Encapsulated Postscript (.eps) "Open With" Conflict

Our department just updated several Mac's to Snow Leopard and CS4. Most are working well, however we have experienced an "Open With" conflict.
Background: We use .eps file format for both our Illustrator vector art logos and our Photoshop CMYK photographs - Encapsulated Postscript for both. Under all previous versions of CS3/Panther or Leopard, the system would correctly recognize the appropriate native application and open the proper app that the .eps file was created in.
Today: We recently upgraded to CS4 and Snow Leopard. Since then all Mac's are functioning the same way - .eps files are opening with Preview. Using the Finder "Open With" command "Change all" the OS only allows a choice of one application. As such the .eps files will only open with one chosen application.
I'd like to be able to have the functionality we've always had - click on a .eps Illustrator file and Illustrator opens... click on a Photoshop .eps file and Photoshop opens.
Has anyone else experienced this and what was the solution?

Hi and Welcome to  Discussions!
10.6 dropped support for TYPE/CREATOR codes which is the reason you're getting this behaviour. There's nothing you can do about it. Only to get used to using *Open with* or to *drag & drop* files onto the wanted application's icon.
Here's more: http://www.cultofmac.com/how-snow-leopard-ditched-creator-codes-and-why-it-matte rs/15928
Björn

Similar Messages

Cannot open encapsulated postscript file

Hi, does anyone has any problem with eps (encapsulated
postscript) file format in Freehand MXa. I tried to open or import
an eps file which I've exported from Freehand MXa but only saw a
big box with a cross. I could open and see it in other software
such as flash, firework or photoshop but not Freehand MXa.
Anybody has any idea what has gone wrong? Appreciate any
advice. Thank you.

efly06 wrote:
> Hi, does anyone has any problem with eps (encapsulated
postscript) file format
> in Freehand MXa. I tried to open or import an eps file
which I've exported from
> Freehand MXa but only saw a big box with a cross. I
could open and see it in
> other software such as flash, firework or photoshop but
not Freehand MXa.
>
> Anybody has any idea what has gone wrong? Appreciate any
advice. Thank you.
>
Freehand can't open EPS files itself. You can export or save
an EPS
which has the Freehand information attached so you can reopen
the file
in Freehand.

Open with command - EPS file confusion.

I recieved a folder of Illustrator vector eps files that seemed to want to open in Photoshop by default. I changed all in Finder to 'open with' Illustrator CS.
Now my Photoshop files try to open in Illustrator too. So I change all to open in Photoshop and am back to square one with vectors opening there by default too.
Is there a way to set Illustrator EPS to open in Illustrator and Photoshop EPS to open in Photoshop? I know I can just drag them onto the relevant icon but if I double click a Photoshop EPS I have to force out of Illustrator to stop it opening.
Who's bright idea it was to give two distinctly different file formats the same extension anyway?

I think the underlying cause of the problem is the change Apple has made in how Launch Services is identifying these files in Tiger.
An Illustrator EPS file has a creator code of 'ART5', a file type of 'EPSF', and a filename extension of ".eps". A Photoshop EPS file has a creator code of '8BIM', a file type of 'EPSF' (same as an Illy EPS), and a filename extension of ".eps" (again, same as an Illy EPS).
Prior to OS X 10.4, Launch Services would consider an Illustrator EPS file to be different from a Photoshop EPS file because of the different creator codes on the file. (While we know that they are "different" based on the type of data they contain (i.e. vector vs. raster), Launch Services doesn't really know anything about the content of the files; it only looks at the file properties to make its decisions). Since they were different, you could choose to have one open in Illustrator and the other open in Photoshop. So, just by default, Photoshop EPS files would open in Photoshop and Illustrator EPS files would open in Illustrator.
In OS X 10.4, Apple changed some things around. Prior to 10.4, a combination of a file's creator code, file type, and filename extension were mapped to a particular application that would open it. In 10.4, the file's creator code, file type, and filename extension aren't mapped directly to an application, but to an intermediary called a "Uniform Type Identifier" (UTI). It's the UTI then that is mapped to an application that will open it. The UTI for an EPS file is the string "com.adobe.encapsulated- postscript". Launch Services doesn't really distinguish between an Illustrator "com.adobe.encapsulated-postscript" file or a Photoshop "com.adobe.encapsulated-postscript" file. So, what happens is that both an Illustrator EPS file (creator code 'ART5', file type 'EPSF', filename extension ".eps") and a Photoshop EPS file (creator code '8BIM', file type 'EPSF', filename extension ".eps") are mapped to the same UTI type, "com.adobe.encapsulated- postscript", which itself can be globally mapped to only one application. In other words, globally either Illustrator or Photoshop, but not both.
While not ideal, files do support a per-file preference setting. So if you have a global setting to open eps files in Illustrator then by default double-clicking on will, well, open them in Illustrator. If you have a Photoshop EPS file and would like to open it in Photoshop, you could use the Get Info window to choose Photoshop instead -- just don't click the Change All button. That file, from then on, should always open in Photoshop when you double click on it. (That "user override" preference is saved in the resource fork of the file so it should stay with it).
The switch to UTIs has helped simplify things quite a bit, such as this example with the different types of PDF files. Prior to OS X 10.4, you'd have to repeat the custom "Open With" preference for each type of PDF, which was confusing for most users.
Technically, both Illustrator EPS files and Photoshop EPS files contain the same type of information: Encapsulated PostScript; the fact that Adobe provides two applications, one to edit image-based EPS files, and a second to edit vector-based EPS files is somewhat beside the point. While you could send feedback to Apple about this, I think it's probably up to Adobe to figure something out. They could quite easily define Illustrator EPS and Photoshop EPS files as subclasses of "com.adobe.encapsulated-postscript". For example, vector-based Illustrator EPS files might be "com.adobe.encapsulated-postscript.vector" that conform to "com.adobe.encapsulated-postscript", while raster-based Photoshop EPS files might be "com.adobe.encapsulated-postscript.raster" that conform to "com.adobe.encapsulated-postscript". Since there'd be two distinct types, they could each be mapped to their own application.
Hope this helps....
Dual 2.7GHz PowerPC G5 w/ 2.5 GB RAM; 17" MacBook Pro w/ 2 GB RAM - Mac OS X (10.4.6)

How do i open EPS file with "rasterize generic EPS format" options in photoshop CS?

Hi please can someone help!?
I'm using Photoshop CS on mac- when i open EPS format files i usually get the "rasterize generic EPS format" option so that i can select the size i want the file to be etc without losing quality. However on one file i've opened before i don't seem to be getting that option at all, if i open the EPs file it just goes to a standard size automatically and doesn't give me the chance to change the size. This is the same file that i have used since being sent the file, i've not resaved it. It used to give me the rasterize generic EPS format option but it no longer works. Any ideas how i can make those options appear when opening or how i can rasterize/resize it once open without losing quality?
Just to be clear, i still get the rasterize generic EPS format option when opening other EPS files but it seems not with this one particular file.
Many Thanks
Ross

Encapsulated PostScript-files can contain either vector-content (in which case one gets prompted when opening with Photoshop), pixel-content (in which case Photoshop opens straight away) or a mixture (same as the first case).
When a file has been rasterized that’s that, You may want to go back to the original file if You can locate it.
Edit: Sorry, I read Your original post carelessly …
Have You tried opening the original file in Illustrator yet?

Is it possible to open eps files with Keynote?

I have some eps Clipart files that I have been trying to edit so I can use the individual clipart images instead of having to crop a jpef or tiff copy of the original file.
However, I can't seem to open the eps version of the file in any of the applications I have, which makes the files almost impossible to use...
Is there any way of actually opening the eps files with Keynote, or does anyone know of a program or app that I can open these with?
Thanks!

There are a number of compatibility reasons why Keynote will not open eps files
I use Illustrator to open, then save as a different file any eps files which Keynote wont open directly.

EPS files open with unusual line slices

We have roughly 4500 eps files that were created in freehand years ago. The files contain both raster images that were embedded as well filled vector paths which were created in freehand. The embedded raster image opens flawlessly as wells as some of the filled paths. I say "some of the filled paths" because there are other filled vector paths that were created using the freehand auto-trace function (similar to AI's live trace)- these filled paths open incorrectly. They open with unusual lines that perforate the entire filled object- a strange slicing effect that appears to happen only to the filled paths that underwent freehand's auto-trace function. The other art appears to be fine.
Is there a method to correct this problem in AI? I'm using A mac os 10.6.8 cs5, When I open the eps in photoshop I don't see any slicing- but photoshop also converts it to a raster image and I would like to preserve the paths. When I open the image again in freehand it opens fine.
Below are examples showing the sclicing effect.

Hello Mike
Yes, I was able to arrive at that solution as well- converting the paths to a raster image then running a live trace on that raster file. I haven't tried uniting the paths though... good suggestion! Thank you!
The only solution I found so far to keep the eps in a proper vector format was opening the "corrupted" eps in illustrator and selecting all paths and convert that selection into raster art, then convert the raster art back into vector art (live trace). This action can be automated in a batch sequence (4500 files are a bit to much to open individually). The lines will vanish! However the paths will all be one layer with varying color (color differs depending on the artwork), not ideal but it is the best solution that I can think of.
Do you know any way to release the paths after you preform the live trace function. It seems (in the case of multiple colors especially) that when a raster image undergoes the live trace option the end result is one object with multiple paths that appear to be grouped together. Is there any way to release these paths? So one could identify them separately by mousing over them?
Thank you for your help.

View EPS files with CS3

I have Adobe Illustraotor CS3, I only need it to view artwork files sent to me, I do not need to work on them, how can I view EPS files that were created in newer versions of Adobe

"Place" is Adobe's lingo for what other software simply calls "Import".
Not exactly.
It would be interesting to read Adobe's official criteria (if it exists) for whether a particular format belongs in "Open" or "Place." But generically:
"Import" is more restrictive, in that it implies that an import filter is going to translate the incoming data into native objects. "Place" is a (rather awkward) throwback term to early page-layout programs (ex.: PageMaker), which were essentially intended to be "assembly" programs in which to assemble and arrange many multiple kinds of external files (text, raster, vector) into a page design. The implication of "Place" is that the receiving program does not necessarily have to "disassemble" or "break into" or even "understand" the content of the incoming file; it can just position and scale a reference to it on the page (i.e.; link).
The "Place" concept is particularly germane to positioning EPS files in page-layout apps. The operative word in EPS is "Encapsulated." It provides for a "capsule" that can contain a collection of objects that can be passed to/through many programs that don't necessarily understand its content.
(Remember, prior to its acquisition of Aldus, Adobe didn't even have a page-layout application.)
So "Import" is what Illustrator does (if it can) if you don't specify linking to the external file. You don't have to Open an EPS in Illustrator; you can link to it as an external file (i.e.; "Place" it on the page.)
To my mind, "Open" should be reserved for native files that were created in the program, "Import" should be reserved for non-native files that will be translated into native content, and "Place" (or "Insert") should be used for linking to external files. So Illustrator should not "Open" an EPS, since it may not have been created in Illustrator, and therefore may contain objects which will be translated with varying degrees of fidelity; it should either "Import" it (translate it) or "Place" it (leave its content alone). By the same token, Illustrator should not claim to "Open" a JPEG, either.
But remember, Illustrator was essentially a visual PostScript editor.
Also it no doubt would arguably be more confusing to newcomers to provide an Open, Import, and Place command. (So why not make the terms more explicit and intuitive in the first place, perhaps like: Reopen, Translate, Link?)
And it's also no doubt considered more "impressive" from a marketing standpoint to claim that a program can "Open" various other-brand native files, and that's where my cynical mind suspects the runaway overlap stems from. So Illustrator can ostensibly "Open" certain version Corel Draw files, and vice-versa. (No, they can Import data from each other, to varying degrees of fidelity.) Adobe, of course, is not the only offender here. For example, FileMaker claims to "Open" Excel spreadsheets, too, when it really just imports the data.
At any rate, despite frequent claims to the contrary, EPS is not obsolete in the world at large beyond Adobe apps; not until non-Adobe apps can insert (place) and/or import (translate) PDF as a spot graphic. Microsoft Word (Windows), for example, can't do that. So EPS is still needed there for those who understand its purpose and limitations. Similarly, some softwares which drive cutters / plotters import EPS files with vector content, too; but don't claim to "open" native Illustrator files.
JET

Info box...open with

Hi there,
The "Open with" option when you "cmd I" on a file, it let you choose what application you wnat to open that file with. How could I assign Illustrator to open vector .eps format and Photoshop to open bitmap .eps files?
It used to work perfectly by default but for no apparent reason it just all went!
Cheers

Hi Joseph -
AFAIK, eps files are neither vector nor raster. They contain postscript code that defines the content programatically, and it is the nature of the application that determines whether the content is interpreted as raster or vector. In this case, AI is vector-based, PS is raster-based.
As far as the OS is concerned, eps is eps. If the file is 'tagged' with a specific creator, that determines the app that will launch when you double-click the file (eps files saved by Photoshop will open with Photoshop), assuming the creator app is available on your system. The file icon will also reflect the app that will open the file by default.
If the eps file is not 'tagged' by a specific app or the creator app isn't known or available, whatever you have set in Get Info will take precedence (Preview is actually the OS X default, I believe). Untagged files will display the icon of the designated Open With app.
If you need to open a file with a certain app, Command+Click the file & choose Open With to pick the desied one rather than double-clicking the file.
Regards |:>)

How can you get your homage address to open when you open new tabs? My homepage is Google, but my new tabs always open with Yahoo.

On my old computer, all my tabs always opened to what my homepage was set to: iGoogle. Now with my new computer, my homepage is set, but all new tabs open with Yahoo! I've tried looking at tab setting but don't see a place to set it. Help!

The behavior that you have is not the default Firefox behavior, which always opens a blank tab. You will have an add-on that is causing this. Check for any Yahoo related add-ons to see if they have this option. The freeze net assistant add-on is another one that opens Yahoo in a new tab.
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In Final Cut Pro I was trying to move an Event Library from one hard drive to another as explained in the Help section. After doing so, I received a message that my event is already open with the same identifier as the new one I just creat

In Final Cut Pro I was trying to move an Event Library from one hard drive to another as explained in the Help section. After doing so, I received a message that my event is already open with the same identifier as the new one I just created on the new disk. It says the second document cannot be opened and to move one of these documents out of your Final Cut Events folder. It also says to avoid this problem, copy events from within Final Cut Pro, but that is what I did in the first place. What should I do to avoid the double opening conflict?

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Firefox 5 apparrently changed a Windows setting, now I have artifacts remaining on top of my desktop when doing things like selecting a file and doing an open with selection.

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Hi Steve1904,
So you have use the backup and Restore to restore your files from Windows XP to Windows 7 directly?
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See the article below if you would like to upgrade from Windows XP to Windows 7:
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Photoshop elements 8 under windows 7 "open with" cannot link editor

Hello,
I recently upgraded my computer to 64bit, loaded my photographs and can open adobe photoshop elements 8 and editor and work on pictures. However, I usually browse my pictures in windows explorer, open folders of interest and see small pictures and browse to select. On picture I rigfht click and chose to "open with". Now adobe elementsw editor does not appear in this list as it did previously. I select "chose the program to open with" and when I find it and select it, it still does not appear.
How can I fix this?
Thanks for your help,
gmasn10

Hi,
Please try couple of probable solutions as mentioned below:
Solution 1:
1. Close Elements.
2. Launch the Photoshop Elements Welcome Screen and hold down ctrl + alt + shift as you click Editor.
3. Continue to hold the keys until you see a message box asking if you want to delete Photoshop Elements settings file; click Yes. Elements will open with default preferences.
Solution 2: In case any network printer is attached try to launch without network or printer uninstall or make different printer as default.
Solution 3: Try launching with anti-virus off or removing PSE from conflicting list.
Solution 4:
On the drive on which you have installed PSE,on my machine it is on C:
Go to C:\Program Files\Adobe\Photoshop Elements 10\Locales\<locale>\Plug-Ins\Import-Exportand you will find twain plug-in. Remove that plug-in from that location and copy it somewhere else.
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Swf files wrongly linked in Mac info 'Open With'

Together with others I have had a serious problem opening swf files with Flash Player. I hope this will help some of you and challenge Adobe to get their act together since this ought not so to be.
1. Background: As you may know, Flash Player 10 is not a stand along but only for web use (a plug in). One must keep or download the latest Flash Player 9 in order to play stand along swf docs. Had Adobe explained this clearly at the get-go it would have saved much frustration.
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5. Summary: For whatever reason 'Open With' is confused, I should be able to correct the problem with choosing Flash Player 9 and then click 'Change All.' Can anyone tell me what is going on and how to solve this?
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Hi seaslug and welcome to our community
I would think you could test the connectivity by playing them
locally to ensure they work. If the files all work fine on your
local PC, try copying them to a web server that isn't using SSL. If
they work fine there, then try the SSL. Basically, you want to pare
away the layers in order to see where things fall apart.
You may also wish to double check to ensure that all the
necessary files exist in the output folder. For example, maybe
someone forgot to include the associated HTM files. Things like
that.
Hopefully something here was helpful... Rick

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my payslip gets emailed to me and opens with firefox , i can not print it out have tried saving to doc, but still opens with firefox and will not print.
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Hi there morinallen,
Try downloading and running the print and scan doctor located here to ensure there are no software conflicts:
http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/document?docname=c03275041&cc=us&dlc=en&lc=en
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Best of Luck!
You can say thanks by clicking the Kudos Star in my post. If my post resolves your problem, please mark it as Accepted Solution so others can benefit too.

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You were on the right path Mylenium, I managed to fix the problem.
So here's some tips for anyone who upgrades to CS5.5 from a previous version like I did, in this case CS3.
When I uninstalled CS3 I didn't quite do a full uninstall of all programs as there were some things I wanted to keep, like soundbooth etc. Now, I was pretty sure I completely uninstalled AE CS3 but it seems that some of the folders and files lingered behind during the uninstall process.
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As you saw, the program wasn't allowed to be selected as the default and for some reason it wouldn't stick when using browse. SO! I rebooted my computer into Safe Mode and went into the Adobe Folder that had the old After Effects CS3. I completely deleted that folder and all of its contents and ran CCcleaner next to go through the registry. It found various conflicts with After Effects including invalid keys, could not open with CS5.5 by default, etc. Not exactly in those words, but clear enough to state that there was a conflict with the default program launcher.
After fixing the issues with CCcleaner, I went back into normal Windows. Right clicked on the icon properties, selected browwse, support files, AfterFX, and the problem was solved!
Was very boneheaded of me not to do a complete wipe of the installation, but after Adobe had gotten rid of audition initially, I was afraid of losing programs that I had use for.
Anyway, if anyone else runs into this problem just make sure to completely delete the old installation and run a registry cleaner to fix the issues.

Encapsulated Postscript (.eps) "Open With" Conflict

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