Lock & Stationary pad in Get Info Window

Hello pcConvert,

The Stationery Pad is a way of saving a document as a template. As the Mac Help puts it:

Using files as stationery
You can make a file work like a kind of template or "stationery." When you open a stationery file, a copy of the original is opened. You can edit the copy and save it, but the original file remains untouched.
In the Finder, select the file and choose File > Get Info.
Select the Stationery Pad checkbox.
If you want to change the original, deselect the Stationery Pad checkbox and open the file to make changes. After you have made the changes and saved the file, you can designate it as stationery again using the Info window.

Locking the file will perform a similar function in as much as the file is turned into a Read-only document.

If you are the only user of your account, you have nothing to worry about. Just lock the file and nothing can be done to it until you unlock it.

Because you want to use this file as a template, it looks as if Stationery Pad is what you want.

Does that help?

Yours,
Martin

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Powerbook 15-inch G4 1GHz Mac OS X (10.4.8) Several veterans that go on and on. 40gig, 3rd generation iPod

Hello Martin,

I wonder if you could help with a query I have. When I open a stationary file named for example ...., it automatically creates a new file named ....copy and places it in the same folder as the original stationary file. What I would like to happen, as it used to in good old OS 9, is for the new file only to be named and located when I save or close the new file, and for me to dictate where the new file is located.

Any help gratefully received.

Regards,

Mark

Hello Mark,

Welcome to the Discussions!

I don't know exactly how you could do what you ask. However, this problem has been around for a long time: it's a regular one in Discussions, and it seems that the behaviour is fixed.

However, behaviour of this kind, which concerns the Finder among other things, can often be changed by using Applescript. I don't know if there's one for this particular function. However, you could trawl through the Applescript forums, or even post a question there. Maybe someone will write one for you. There are loads of willing minds and hands out there.

Good luck,
Martin

P.S. Strictly speaking, this topic is "off-thread". You should have started a new topic. That would ensure maximum attention from contributors. The only reason I was able to answer it was that my subscription to the thread was still open, so I got an alert e-mail when you posted.

If you found that this contribution helped to answer your question, please consider the "Helpful" and "Solved" buttons in this message. Why reward points?

Powerbook 15-inch G4 1GHz Mac OS X (10.4.8) Several veterans that go on and on. 40gig, 3rd generation iPod