What is an unix executable file that appeared in my folder?

HI,
In my folders structure I have a folder named "jobs: where I put my working files etc.
Yesterday inside the "jobs" folder I found a file with the same name "jobs" , its icon is dark gray and it is a "unix executable file" with zero bytes...
How was it created there?
I think I did a permission repair this week, but this is the first time I see a Unix exec file ...

** folder named "jobs:" **
When I tried to create a folder with that name, the Finder told me that the name was not valid. A colon in a Mac file or folder name used to be a bad idea. I guess it still is. I'd rename that folder to exclude the colon.

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Can delete any "Unix Executable File"?

I just noticed there are a couple (each 4K) Unix Executable Files in my Application Support folder...is it ok to delete these? (I don't know where they came from, and aren't they PC files by definition?-->maybe came as some kind of email attachment) Thanks
P.S. Their names are 1019967 and 2826981, neither gives any useful information in the Info box.
iMac G5 Mac OS X (10.4.3) 1.8 GHz, 768MB RAM, DSL

I cannot tell you what these are, but it is unlikely that email attachments would end up in Application Support. It is more likely that they are related to an application, perhaps license files that were intended to be invisible. Unix executable files are very common on your Mac because it is a Unix system, although the Finder's identification of these as Unix executables may be in error.
If you really want to get rid of them, just move them to a new folder called, perhaps, Unused Junk to Trash. Then, if nothing bad happens, you could delete them in the future.
bd

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I automatically run OnyX once a week for maintenance, but it didn't help this situation.
Those chores won't reset the LaunchServices database. Go to the Maintenance heading and click on the Reset tab. Turn on the check box for "LaunchServices database" (all other check boxes off). Click the Reset radio button and then Execute. Restart your Mac.
OS X will automatically rebuild the database according to the applications on your hard drive, giving preference to Apple applications as they would be when you first install OS X. So if you have the Acrobat Reader set up to open PDF files, you'll have to do that again as they will be set back to Preview.
Actually it's .qxd not .qkd for Quark XPress file extensions.
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How open old Appleworks documents that appear as UNIX executable files?

A few of my old Appleworks or Clarisworks files won't open with Appleworks 6, but show up as a "UNIX executable file." I have tried adding the ".cwk" extension, repairing permissions using Disk Utility, and using Finder>File>Get info>Open to choose Apleworks 6 (it already was selected) as recommended by Peggy. With ".cwk" extension, I then get "that file appears to be damaged and cannot be opened."
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Hi Cloyd G,
welcome to Apple Discussions and the AppleWorks forum.
The 'UNIX executable file' classification error appears to arise mostly from the lack of a suffix (.cwk) on the original file. If adding the .cwk suffix does not make the file readable by AppleWorks, and gives a 'file appears to be damaged' message, then it's likely that the file has indeed been damaged.
If it's a word processor file, you could try opening it in a Text editor (such as Text Edit, supplied with OS X, or Text Wrangler, available free from Bare Bones Software). You'll get a large amount of junk (file meta data and formatting codes, etc.) with the text of your document somewhere in the middle. If you know a single word that is in (or is likely to be in) the document, a search using command-F should take you directly there. Copy the text and paste it into a new AW document.
For spreadsheet files, you can try dragging the file and dropping it onto a new, empty spreadsheet document. The same technique may also work for database files. I've never tried or seen recommended the same texchnique for Draw or Paint files, but attemptng it should do no harm.
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Hi warpdesign,
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~~~~
   University politics are vicious precisely because the
   stakes are so small.
         -- C. P. Snow

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Gary Looft wrote:
They show up as Unix executable files
Kurt is very likely right, but we need more info to try to fix it.
Server details?
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What protocol do you use?
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me ~$ file pulse-cookie
pulse-cookie: data
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Hi guys,
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Hi warpdesign,
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~~~~
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<Post Relocated by Moderator>

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OT

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..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?
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Welcome to Apple Discussions!
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more
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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
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What is an unix executable file that appeared in my folder?

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