Sometimes, when I launch OffLine, there is a message that says “Packing catalog…” What does this mean?
If you drag a disk icon to OffLine’s trash icon (in the Search window), the catalog entries for the disk and all of its files are marked for deletion and become invisible. Similarly, if you recatalog a disk from which some files have been erased since the disk was last cataloged, OffLine marks for deletion any files in the catalog that no longer exist on the disk.
In either case, the catalog entries are still there, taking up space in the catalog (even though you can’t see them). However, each time you launch OffLine, the catalog is checked to see if a significant number of entries have been marked for deletion. If so, those entries are physically removed, in order to conserve disk space and enhance OffLine’s performance. This process is known as packing.
The packing operation also includes integrity checks, and the ability to repair any minor damage that may have occurred to your catalog.
I selected my hard disk from the Disk List and checked “Selected disk only.” Then I clicked Search, without specifying any search criteria. An alert said that there were too many matches to display. How can I view all the files on this disk?
The Search command is designed to display a limited number of files that match your search criteria. If you want to browse all the files on a disk, double-click or option-click a disk in the Disk List.
What can be cataloged by OffLine?
OffLine can catalog any type of disk volume that is attached to your computer and that can be mounted by Finder. This includes hard disk partitions and some streaming tape drives. MS-DOS disks can be cataloged if you use special software that allows Finder to mount them (such as the “PC Exchange” which comes with System 7.5 and later).
