About attachments

Application attachments are arbitrary files stored in the VA Smalltalk library and associated with applications. Each file is attached to an application edition and resides within an attachment folder. An attachment folder categorizes the attached file or files. Attachments let you store and retrieve sets of files across platforms, while retaining the directory structure and, optionally, localizing the content.

Application attachments offer the following:

•	Unlimited number of attachment folders for each application

•	Unlimited number of attachments per attachment folder

•	Unlimited size of attachments, up to the maximum capacity of the library

•	Complete backward compatibility with previous releases of VA Smalltalk with respect to importing and exporting applications with attachments

Also, attachments offer the ability to do the following:

•	Store full path names, including directory names

•	Recurse directory trees when multiple attachments are stored, enabling you to store an entire directory structure with one operation

•	Re-create directories when attachments stored with directory names are retrieved from the library

•	Store file paths in a portable format that permits files and directory structures to be stored and retrieved on any platform supported by VA Smalltalk

•	Tag files with an attachment type (supported types are binary and text)

•	Filter text attachments so they suit the target platform when retrieved from the library. This ensures that line delimiters are appropriately transformed and files are readable on the target platform.