Saving always goes to documents folder

Hi, Mark & Francine —

Gee... Interesting problem to try and track down.

So far, all I could find in KnowledgeBase or ADC searches for [ "last folder" ] that was even vaguely relevant is Quartx code that I can't figure a way that would be useful.

However, there is a utility named Default Folder X from St.Clair software that you might want to explore. I haven't used it, but a quick perusal suggests it may be worth a try.

I realize this wasn't your true objective, but it's what I could find ~quickly. If IO cane come up with anything else, I'll post back.

Warm regards,
Dean

I don't know what else you can do, nor why dialogs aren't working correctly. The Open and Save dialogs in most applications are now handled by Apple's Navigation Services, although developers can add some custom things to this basic arrangement. See this article:

http://developer.apple.com/documentation/Carbon/Conceptual/ProvidingNavigationDi alogs/nsxconcepts/chapter_2_section2.html

Note especially this paragraph:

"...two types of dialogs can appear—a minimal Save dialog and a full Save dialog. The minimal Save dialog, shown in Figure 1-2, is displayed the first time a user saves a document in an application. This dialog provides a text field for the user to enter a filename. Applications can optionally specify a default filename to display. The dialog has a Where pop-up menu that, by default, suggests the Documents folder for the user. The user can open the pop-up menu to choose from locations previously set in the Finder sidebar or a recently-visited location. If none of those locations are acceptable, the user can click the disclosure button to the right of the text field to access the full Save dialog."

AFAIK the user choices made are then saved to the application's plist file. A list of Recent Items is also written to the com.apple.finder.plist and to the com.apple.recentitems.plist. So if you tossed those two plist files and the application's plist file, plus the sidebar plist for good measure you should get back to the default state. You would then open a dialog, expand it to full navigation view, pick new stuff, and these changes would be written to the respective plists. If this is not happening--if the plists are not being written to--I'm afraid I don't know what else you could do.

If you've never created a test user you might do so (in System Prefs/Acconts), log in to the test user and do some opening and saving (remember you will be at the default of the simple window with the Documents as the usual default). After you've done some open and save actions see if the test user now works correctly, with your actions remembered when you go back after a logout/in. If that is the case, then there is something odd going on in your regular account.
Francine


Francine
Schwieder

• Tips for opening and saving files in Mac OS X applications

• Shortcuts in last ¶ of Saving Documents You Create (OS X 10.4 Help)

• MacWorld, " Mac 911: Lord, Save (As) me!" 2005-04-19.

"and thanks to whoever fixed that non-wrapping text deal! "

All thanks go to Brian Z., one of Discussions' Hosts. I merely asked politely — because your thread had become difficult for me to read in Safari. (And I remain interested.) Fyi, I try to edit my posts by inserting a space or <return> when necessary to "force wrapping" — but Brian has written an AppleScript to do this. I wish I could find the link to where he posted it...

This all varies by application. From the plist you've indicated that you removed I gather you are talking about Dreamweaver and Photoshop? For instance, if I launch Photoshop and then select the Open dialog box it opens to the last place I was working. This location is specified in the com.adobe.Photoshop.plist, where there are entries for both GetFile and PutFile, recording the last places I opened something and saved something. When you open a file Photoshop records where the file was from and that becomes the default Save location. This behavior is controlled by each application. Some applications allow you to make a choice, eg to always save to last folder, always save to Documents, and so on. It depends on the application you are using.
Francine


Francine
Schwieder

Sorry Mark, I had forgotten that you had a test user. It seems to me that for some reason Navigation Services is not communicating with some programs, or the programs may not be writing to the plist file. Are you getting any error messages in the Console (it's in your Utilities folder)? You might try opening the plist of one of the affected programs (you can do so with a text editor, although if you installed Developer Tools reading a plist with Property List Editor is ever so much easier). Then see if you can find an entry for something like:

AppleNavServices:GetFile:<some number>
String
file://localhost/Tiger/Users/francine/Movies/crucibunny/

The file will be a location where you last opened a file with the program. There should also be a PutFile entry for where you saved a file. The above is from my Photoshop plist file.

If there are no sech things in the plist then it isn't being written to.

If there are no errors showing up in Console and the NavServices entries aren't showing up in the plist, there may be no recourse except an Archive and Install, unless someone shows up who knows where the glitch is occurring.

One other thing to check: start up in Safe Boot (hold down the shift key) and see if things work as expected. Oh, and try the usual voodoo of launching Disk Utility and repairing permissions.
Francine


Francine
Schwieder

Mark —

I understand entirely. I'm the same way with many a problem, no matter whether big or small: figuring things out being a good way to vault the "learning curve."

But every so often, I'll take a breather from kicking the mule, and just saddle up a pony to get from here to there.

My posts were intended simply as a quick word or two among friends, in case respite becomes welcome...

Warm regards to you both,
Dean

I think the key bit is the PutFile entry that shows a path to what looks like a folder you navigated to on your drive when you saved the file. If you recognize such a path as being a place you saved to, and if you can see another path for one of the GetFile entries that matches a place you navigated to when you opened a file, then NavServices is indeed writing to the plist. However, the application is not reading the information back the next time you use the Open/Save dialog.

There is a little freeware application called Preferential Treatment which you can use on your plist files that will check to make sure they are valid code and are not corrupt:

http://homepage.mac.com/jonn8/as/html/pt.html

If the plist files are OK, and they are being written to (as appears to be the case), then I'm afraid I'm at a loss as to why they are not being read by the application the next time you try Open/Save. Have you tried doing a re-install of the affected applications? Try it for one of them and see if that clears the problem.

The only other thing I can think of is you may have installed something that is having this odd effect. Is there anything at all installed on your home machine that you haven't installed on the other machines? Any idea of something you might have done just before the problem started?

Finally, have you tried a Safe Boot? That disables a number of things (especially third party things) and can help you figure out if there is some process that is interfering with normal operations. Hold down the Shift key when you boot (as a bonus this will also run a thorough file system check/repair, which means the boot will take longer than normal).
Francine


Francine
Schwieder

PS--A friend of mine who works at the Apple Genius Bar just stopped by. I described your problem and his quick guess is that there is a third party something that you installed on your home machine that is not on the work machines and is causing the problem.
Francine


Francine
Schwieder