There is a feature in OS X called packages or bundles that are folders that look like files. These folders might contain images that you used in the file or other support files. For instance, when you create a database file in DevonThink, you are actually creating a folder with separate files for each entry in the database. Scrivener is another application that saves its files in package format.

Most of the time, you won’t even notice that your files are in actuality, packages. But if you are using a service such a Dropbox and are browsing your files on their Web site, any package or bundle files will display as folders. This could certainly cause confusion for someone who is not familiar with the package format.

Many application developers use the packages feature to store support files when creating an application. The Calculator application which comes bundled with OS X is an example. If you right-click on the application and choose Show Package Contents from the contextual menu, you will see a folder named Contents. Double-clicking the Contents folder will reveal several other folders containing support files for that application.

Package files can be a problem however when working with certain Cloud services. Some of them do not recognize package files and as such, their systems don’t quite know what to do with them. So if you find that you are unable to upload a certain file type to your cloud provider, it could be that the provider does not support Mac package files. Before subscribing to a Cloud service, you might want to ensure beforehand that they support package files, especially if you work a lot with Scrivener, Keynote or other applications that store their data files as packages.

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