ResPloder explodes a Macintosh file into a folder. The data fork becomes a file called data.frk. The resource fork becomes a series of folders. These folders are named after the types they came from. Inside each folder are files containing the data for each resource of that type. For example, if a file containing PICT resources were exploded with ResPloder, then the exploded folder would contain a folder called 'PICT' and inside that folder would be one file for every PICT resource in the original file. ResPloder can also implode a ResPloded folder back into the original file. Drop a ResPloder-created folder onto ResPloder and type a new file name when prompted. A new file with exactly the same structure as the original file will be created.


What is ResPloder good for?

That's a very good question. I haven't quite figured that out. I use it to get at the PNGs inside of a file. I explode the file into a folder, edit the individual PNGs with a graphics editor, and implode the folder back into a file. I am sure other uses must exist. Please let me know if you think of any.


Gotchas

ResPloder works much better under Mac OS X than under Mac OS 9. If you are using it under Mac OS 9 be sure to give it plenty of memory, especially if you are using it to explode or implode big files. If you run out of memory imploding or exploding a file, try increasing ResPloder's memory in its Get Info dialog box.


Using ResPloder

ResPloder is very easy to use. If you drop a file onto ResPloder, it will prompt you for a folder name and explode the file into that folder. The folder must not exist. ResPloder will create it automatically. Inside the folder will be as many as three files and, possibly, a bunch of folders. The three files that may be in a ResPloder-exploded folder are data.frk, which is the data fork of the original file, name, which contains the name of the original file, and typecreator, which contains the type and creator of the original file. The folders contain the resources of the original file. Each folder represents one resource type. The name of the folder is the resource type for the resources it contains. Each resource of that type is a separate file. The names of the files are a bit funky. They all start with the letter r followed by a period, followed by the id of the resource, followed by another period, followed by the name of the resource. Here's an example:

r.128.a resource

That would be a resource named a resource with id 128. The reason for the r at the beginning is that some file operations do not like files that begin with a '-' and resources with negative ids would begin with a '-'. For example, if you explode a resource file and then use UNIX commands such as grep to discover things about the files, then grep can become confused by the '-' of the file name and think it is a switch.

If you drop a ResPloder-created folder onto ResPloder, then ResPloder will prompt you for the name of a new file (using the original file name as a suggested file name if the original file name is available) and create a new file with the data fork and resources in the exploded folder.

If you launch ResPloder you can also access the implode and explode functions from the File menu.

By the way, ResPloder saves all of its files as HexEdit files. HexEdit is an open-source hex editor for the Mac. You can find it at http://sourceforge.net/projects/hexedit/.


Acknowledgments

ResPloder is made with REALbasic. REALbasic is copyright © 1997-2002 REAL Software, Inc. (see http://realbasic.com/).


Contact

Please address all bug reports and such to leshner@ljug.com.
Will Leshner's weblog can be found at http://radio.weblogs.com/0100438/.