I have been using Macintosh since 1987 to make documentation for the training of AXE (a telephone exchange) operation and maintenance staff. Over the years I have used every Macintosh from Macintosh Plus to Power Macintosh 6100/66. I have also used a lot of different applications to create text and pictures for this documentation. In the beginning it was MacWrite, MacPaint, MacDraw an MacDraft. Today it is PageMaker, Freehand and Photoshop. This means that I have a lot of old files that I can't access anymore, because I do not longer have the original application. Sometimes I can find a copy of the old app but it will not run on my brand new Power Mac. Another problem is that I can't even identify the files. I can no longer determine wich application that created them. Well, actually I can. I have learned to read the fourcharacter type and creator codes. (I thought four letter words meant something completely different)
Files unknown due to missing applications.
What I have done
To make it easier for me to identify my old files, I have made fileidentifiers, FIID. A FIID is a file that contains BNDL, FREF, ICN#, ics# and signature resources taken from an original application and modified. All the CODE and other “unnecessary” resources are removed.
Thanks to the fileidentifiers my old files are identified by Finder as e.g. FreeHand 2-document instead of just a plain document with a generic icon. To open the now identified file I can try a newer version of the same application or some other application that I know can handle this type of file.
Files identified after loading FIIDs.
Note! The file identifier is not an application and does not do anything apart from supplying Finder with a set of icons and creator/type codes. To show that it is not an application I have modified the original application Icon so that it displays the word "FIID".
A fileidentifier for PageMaker 3 and a dummy file.
I have uploaded a bunch of FIIDs to InfoMac and I hope others will do the same. It would be valueable to have identifiers for the most common applications like Nisus Writer, Canvas, Fractal Painter and others.
For each uploaded FIID there is also a DummyFile. That file does not contain any valid data and you should not try to open it. It is there only to show that the FIID works. I will try to convince InfoMac moderators to keep the FIIDs as separate files and not group them together in one single archive file. The reason for this is that you should not download and unstuff a FIID you don’t need. This may confuse your Finder. Everything will continue to work normally but you may loose your color icons. If this should happen then remove the FIID and rebuild your desktop files.
All the FIIDs I have uploaded may be used and redistributed freely.
How to make a FIID
Find an application you want to turn into a fileidentifier. If the application contains a data fork it should be removed. You can do that with ForkZapper, Norton Disk Editor or any similar tool. Then use ResEdit to remove all resources except BNDL, FREF, ICN# and the signature resource. You can identify the signature resource by opening the BNDL resource. The signature resource is the resource with the same name as the signature displayed in the BNDL editor.
You could keep the color icon resources for cosmetic reasons but I usually remove them to save harddisk space.
While you are working within the BNDL window, change the type code "APPL" to "FIID".
The BNDL resource with the signature code hilighted and APPL changed to FIID.
Within the BNDL window you may also doubleclick on the application icon. This opens the icon editor. Here you can modify the icon. Don’t forget to change the icon mask at the bottom of the icon editor window. You may also complement the icon with a small icon like the [FIID] in the picture above. Now close the icon and the BNDL editors.
Remaining resource types after editing.
Now doubleclick the ICN# icon. This will list all your ICN#s. Remove all unnecessary ICN#s. Many applications use icons for buttons and controls and we don’t need them anymore.
Finally you should use the command “Get info for <filename>” from the File menu. This opens the information editor where you should change the TYPE field from “APPL” to “FIID”. This is to ensure that Finder does not mistake the fileidentifier for an application. You have also made the same change in the BNDL editor.
The information editor. Notice the size of the file, only 2155 bytes. Don’t worry if your information window shows a bigger size. It will be small after you have saved your changes.
Now close all windows and save the changes. You will now notice that your application has a blank icon. This is normal since Finder is not updated on the changes. All you have to do is a restart and rebuild your Desktop files. Chose command “Restart” and press [Option] + [Command] keys until you get a question whether you want to rebuild the desktop files. Release the keys, answer OK and wait. When your Macintosh is finished you should see your fileidentifier with it’s modified icon. If you don’t, you have made a mistake somewhere or you have a copy of the original application somewhere on your harddisks.
