TomeViewer

TomeViewer is a utility from Apple Computer that allows software developers to access the contents of tomes.

Beginning with latter versions of System 7, tomes were created to store compressed software files for the process of installation. The Installer application utilizes tomes by extracting items from the tomes and placing them in the correct location on the Macintosh.

TomeViewer allows the user to open any tome file and to view and extract items from therein. While it is useful for the extraction of individual files, the use of TomeViewer to complete an installation in place of the actual Installer application is not recommended, as the Installer may perform operations that modifies and patches items (e.g. the System file) as well as directing files to specific locations based on pre-scripted conditions. Extracting and placing individual installer components do not actually modify the System file on their own.

TomeViewer is not usable with Mac OS X except within the Classic environment. For Mac OS X users, a utility called Pacifist performs a similar function with Mac OS X packages.