Application Contents

An application icon is simply a representation for the entire application. Tied to that icon are folders and files that essentially make up the application. Let's demonstrate this with an example.

Open a Finder window and navigate to the Applications Folder
Single Click on Address Book
Click on the Action Button in the Finder Toolbar, control-click, or right-click with a two button mouse (this example demonstrates the Action Button option)
Then select "Show Package Contents" from the drop-down menu
You will now see a folder called "Contents", double-click on it.
You'll soon see a Info.plist file, a MacOS folder, a PkgInfo file, a Resources folder, and a version.plist file. You can click on the triangle to view the contents of the folders. The MacOS folder will contain a single file, the Resources folder will contain files and additional folders.

How do I know if the Application is an Application Bundle?
After selecting an application icon in the Application Folder and either use the Action Button in the Finder toolbar, control-click, or right-click on the icon and see "Show Package Contents" appear, then the application is a bundle.

Created: 4:01 PM on Feb 7, 2007
By: switchtoamac