super-annoying Mac OS X file sharing bug

[solrac]

The samba file sharing works pretty well, even though there is no GUI to connect to the PC host, other than a window to type in its network name.

If you type in the correct name and password, Mac OS X mounts the PC computer as a drive on the desktop, so you use the OS X GUI from there to navigate and copy to the drive.

For me, that's fine.

The really ANNOYING thing though is this... anytime I access the mounted disk, and / or copy files to it (which works fine)... Mac OS X writes STUPID invisible files to it, but they are not invisible on Windows OS.

So if I go to the PC machine later, I'll see all the files Mac OS X put there.

They are:
.DS_Store
._[filename]

for every file [filename] you copy to a folder, you get a duplicate ._[filename] in the same folder, which is just trash you might as well throw away or it clutters your PC machine's folders.

.DS_Store is also trash, it really serves no purpose. Deleting that gives no problems on windows or Mac OS X, except OS X will rewrite it every time you access folders and stuff on the mounted drive.

What's the deal with it?????????

Oh, and if you delete something off the mounted drive, OS X puts its invisible ._Trashes folder there, too! (And leaves it there even after the file is deleted ... D'oh!!!)

-solrac-

[serpicolugnut]

I know what you mean about the .DS_Store and 1k invisible files that OS X deposits on Windows volumes. I work on a PC at my day job (ack), and have to bring files back and forth every other day on a zip disk, and OS X dumps these files on them too...

Here's an explanation...

.DS_Store is an invisible file that OS X uses to store desktop information, much like OS 9 did with FINDER.DAT files. The "._" invisible files you see I believe are resource fork files that OS X uses to show Icons information and general "Get Info" information as well.

I got so tired of dealing with them, I purchased MacDrive2000 for Windows, and now, I can transport my work on a Mac formatted disk, where the invisible files stay invisible.

I've already sent Apple a complaint about this at www.apple.com/macosx/feedback... I suggest you do the same...

[SCrossman]

I also see the .trashes, .ds_store files and .trashes folder from a pc or mac using OS9 or earlier, that I cannot see from X. I don't see the .filename for every file I copy to our NT server. Another annoying bug I have is when I try to delete folders (not all) I get a file is busy alert. The files are not busy, as I can usually delete all of them, but not the folder. I can delete the folder from any other OS - ie. 9x, NT or MacOS 9.I have used ResEdit to make the files invisible in the more widely accessed shares so other users aren't seeing them and wondering what they are.

[TommyWillB]

If you use something like Tinker Tool to make hidden files visible you'll also start seeing these files on your local disks...