The document OpenDoc™ Human Interface Guidelines for the Macintosh gives a complete description of the locations on users' computer systems in which you should install the OpenDoc software that you create. This tech note describes briefly where editor libraries and their associated files must be installed properly for OpenDoc to be able to locate them.
The Editors Folder(s)
The OpenDoc Installer creates several folders when OpenDoc is being installed. Part editor and part viewer shared library files should be put in the Editors folder which is located in the System folder. Editors folders may also be located at the root of any mounted volume. This allows installation of editors on a volume other that the startup volume. It also allows editors to live on shared volumes or even on floppies. Subfolders in any of these recognized Editors folders will also be scanned for editors.
Caching
To speed up launching, OpenDoc now stores the 'nmap' resources of all editors in an Editors folder in a single cache file. The cache file is invisible and is located at the root level of the Editors folder. The cache is invalidated and regenerated when the modification date of any folder that contains editors changes. When this happens a small dialog reading “Updating OpenDoc editors database...” will appear for a few seconds.
This will have no effect on users other than shaving several seconds off of document launch times. As a developer, you need only keep in mind that simply modifying an editor library in the Editors folder (i.e. editing its 'nmap' resources or recompiling the editor or its resources) will not cause OpenDoc to re-scan the editor and load the new 'nmap's; this is because modifying a file in a directory does not change the directory's modification date. To ensure that OpenDoc reads the changed 'nmap's, move the editor out of the directory and back in.
Aliases
Aliases to files and folders are also permitted in the Editors folder. The only restriction is that aliases to files or folders on other volumes will not be permitted. In fact, these illegal aliases will be moved to the trash! These aliases should be put in the Editors folder on the aliases’ destination volume.
(This is because the 'nmap' cache file format is such that all editors logically contained in a single Editors folder must be on a single volume.)
AppleGuide Help Files
Providing AppleGuide support for an editor means implementing a help file to be installed along with the editor shared library file. If an AppleGuide help file has been created for your editor, it must be installed in the same folder as the editor itself. Please see the Binding and nmap Recipe document for more information on providing AppleGuide support.
Shell Plug-in Files
An OpenDoc ShellPlugIn consists of a library file containing an OpenDoc part editor and OpenDoc ShellPlugIn subclasses, and an OpenDoc document file whose root part has been bound to that part editor. To install the OpenDoc ShellPlugIn, you need to install the shared library in the Editors folder, and the OpenDoc ShellPlugIn Document in the OpenDoc™ Shell Plug-ins folder in OpenDoc™ folder in the Editors folder in the System Folder. Here is a full path in case that was hard to follow:
Please see the ShellPlugIn Recipe document for more information on implementing and installing shell plug-ins.
The Stationery Folder
Creating stationery (dropping an editor shared library on the OpenDoc™ application) will automatically result in a stationery file located in the Stationery folder which is found at the root of the startup volume. Like the other OpenDoc folders, the Stationery folder gets created during installation time.
The Services Folder
Installing OpenDoc creates a Services folder in the System folder. If you create and distribute services, put them in this folder.
