OS X Applications: the .app suffix

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catmistake's picture
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OS X Applications: the .app suffix

I realize that every application has a ".app" suffix, and I thought that the only time you see the .app in the finder is when the application isn't a directory... but I found an exception...

If anyone knows, I am just curious:
What causes the .app suffix to disappear in the finder?

I thought it might be a permissions thing, but I don't think that's it...

drwxr-xr-x 3 root admin 102 6 May 2004 AP Grapher.app
drwxrw-rw- 3 root admin 102 27 Apr 2003 AQUAGrep.app
drwxrwxr-x 3 root admin 102 27 Sep 2003 Audio MIDI Setup.app
drwxr-xr-x 3 root admin 102 17 Feb 15:51 AudioXplorer 1.2b2.app
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root admin 13780 4 Apr 11:16 Battorox 1.8.app

"Audio MIDI Setup" appears just like that in the finder... as do almost all of my applications.
But AudioXplorer has the .app suffix in the finder...
and so does Battorox...

How come?
IMAGE(http://www.applefritter.com/images/dot_app-7177_640x480.jpg)

Jon
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.app IS a folder, a special k

.app usually is a folder, a special kind. Does the extension show for other types of files? You can use Get Info to change whether the suffix of a file is shown or hidden. It may be that AX/BX has it set to show.

catmistake's picture
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That was quick!

I realize that applications are usually directories... see the terminal output above...

Battorox is, apparently, an example of one that isn't. Usually, the permissions output for an application is drwxr-xr-x. Maybe my permissions for Battorox are screwed up, but I don't think so....

How do I use Get Info to change whether the suffix is shown or hidden?
I don't see anything that would cause this in the Get Info window. There is something like this under FInder Preferences, but that doesn't effect the .app suffix appearing in the Finder either way.
btw I always leave the Finder prefs set to show all file extensions.

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If the application is carbon…

It will ususlly be a file, you'll be able to tell if it's a file if you do "get info" on it and look at the bottom of the window, if there is a box "open in the classic environment" then it's carbon. There are, strangely, some exceptions to this, for example new versions of Palm Desktop (that's all I can think of off the top of my head, but there are more). Newer versions may not be carbon, but I don't use Palm Desktop sine I got my MP2100 so I wouldn't know…

catmistake's picture
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No one knows...?

I was really hoping for a definitive answer here...
Someone must know ... right?

What is the mechanism that hides the .app suffix in the finder?
Why does it hide it most times... but not always? Is it the finder... or a switch the developers forget to implement sometimes?
Its freakin' me out!

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