What are auto-routing folders in the Mac OS? Are there new ones for Mac OS 8.5?

Auto-routing folders are those folders within the System Folder that appropriately receive items dropped onto the System Folder. This relieves the user of having to know into which sub-folder within the System Folder a new item needs to be placed. To utilize this feature, simply drop any System Folder addition(s) onto the closed System Folder. A dialog will appear indicating which inner folder will actually receive the dropped item(s).

Auto-route folders are sometimes referred to as magic folders, because of the intrinsic ease of their access though the top level System Folder.

The Finder in Mac OS 8.5, now uses the Folder Manager for auto-routing items dropped into the System Folder into folders that have been registered with the Folder Manager for auto-routing.

Some examples of new folders within the System Folder support auto-routing of items are:

Preference files (with type "pref") - now correctly routed to the Preferences folder

ColorSync Profiles - routed to the ColorSync Profiles folder

Theme files - routed to folder Theme Files in the Appearance folder

Theme Sound files - routed to folder Sound Sets in the Appearance folder

Picture files (JPEGs) - routed to folder Desktop Pictures in the Appearance folder

Find file search engines - routed to the Internet Search Sites folder

Compiled scripts - routed to the Scripts folder (Note: this may not be the appropriate place due to the organization of sub-folders within the Scripts folder.

There are other enhancements to auto-routing that are of more interest to developers installing their products. These are detailed in the Tech Note for Mac OS 8.5.