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Not to be confused with the font management utility now known as Suitcase Fusion.
Mac OS 8.1 font icon

A suitcase is a type of container file that is used to store certain resource fork items within classic Mac OS when they're not installed in the System file, primarily fonts and desk accessories.

History

With the initial release of the first Macintosh 128K and System 1.0 on January 24, 1984, there was no way for end users to install additional fonts or desk accessories in the System file.[1] This was partially addressed with System 1.1g, which was released to the public on the following May 5th. It included a rudimentary utility named Font Mover, which allowed the user to copy fonts between the System file and early fonts container files that pre-dated "suitcase" files.[2][3]

System 2 to 6

System 2.0 was released in April 1985 with Font/DA Mover, which featured the ability to transfer and install desk accessories as well as fonts. Also introduced was the "suitcase" file format which could contain either multiple fonts or desk accessories, though not both.[4] These suitcases stored the fonts or desk accessories in the form of resources, which were like "subfiles" of code and/or graphical assets which could be loaded from disk and discarded when no longer needed, a necessity on early Macintosh computers which did not have much RAM nor true virtual memory capabilities yet. ResEdit was also made available to developers that year, and contained powerful resource management capabilities, but also the ability to wreck system software in the hands of a novice user.[5] Font/DA Mover was a simpler and more efficient utility for such end users.

Apple sound resources ("snd"), as well as so-called "FKEYs", can also be stored in files similar to suitcases, but can only be installed into the user's System file using ResEdit, or 3rd-party software such as Riccardo Ettore's Sound Mover or Carlos Weber's FKey Manager, respectively. Other 3rd-party software programs for the handling of suitcases include Suitcase and Suitcase II from Fifth Generation Systems (later Symantec, then Extensis), as well as Alsoft's MasterJuggler.[6]

It is not normally possible to create an "empty" suitcase, and in general it is not necessary to do so. However, it is possible to generate one manually by modifying an already extant suitcase file, or through the use of 3rd-party software, mentioned above.

System 7

A file in the style of a suitcase in .

A System file in the style of a suitcase in System 7.

In System 7, the behavior of suitcase files was changed. Suitcases could now be opened directly within the Finder in a manner resembling that of opening a folder, with the resource(s) displayed within a window as an icon(s). Along with this, the System file itself also took on the appearance and behavior of a suitcase file within System 7, making it more easily modifiable by the user. Between these changes, and the fact that DAs no longer required installation into the System file at all in order to be used, Font/DA Mover was rendered functionally obsolete. In addition to fonts, the System file could now also easily accept other resource types, such as FKEYs and sounds, as well as keyboard layouts. TrueType fonts could also be added to the System file, though Adobe Type 1 fonts were not yet directly supported.[7][8]

System 7.1 to Mac OS 9

Beginning with System 7.1, font management was further refined through the addition of the Fonts folder, which could accept suitcases of both bitmap and TrueType fonts, as well as Type 1 font files. This allowed the actual System file to be slimmed considerably in overall size, reducing system overhead for users with large numbers of installed fonts.[9]

Mac OS X and macOS

Mac OS X 10.0, which was derived from NeXTSTEP, was released to the public on March 24, 2001 and functioned very differently than preceding versions of classic Mac OS. System resources are stored in a System folder instead of a suitcase file. Additional resources are stored in the Library folder, though it was again daunting for novice users to manage font files added to the Font folder within.[1][10] Desk accessories were deemed obsolete and were no longer supported outside of the Classic environment.[11]

Mac OS X 10.3 "Panther" was released to the public on October 24, 2003 with Font Book, a new utility that greatly simplified font management and could also resolve font conflicts.[12] Font Book remains in use today with modern versions of macOS.

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Apple Timeline, 1976-Present, Low End Mac. 2003.
  2. ↑ System 1.1, Graphical User Interface Gallery. Accessed 2024-09-23.
  3. ↑ Mac System Software 1.1g, BetaWiki. Accessed 2024-09-23.
  4. ↑ Mac System Software 2.0, BetaWiki. Accessed 2024-09-23.
  5. ↑ Resources and Resource Editors by Basal Gangster, The Long View. 2010-05-01.
  6. ↑ Sitting on the Font Fence by Mark Tennent, About This Particular Macintosh. 2009-06.
  7. ↑ Font/DA Mover by Paul C. Pratt, the Gryphel Project. 2014-07-20.
  8. ↑ Postscript is gone, long live TrueType and OpenType by Chip Loder, AppleInsider. 2023-11-08.
  9. ↑ Macintosh: System Software Version History (through 7.5.3), Apple Support. 2001-08-07. Archived 2009-01-16.
  10. ↑ Fonts in Mac OS X: Font Formats by Ted Landau, Mac OS X Disaster Relief, Updated Edition. Peachpit Press. 2002-12-24.
  11. ↑ System 9 Desk Accessories by Christopher Ryan. 2024-05-24.
  12. ↑ Apple Announces Mac OS X “Panther”, Apple Computer. 2003-10-08.

External links

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