UNIX Executable Files - Additional Info Needed About Zipped Files

I've tried to go through all of the questions posted so far but each link leads me back to the same three or four discussions. I have downloaded zipped folders of sound samples. When they are unzipped the files all have an extra space added just after the extension. This causes them to be read as UNIX Executable files. I've discovered the problem but the only cure I've found is to open their info page and erase the space and then confirm that they are aif files. Is there any way to stop this from happening in the unzip process? If not is there a method to change these in large groups as opposed to confirming every file one at a time? I've done about 100 of them but the next folder has 275 files. Also if the sounds were zipped as stereo files this folder also appears to have separate Left and Right files. I'm not sure if that also could have happened in the file compression process. The download site has hundreds of folders from different contributors but the file formatting is very consistent. Thanks for your time.

Download a renaming application such as "NameChanger."

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Unix Executable files - need help to open

Hi folks, sorry i have been looking through previous discussions re these type of files but its all well and truley above me. I have been given a video file and when copied to 'finder' it showed it was a unix executable file and it opened Terminal, again made no sense to me. I was informed to download MPEG Streamclip with no luck and the jargon I have read is goobledegook to me, sorry. Can anyone help pls in simple terms????

One thing you could try is to drop one of the files on to the vlc video player. If the file is truely a video file then odds are vlc will figure that out and be able to play it. It also has a menu to tell you info about the file so you could figure out what kind of file it actually is.
In the case of windows .wmv files you should add Flip4Mac. That would allow you to play those with QuickTime.
Similarly add Perian to add more power to QuickTime so that it too could possibly handle those files like vlc.

Need help opening Unix Executable Files

I've recently been given the task of updating various files containing instruction manuals. However, the person who created these files is long gone and no one seems to know what program they were created in. All I know is that they are listed as "Unix Executable File" when I click on the document. I've tried opening them in TextEdit and this does me no good. Does anyone know how I can determine what program these files were originally created in so that I can open them?

Files that have no filename extensions (used by Windows and OS X, but not by OS 9) and have lost their Type and Creator codes (used by OS 9, but not by Windows or OS X), and are then written to a DOS-formatted disc by OS 9 and copied back to a Mac disc, are usually if not always misidentified by the OS X Finder as Unix executables.
Your company's old files, created in applications that ran in OS 9, probably have never had any filename extensions. Their Type and Creator codes have evidently been lost; those are what OS 9 uses to link the files to the applications that created them. If the files have also been written by OS 9 to any disk or flash drive formatted for Windows, i.e. FAT16 or FAT32, they have also lost their resource forks. The resource fork is a portion of a Mac file that has no analogous structure in a PC file. When a Mac file that contains data in its resource fork is written by OS 9 to a PC-formatted storage device, there's no place in the Windows file structure for that data — so it is simply discarded. When the Mac file is later copied back onto a Mac-formatted storage device, its resource fork is gone along with whatever data it contained, and the file may for all practical purposes be destroyed. OS X handles writing Mac files to Windows-formatted drives more gracefully, but passing files back and forth between OS 9 and OS X via a Windows-formatted storage device is asking for trouble.
I don't know just what practices have been used in moving these files from the Macs they were created on to the one you're trying to open them on now, but I suspect there has been some unwitting demolition in the process.
If copies of these files are still stored on the old Mac on which they were created, and that Mac still works, get on it and double-click the saved copies of the files to open them in the program(s) that created them, and make notes of which application opens each of the files. Be aware that the folder structure containing the files may have to be preserved exactly as it is for the files to open properly — do not reorganize anything. It may be essential, for example, for a PageMaker file to be kept in the same folder as all the individual files that have been "placed" in it using the Place command in PageMaker. If any of those files are moved elsewhere, they may be missing from the PageMaker document when it opens. I've never used Quark or Freehand, so I don't know whether they have the same requirement, or other requirements that are less than obvious.
Any of the old manuals that you're able to open in their original applications can be saved as PDF files using an invaluable OS 9-based "printer driver" called PrintToPDF. They can then be opened in Adobe Reader or Preview on your G5 running OS X, though you won't be able to edit them easily. If you require the ability to edit these files on the G5, rather than on the old computer using the apps that originally created them, you will need first to discover which OS 9-based application created each one, and then ascertain what if any current OS X-based application is able to open the file format used by that old application. In the case of PageMaker files, that will probably be Adobe InDesign or nothing. InDesign may also open old Quark files; I don't know. Aldus or Adobe Freehand files may be openable using Adobe Illustrator. These are just guesses.
Dragging and dropping the files onto MS Word or TextWrangler may reveal, buried somewhere in them, the name of the application(s) that created them. I know a PageMaker file, opened as plain text, will always contain the word "PageMaker". As for other file formats, I'm not sure.
Message was edited by: eww
Message was edited by: eww

Unix Executable Files need to be Imported to ITunes

I have numerous sound files that are listed as Unix Executable Files in Finder. I can Play the sounds within Finder, but cannot seem to import them into ITunes. I read in another thread to simply add ".mp3" (or some other suffix) and then import. I don't know what the suffix should be, but I have tried .mp3, .aiff, and .wav, with none working. Are there other types of sound files I can try? Is there a way to make them become .mp3 (or something usable)? I have them stored on the HD, but would like to be able to share them or burn them to CD. Any help is appreciated. Thanks.
quicksilver power pc Mac OS X (10.4.8)

I got them from another Mac user when I first bought my Mac. Unfortunately, I no longer have contact with him, so no way to ask where he got them from. I know he had never owned a PC, but that doesn't mean they weren't originally from one. Thanks for the help.
quicksilver power pc Mac OS X (10.4.8)

Old Photos - Unix Executable File

Trying to help a friend - he has a bunch of photos on his Mac that are six years old. He can't open them. He sent me one - it shows up as a "Unix Executable File" (whatever that is?). The read/write accesses are OK. File is about the right size (350K). iPhoto 6 won't open them. Is there a way to open/convert these files?
Thanks, Nick

Nick:
Do the files have the jpg extension on them? If they do, select one and type Command-I. In the Info pane there's an Open with menu. In that menu select Preview as the default application to open it with. Then click on the Apply to all button. See if that won't get them to respond as they should.
Do you Twango?
TIP: For insurance against the iPhoto database corruption that many users have experienced I recommend making a backup copy of the Library6.iPhoto database file and keep it current. If problems crop up where iPhoto suddenly can't see any photos or thinks there are no photos in the library, replacing the working Library6.iPhoto file with the backup will often get the library back. By keeping it current I mean backup after each import and/or any serious editing or work on books, slideshows, calendars, cards, etc. That insures that if a problem pops up and you do need to replace the database file, you'll retain all those efforts. It doesn't take long to make the backup and it's good insurance.

Fonts problems (unix executable file)

Hi,
I've a mac os x 10.4.11(tiger) G5 and a new mac os x 10.5.2(leopard)Imac both connected on a server.
I've many differents fonts on the server. On the G5, I can take all the fonts on the server, put them on my desktop and they will keep their extensions. On the Imac, when i do the same, only the *.ttf et *.otf are recognized, and all the others (font suitcase, postscript type 1 outline font, etc...) are known as unix executable file (0 ko). So, i've to go on my G5, create a zip file of the fonts, open my zip on my desktop's Imac (not on my server, because same problem) and then I've all my fonts with the right extension.
My font software is (on my both mac) is Linotype FontExplorer X Version 1.2.3.
What I've to do, to proceed in the same way on my Imac as on my G5, and not create a zip?
Thanks

I knew this sounded familiar. Mark Douma posted this on a very similar thread a while back.<hr>Notice the "__MACOSX" folder in the expanded archive? That's evidence that the original archive was created using the built-in "Create Archive" function of the Finder, but that the archive on your end was expanded using Stuffit Expander 8.0.1 or earlier.
ZIP files don't normally support resource forks, so when you create a zip file of fonts, the program needs to some method of preserving this information. In Stuffit Expander versions 8.0.1 and earlier, it used its own method to preserve this information (before creating the final zip file, it would first encode each included file as a MacBinary (.bin) file).
Unfortunately, the built-in "Create Archive" feature of the Finder (BomArchiveHelper.app, actually) uses a different method, one which you're seeing evidence in the "__MACOSX" folder in the images shown. Inside that folder are the "other halves" of the files you want to use.
There are two possible solutions:
1) Instead of using Stuffit Expander to expand the .zip files, use the built-in feature of OS X. To do this, select a .zip file in the Finder, and choose Command-i to open a Get Info window. In the Open With section, make sure that "BomArchiveHelper.app" (Tiger and earlier) or "Archive Utility.app" (Leopard) is set to open the archives. If it isn't, click the pop-up menu, choose Other, and navigate to the /System/Library/CoreServices/ folder and choose the appropriate application for your version of OS X. Then click the Change All button to apply this to all .zip files. Then locate the original .zip and expand it once again.
2) Update your version of Stuffit Expander to version 8.0.2 or later. Allume changed the method it used to preserve information in zip files to match that of the Finder's method in Expander 8.0.2 and later. After updating, locate the original .zip file and expand it once again.
There may also be an advanced way of salvaging these files shown toward the end of the following movie.
The following movie shows the predicament (I haven't had a chance to add sound or text, but it should hopefully be self-explanatory).
Notice the version of Stuffit Expander used to expand the archive is 8.0, which exhibits the same problematic behavior you're seeing:
http://homepage.mac.com/mdouma46/images/zipFilesAndFonts.mov (~8.0 MB).
Hope this helps.... <hr>
Essentially, it's all in how the fonts were compressed or sent. Trying to send Mac fonts as direct attachments in an email will almost certainly ruin them. As Mark stated above, how they were zipped and then unzipped can also create empty fonts.

Opening a Unix Executable File

I am a Mac newbie, switching from PC. I do embroidery digitizing and downloaded several embroidery designs in "zipped" format. When I viewed them in the Get Info dialog, they were listed as Unix Executable Files. When I tried to open one, a dialog box came up saying that I needed to choose a file to open them with. What program or helper app do I choose?
Respectfully,
Patricia

Sometimes ZIP files are made into self-expanding .exe files. When run on a PC, they will unzip without needing any unzipping software. They will not do this on a Mac, but Stuffit Expander may work with them
<http://www.stuffit.com/mac/expander/>

Final Cut Pro Unix Executable file??? what do i do?

Hey All,
So I wanted to dig up an old movie i edited in 2003 so i took out the old IMac. I found the Final Cut Pro 2 sequence on there but because all the footage (capture scratch, etc.) is saved to an external hard drive i need to reconnect the material to the sequence. i hooked up my WD My Book drive to my G5 to find the clips and sure enough i backed them up on this hard drive (37 gb worth) awhile ago but for some reason all the clips say they're Unix Executable Files? Why did this happen when i backed them up instead of them staying as Quicktime files?
So here are my questions...
Tonight when i go home I want to be able to open up the FCP sequence on Final Cut Pro Studio 2 (fcp7)...will this be possible to open up an FCP 2 sequence that many versions later?
Also, please tell me why the quicktime clips did this? When i do File-->Get Info-->change open with Terminal to Quicktime they play but how will i get them to reconnect to FCP?? Do i need to go one by one and add .mov extension??
I'm very confused...i would rather not have to do the editing on the 2003 machine..i'd like to get it to work on my newest computer (27inch imac).
Can i attach a newer external that the clips are on to the old mac?
Thank you,
Jenna

..will this be possible to open up an FCP 2 sequence that many versions later?
Yes.
Do i need to go one by one and add .mov extension??
Use my [Automator Action|https://files.me.com/nikholmes/0ge9cr] which will rename them for you -Just choose the correct folder in the "Start At" section. Link is a direct download from my iDisk.
Can i attach a newer external that the clips are on to the old mac?
Of course.

Photoshop .psd files converted to Unix Executable files

I'm an illustrator and I store my art on CDs and DVDs. After a period of time my files are converted from Photoshop .psd files to Unix Executable files and I can't open them. What can I do to get my work back??? -and keep this from happening in the future. Why does it do this????
Thanks for any help.

The file sizes range from 22.2 MB to 67.9 MB.
Size isn't the issue then. Linc was asking that question because we see that with other file types. Older fonts in particular, which have all of their data in the resource fork. If that gets stripped, you end up with a zero byte file.
Does that mean I'll have to go through the Adobe authorization process for Photoshop again?
If the version of Photoshop you're currently using is already activated, then no. Either way, it has nothing to do with .psd files showing as UNIX executables.
In Windows, any file that doesn't have an association to a program is displayed as a white, dog-eared piece of paper with the Windows logo in the middle. That's Windows' way of saying, "I have no idea what this is." In OS X, (except for those files which actually are UNIX executables), displaying them as such is OS X's way of saying the same thing.
I thought I was home free when the icon changed to a thumbnail picture of the illustration, but PS refuses to open it saying it is not a Photoshop file. ???
Now that is weird. As of Snow Leopard, Apple put the old Type and Creator codes to rest. It will read them as a last resort to try and identify an older file, but none of Apple's applications add them to any file they save. For better compatibility with Windows, and OS X's own underlying UNIX core, file extensions have taken their place. So adding a .psd extension should have worked. Without playing with one of your files, I couldn't tell you why Photoshop declared it wasn't a valid .psd image.
On a side note, Apple added Uniform Type Identifiers to OS X to keep things separate. A big problem in Windows is that multiple apps may use the same file extension. EPS is a big one in printing. So you have Photoshop, Illustrator, Freehand, Quark and others all using .eps for Encapsulated PostScript files. However, Windows can only associate one application to any given extension. So if Illustrator happens to be the one tagged to .eps files, it will try to open any file ending in .eps, no matter what program actually created it. OS X keeps them separate with Uniform Type Identifiers. So even though multiple files may have .eps file extensions, the extra metadata keeps track of what program it actually belongs to.
This is what is part of the LaunchServices database, and was why it was my first suggestion. If that database is wonky, you'll see weird things like this. Have you tried clearing it yet?
The files are fine when newly burned to CD. It is only months, or years, later that they become Unix Executable Files. This has happened to just about all of my CD backups and it's frustrating to think that CD backup doesn't work across newer OSs and Photoshop upgrades. I suspect that may be the problem, but it just shouldn't happen.
That shouldn't make a difference. I've got a bunch of very old files created in Photoshop back from OS 8 on CD. No file extensions, as nothing did at the time. Just Type and Creator codes. They all open fine in PS CS5.5 in Snow Leopard, though the native Photoshop files do need to have a .psd extension added.

Old Font Files in Leopard showing up as Unix Executable File

Is there any way I can make the computer be able to use and open the font files that now are being seen as Unix Executable Files even though they worked just fine as fonts before I upgraded to 10.5. I've tried putting new file extensions on them, or telling them to be opened with font book. I'm not sure what else to do, we have hundreds if not thousands of fonts that we need and that our customers need us to be able to use.

Thanks soo much everyone for all the help.
I've installed reset permissions, reset LaunchServices using OnyX, rebooted, and files are still "unix executable" to start with. I then used FileUtils app to "Clear Executible Status," which makes them open in txt editor, and say they are 0kb in size. I then renamed the extentions, playing around with a bunch of different types, and no luck at all with any of them.
Here is a screen shot (http://180bydesign.com/uploads/Picture5.png) of my folder (at top) with a list of fonts, and fontbook.app (at bottom) when I try to add a font from that location. No luck.
PS - here's something weird... I had a friend w/ Tiger send me a font suitcase which he zipped, and it did same thing, but then he zipped it twice (wierd, I know) and it worked! I unzipped the first one, then unzipped the second file within that first one, and WALLA, the suitcase actually looked and acted like a font. This doesn't help at all with all the other saved files, but it certainly helps. I might open a pc & try to double zip all the old ones & see if that does the trick.

Problems after opening "Get Document" Unix Executable file

After importing documents from my Dell computer to macbookpro and opening a file called "Get Document" which is a Unix Executable file, I now have dozens of these type of these type of files in "Places":
file://localhost/Users/sacredsprings/%25B0%2580%25A9%25C0SR
I had Linux installed on my Dell, and having read a few threads think it may be to do with that. Can I just safely delete all these files?

Sometimes ZIP files are made into self-expanding .exe files. When run on a PC, they will unzip without needing any unzipping software. They will not do this on a Mac, but Stuffit Expander may work with them
<http://www.stuffit.com/mac/expander/>

Photoshop files show as unix executable files

Hi,
I've have a back-up drive with all my old files (the past 15 years). After I copied them over I noticed that most of them showed up as unix executable files. The most of the Quark files I was able to repair by adding .qxp. When I add the appropriate extension to my Photoshop files, (.tif, .eps) and then try to open them, PS won't recognize the files. Is there a fix to this. Unfortunately the originals have disappeared with a drive that crashed.
Thanks for any help.

Adding file extensions for unique application-types will work fine as long as there's an entry for LaunchServices to reference to - add the .qxd extension will "make" them Quark files, for example. The more generic types are going to be the problem, as there are many applications listed in LaunchServices that can open TIFF and EPS files. If you had files that you could absolutely identify as raw Photoshop files, adding a .psd extension would most likely work for those.
Maybe I just need to let all those files go...
Since it seems that only the resource fork has been munged, the files are probably fine - just missing the resource fork with the Type/Creator code and the preview info that Photoshop stores there.
-Doug

Recovered files now UNIX Executable Files???

After my previous external hard drive failed I had the data recovered and placed onto a new external drive. After looking at the files I have found that a number of them have become "unix executable files." I don't know what this is or how to fix it. It seems to have only happened to things such as saved emails, but there are some photos from my digital camera that have converted to this as well.
While looking into the problem I found that the company that recovered the data placed it all onto an external hard drive that is an MS-DOS File System (FAT32) format instead of a Mac OS format. Could this be the problem since all of my files were Mac files, and the hard drive they were recovered from was formatted to Mac OS?
If this is the case, is it something I can fix myself without loosing anything, or should I take it back to the place that recovered the data?
ANY help would be greatly appreciated!

Welcome to Apple Discussions!
Yes the file naming probably was messed about with when they copied stuff over to FAT32. The files are probably there. However, the just need the correct file suffix to associate with the correct programs. A good way to test the files without hurting them is to view them in the Terminal with the program called More. Go to Applications -> Utilities -> Terminal and you will be greeted by a prompt. At the prompt type the word
more
followed by a space (do NOT hit enter)
and drag the file into the terminal following the word "more" and then when the path appears, hit enter. If there is intelligible text, the file is probably an e-mail. If there is no intelligible text, it probably is an image, or a system file. Preview can open the files which are images and save them to specific formats. Depending on the number of files you had rescued, it might be better to ask them to rescue it again, but to a properly formatted volume. You can try yourself if you still have the old disk with Prosoft Data Rescue.
In anycase, this is a very good lesson to always backup your data in the future as my FAQ explains:
http://www.macmaps.com/backup.html
Good luck!

Files changing to unix executable files in leopard!

I'm having files show up as UNIX EXECUTABLE FILES in Leopard. these are Quark Xpress files and a few tiff files.
These were backup files sent from a client on a Mac, there were compressed using Zip software. Also the same files that were not compressed are DOCUMENT files.
What is happening that Leopard can not recognize these files?
I tried removing "com.apple.LaunchServices" files

I found that a number of Windows files copied across to an external HFS+ hard disk from a Windows PC using MacDrive showed as Unix executables.
It turned out that they files had Execute permissions set for all users.
You can change the "Execute" setting using chmod in the terminal, but a simpler solution is to install FileUtilsCM, a free context menu control available from http://www.abracode.com/free/cmworkshop/file_utils.html
It offers a variety of high level controls, including remove file type and creator; remove resource fork; clear "execute" Unix attribute.
I found this fixed the problem for my files. The "clear execute" control fixed the file type, and the "remove type & creator" command converted the type back to Plain text from Document.
I don't know if it will work for your problem, but could be worth a try. Works in Leopard 10.5.1 for me.
Slightly more control is available from Super Get Info from Barebones http://www.barebones.com/products/super/index.shtml
That's not free, however, but it does allow you to set the file type and creator.
DN

Tugsten E2 /unix executable file

My laptop is a MAC power book G/O.S.10.4.11.
My external hard drive crashed. I recovered the info.The back up i had from last version of my desktop palm shows only the file mame i gave it -NON RECOGNIZABLE ICON. I'm not able to open it, when i drag the file into the palmdesktop icon it doesnt read it. On the File info says:
KIND:unix executable file
I opened the file on microsoft word-officce 2004 and just appear like programming caracters.
I think I just need to add the file extesion in order the palmdesktop software read the file.
Do you know what the extension is?, or How to make readable opening it with the palm desktop sofware?
Post relates to: Tungsten E2

Hey!, I've re-installed palm desktop program and it didn't read the file.
In Mac, when a file is not readable, show's you a blank icon or in this case is showing a grey icon with green letters saying EXEC. That's why I think what I need is to add the correct extension to the file in order to be recognized by palm desktop folder.
I'll appreciate your help.
Thank you.

UNIX Executable Files - Additional Info Needed About Zipped Files

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