CD Burning & Desktop DF

[Dave00]

Anyone know how to get rid of that pesky Desktop DF when burning Data CD's? I use Toast Lite 5.2 (I know, it's old), and it always insists on inserting that file when I burn a data CD. Besides taking up precious space, it also contains information that you wouldn't want to just pass around to everyone. If there isn't a way to prevent it from being burned on, is there at least a way to minimize its size and the info it contains?

Thanks!

--D

 

[mms]

I haven't tried toast but would Disk Utility work for you? It has enough functionality to create regular data disks and I'm pretty sure it doesn't insert weird files.

 

[cb911]

i always thougth that DesktopDF just held the info about how to display the contents of the disk, like in list view or icon view etc. i never knew about anyother info it had in it? what have you found that's in there?

you could also try just makeing a text file (.txt) and then just renaming it to the same name as the DesktopDF file and same extension and permissions and see if that helps you, if might fool Toast into thinking the file is already there. worth a try, let us know if that works out. and i'm also interested to know what 'info that you wouldn't want to pass around' is held in the DesktopDF file?

 

[cebritt]

Create a temporary partition

1) If you have enough free space on your hard drive, use Toast's Temporary Partition feature to create a partition large enough to hold your data and copy your data to it. The hidden Desktop files will only contain info for those files and therefore, will be much smaller.

2) Burn your data in ISO9660 format (I'm not sure if Lite has this format). You'll lose your icons and you won't be able to double-click on files, but you won't have those hidden files.

3) If you're making a CD for both Mac and PC, make a PC/Mac Hybrid CD. It's a little extra work but the PC people won't see the hidden files and the Mac people will have their icons and double-click ability.

Hope this is helpful...
C. Britt
Austin, TX

 

[Dave00]

The problem with the Desktop DF & Desktop DB files is that they not only contain info about the icons, etc. on the CD you're making; they also contain Finder comments & info about what applications you have installed, documents you've downloaded, and sometimes info even on deleted files.

Now, supposedly in Toast 5.1.2 they changed the process so it only included Finder comments on the files actually being burned. But I'm not sure I entirely trust this.

There's also the .DS_Store file in each folder; I think this is actually where the icon positions are stored. (Someone correct me if I'm wrong.) These files can be deleted, but the Desktop files are inserted only when you're about to burn, and there's no way I've found to be able to delete them.

Cebritt - I don't think Toast Lite 5.2 has the "temporary partition" feature; where's it located in the menu? Also, the Mac/PC Hybrid Disk still has the desktop DF/DB files. (I AM making a disk for both Mac & PC users, by the way - photos of a recent trip.)

MMS- I assume you meant Disk Copy rather than Disk Utility. I'm currently creating a Disk Image & seeing if Toast or the Finder will burn that sans a Desktop DF file.

 

[BrianKonarsMac]

Toast should be able to delete them. If not, use Onyx, enable hidden items, move to trash, and use Onyx's force delete.

 

[mms]

MMS- I assume you meant Disk Copy rather than Disk Utility. I'm currently creating a Disk Image & seeing if Toast or the Finder will burn that sans a Desktop DF file.

What OS are you using? IIRC Disk Copy was used for burning CDs up until Jaguar, with its role taken over by Disk Utility in Panther.

 

[cebritt]

Time to upgrade to the full version

1) Temporary Partition will be on the Utilities menu. I don't use Lite but the temporary partition is one of Toast's best features so if Lite doesn't have it, you need to upgrade to the full version. The hidden Desktop files are indexes of the files on that drive or partition so they will only have info on the files in the Temporary Partition.

2) A hybrid CD will still have those files, but nobody will see them. They will be invisible to the Mac users and they are not on the PC portion of the CD so of course, they won't see them either. FYI, I'm not talking about Toast's default Mac and PC "compatible" format. I'm talking about a true Mac/PC hybrid format which probably isn't in Lite. Once again, upgrade to the full version.

3) If you don't want the hidden files at all, you need to use the ISO-9660 format which guess what, isn't in Lite. Do you see a trend here?

If you upgarde to the full version of Toast, you'll have a lot more flexibility and a lot less frustration...

 

[Dave00]

Figgered it out

Figgered out how to solve the above noted problem... create a disk image with Disk Copy, delete the Desktop DF/DB, copy to Toast, and burn.

I'm a happy camper now.

Thanks to all who replied.