View file extension in Mac OS 9.1

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williamp0044

Weaksauce
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Nov 14, 2003
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I checked google and found nothing. I am try to figure out how I can view file extensions in Mac 9.1. Im not sure if Mac has this feature since I am a Windows user but if it does can someone please tell me who I can do it. I have a file that has no extension and cannont be open by the appropiate file. I is an install file. Does any one know what a Mac application file extension is. The Windows equivalent would be .exe. Please let me know.
 
there are file extensions and you can view them if you need to but in most instances you will see the type of file it is in certain views...what are you trying to do?
 
it is my understanding that the mac file system is quite diffrient than that of windows. first off, let me say that i read this info several years ago, so it may not apply anymore.
anyway, where as a PC would tack the file extension to the end of the filename, a Mac will encode the parent/creating application in a four-byte string right at the beginning of the actual file. so there's no real "file extension," but i think that in OS 9.1, gigglebyte is right, and you'll probably be able to see the parent application of whatever file youre working with if you play around with the file views.

you said an installer file? my advice would be to try to drag it onto (or open it from within) a decompression engine or something like that where you find the right parent program because the computer can't tell. you could also just try downloading the file, or re-getting it from wherever you got it from, if someone gave it to you, on the off chance that four-byte string got corrupted. that's a long shot, i know, but....

also, i'm not sure about this, but i think you can still tack on an extension and it will try to open it with whatever program the extension calls for. so you could add .doc and it would probably open it up in word if word was on the machine... so maybe you try adding .hqx onto the filename and see if that works? i'm not on my mac right now, but if i think of anything, i'll post later...
 
It is a Mac driver file that was burned on a cd from and PC so it has no visible file extension. The other file on the cd was a document and because I new that I was able to open in the the Mac word processor but I dont knwo what program would open the driver.
 
Originally posted by williamp0044
It is a Mac driver file that was burned on a cd from and PC so it has no visible file extension. The other file on the cd was a document and because I new that I was able to open in the the Mac word processor but I dont knwo what program would open the driver.
Click to expand...
if you open the file info box (should be APPLE-I) does it say anything about file creator or file origins? other than that... i'm not quite sure what to say, becasue i don't know of any applicaion that opens "driver files" in particular. do you think you could search for the file on the internet and try to download it as a fresh file? m_a_y_b_e that would help...
 
The program you are looking for is called FileTyper. I have an old version FileTyper 5.3.1 . With this use are able to see the unique mac extesion and in some cases change it. Also you might be able to look at the file with ResEdit which is available from Mac or it used to be.
 
Originally posted by Lt. Dan
The program you are looking for is called FileTyper. I have an old version FileTyper 5.3.1 . With this use are able to see the unique mac extesion and in some cases change it. Also you might be able to look at the file with ResEdit which is available from Mac or it used to be.
Click to expand...
ahhh.. hey, it never even crossed my mind to think about ResEdit... makes perfect senese though, now that i think about it. i'll have to drag that utility up from where ever i last put it and play around with that a little : ) i'll download FileTyper too. that sounds like a pretty kewl little proggy...
 
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