200000,
   NSWorkspaceLaunchDefault = NSWorkspaceLaunchAsync | NSWorkspaceLaunchAllowingClassicStartup
};

Constants
NSWorkspaceLaunchAndPrint

Print items instead of opening them.

Available in Mac OS X v10.3 and later.

Declared in NSWorkspace.h.

NSWorkspaceLaunchInhibitingBackgroundOnly

Causes launch to fail if the target is background-only.

Available in Mac OS X v10.3 and later.

Declared in NSWorkspace.h.

NSWorkspaceLaunchWithoutAddingToRecents

Do not add the application or documents to the Recents menu.

Available in Mac OS X v10.3 and later.

Declared in NSWorkspace.h.

NSWorkspaceLaunchWithoutActivation

Launch the application but do not bring it into the foreground.

Available in Mac OS X v10.3 and later.

Declared in NSWorkspace.h.

NSWorkspaceLaunchAsync

Launch the application and return the results asynchronously.

Available in Mac OS X v10.3 and later.

Declared in NSWorkspace.h.

NSWorkspaceLaunchAllowingClassicStartup

Start up the Classic compatibility environment, if it is required by the application.

Available in Mac OS X v10.3 and later.

Declared in NSWorkspace.h.

NSWorkspaceLaunchPreferringClassic

Force the application to launch in the Classic compatibility environment.

Available in Mac OS X v10.3 and later.

Declared in NSWorkspace.h.

NSWorkspaceLaunchNewInstance

Create a new instance of the application, even if one is already running.

Available in Mac OS X v10.3 and later.

Declared in NSWorkspace.h.

NSWorkspaceLaunchAndHide

Tell the application to hide itself as soon as it has finished launching.

Available in Mac OS X v10.3 and later.

Declared in NSWorkspace.h.

NSWorkspaceLaunchAndHideOthers

Hide all applications except the newly launched one.

Available in Mac OS X v10.3 and later.

Declared in NSWorkspace.h.

NSWorkspaceLaunchDefault

Launch the application asynchronously and launch it in the Classic environment, if required.

Available in Mac OS X v10.3 and later.

Declared in NSWorkspace.h.

Declared In
NSWorkspace.h

Workspace icon creation options

These constants describe the NSWorkspaceIconCreationOptions values used by setIcon:forFile:options:. 

enum {
   NSExcludeQuickDrawElementsIconCreationOption    = 1 << 1,
   NSExclude10_4ElementsIconCreationOption        = 1 << 2
};

Constants
NSExcludeQuickDrawElementsIconCreationOption

Suppress generation of the QuickDraw format icon representations that are used Mac OS X v10.0 through v10.4.

Available in Mac OS X v10.4 and later.

Declared in NSWorkspace.h.

NSExclude10_4ElementsIconCreationOption

Suppress generation of the new higher resolution icon representations that are supported in Mac OS X v10.4.

Available in Mac OS X v10.4 and later.

Declared in NSWorkspace.h.

Discussion

You can combine these using the C bitwise OR operator.

Declared In
NSWorkspace.h

Notifications

All NSWorkspace notifications are posted to the NSWorkspace object’s own notification center, not the application’s default notification center. Access this center using the NSWorkspace object’s notificationCenter method.

NSWorkspaceDidLaunchApplicationNotification

Posted when a new application has started up.

The notification object is the shared NSWorkspace instance. The userInfo dictionary contains the keys and values described in “Constants.”

Availability
Declared In
NSWorkspace.h

NSWorkspaceDidMountNotification

Posted when a new device has been mounted.

The notification object is the shared NSWorkspace instance. The userInfo dictionary contains the following information:

Key

Value

@"NSDevicePath"

The path where the device was mounted, as a string.

Availability
Declared In
NSWorkspace.h

NSWorkspaceDidPerformFileOperationNotification

Posted when a file operation has been performed in the receiving application.

The notification object is the shared NSWorkspace instance. The userInfo dictionary contains the following information:

Key

Value

@"NSOperationNumber"

An NSNumber object containing an integer indicating the type of file operation completed.

Availability
Declared In
NSWorkspace.h

NSWorkspaceDidTerminateApplicationNotification

Posted when an application finishes executing.

The notification object is the shared NSWorkspace instance. The userInfo dictionary contains the keys and values described in “Constants.”

Availability
Declared In
NSWorkspace.h

NSWorkspaceDidWakeNotification

Posted when the machine wakes from sleep.

The notification object is the shared NSWorkspace instance. The notification does not contain a userInfo dictionary.

Availability
Declared In
NSWorkspace.h

NSWorkspaceDidUnmountNotification

Posted when the Finder has unmounted a device.

The notification object is the shared NSWorkspace instance. The userInfo dictionary contains the following information:

Key

Value

@"NSDevicePath"

The path where the device was previously mounted, as an NSString object.

Availability
Declared In
NSWorkspace.h

NSWorkspaceSessionDidBecomeActiveNotification

Posted after a user session is switched in. This allows an application to re-enable some processing when a switched out session gets switched back in, for example.

The notification object is the shared NSWorkspace instance. The notification does not contain a userInfo dictionary.

Availability
Declared In
NSWorkspace.h

NSWorkspaceSessionDidResignActiveNotification

Posted before a user session is switched out. This allows an application to disable some processing when its user session is switched out, and re-enable when that session gets switched back in, for example.

The notification object is the shared NSWorkspace instance. The notification does not contain a userInfo dictionary.

If an application is launched in an inactive session, NSWorkspaceSessionDidResignActiveNotification is sent after NSApplicationWillFinishLaunchingNotification and before sending NSApplicationDidFinishLaunchingNotification.

Availability
Declared In
NSWorkspace.h

NSWorkspaceWillLaunchApplicationNotification

Posted when the Finder is about to launch an application.

The notification object is the shared NSWorkspace instance. The userInfo dictionary contains the keys and values described in “Constants.”

Availability
Declared In
NSWorkspace.h

NSWorkspaceWillPowerOffNotification

Posted when the user has requested a logout or that the machine be powered off.

The notification object is the shared NSWorkspace instance. This notification does not contain a userInfo dictionary.

Availability
Declared In
NSWorkspace.h

NSWorkspaceWillSleepNotification

Posted before the machine goes to sleep. An observer of this message can delay sleep for up to 30 seconds while handling this notification.

The notification object is the shared NSWorkspace instance. The notification does not contain a userInfo dictionary.

Availability
Declared In
NSWorkspace.h

NSWorkspaceWillUnmountNotification

Posted when the Finder is about to unmount a device. This notification will not be delivered if a volume was forcibly and immediately made unavailable, such as when a FireWire drive is simply unplugged, because there is no chance to deliver it before the volume becomes unavailable.

The notification object is the shared NSWorkspace instance. The userInfo dictionary contains the following information:

Key

Value

@"NSDevicePath"

The path where the device is mounted, as a string.

Availability
Declared In
NSWorkspace.h

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© 2007 Apple Inc. All Rights Reserved. (Last updated: 2007-04-27)

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