
This usually pointed to a sub-directory (usually called "Channel") which contained the code XML, any Script XML, and localized lproj directories (nib file and Localized Text Resources as a plist). A channel consisted of a web directory with an index. As information on the internet is subject to change so quickly, this was one way for Apple to guarantee the up-to-date version. The Sherlock 3 search plugin was a web application, which was downloaded on the fly from a server to ensure the most current version.
#Mac search for program update
Among some of the changes made in the Sherlock file format were the separation of the automatic update element (which formed part of the element) and the icon (provided in a separate file in Mozilla and part of the resource fork in Sherlock). These plugins were, appropriately enough, known as Mycroft project plugins (named after Mycroft Holmes, Sherlock Holmes' older brother). Sherlock search plugins could also be used (with minor modifications) in Mozilla's browser suites. There was also a facility for defining how a Sherlock plug-in could update itself. These elements allowed Sherlock to (respectively) identify a search's engine's web page and the parts that are relevant to searching, as well as returning the results of the search. The Sherlock plug-in was composed of three parts, identified by their element names:, , and tags.

The Sherlock 2 search plugin was an SGML document, and was typically given the ".src" file extension.

#Mac search for program mac os x
Since most of the standard plug-ins for Sherlock provided by Apple itself no longer function, it was officially retired and removed in the release of Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard in 2007. Sherlock was replaced by Spotlight and Dashboard in Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger, although Apple continued to include it with the default installation. These plugins were written as plain text files, so that it was a simple task for a user to write a Sherlock plugin. Sherlock extended the system by enabling the user to search for items through the World Wide Web through a set of plugins which employed existing web search engines. Like its predecessor (System 7.5’s totally revamped 'Find File' app, adapted by Bill Monk from his 'Find Pro' shareware find program ), Sherlock searched for local files and file contents, using the same basic indexing code and search logic found in AppleSearch. for the PowerPC-based "classic" Mac OS, introduced with Mac OS 8 as an extension of the Mac OS Finder's file searching capabilities. Sherlock, named after fictional detective Sherlock Holmes, was a file and web search tool created by Apple Inc.
