This package contains a translator to be used with Macintosh Easy Open which allows the system to automatically convert between the following formats:
• BMP
• EPSF (converts to EPSF but not from EPSF)
• GIF
• MacPaint
• PBM/PGM/PPM
• PICT
• PNG
• TIFF
Version 1.0.0 of the Bitmap Translator is free for non-commercial use by individuals and charitable organizations; others must pay a $10 fee (see below, “Legal Notice, Licence, and Shareware Fee”).
Installation
To install the translator, put the file “Bitmap Translators” into the Extensions folder inside the System Folder, then restart. It is possible (through the use of a utility program that registers component files) to install the translators without restarting, but this is not recommended; it seems to confuse the Finder.
Using the Translator
The Bitmap Translator allows you to open graphic files of the formats listed above, in applications that support any of those formats. Here’s an example: Suppose someone has sent you an Adobe Photoshop document that’s been saved as TIFF, called “04.tiff”; but you don’t have Adobe Photoshop. You do, however, have SimpleText, which can open PICT files. You double-click on 04.tiff, and the following dialog box appears (your list of applications will be different):
When you choose “SimpleText with Bitmap translation”, and click open, the following status dialog box appears:
This tells you that your file is being translated using this collection of translators. Once translation has finished, SimpleText will show you the contents of “04.tiff”:
Note: When you convert documents this way, Macintosh Easy Open puts the translated document in a folder called “Translated Documents” inside the Preferences folder in the System Folder. If you find yourself running out of disk space, you might want to throw out everything in this folder.
You can also translate documents to a particular format, by using a document converter; you should have a template document converter from when Macintosh Easy Open was installed. To setup a document converter for use with the Bitmap Translator, double-click on it. You should see a dialog box like the following:
Choose one of the options listed. The document converter will change its name; for instance, if you selected “TIFF picture with Bitmap translation”, it will look like this:
You can now drag pictures or folders containing pictures of any of the formats listed above onto the document converter, and they will be converted to TIFF. The converted files will usually have “.tiff” added to their names (the translator tries to be intelligent about how it changes the names of files it translates).
Translation
The translator attempts to produce a file which has pixels as close as possible to those in the original. It keeps track of the resolution of its input, and if possible keeps that in its output. However, there are some things it doesn’t do:
• Some formats have a restricted range or number of colors; for instance MacPaint format has only black-and-white. The translator does not dither the result; it assumes that its input file is really only a black-and-white file, and maps darker colors to black and lighter colors to white. GIF files can only handle 256 colors; if you try to convert a file with more than 256 colors (or one that seems to have more than 256 colors, even if it does not) the conversion fails.
• Some formats allow you to store information about the author, copyright, how to index the picture, and so on; this information is ignored.
• Some formats keep colorimetry information; this is ignored.
• Some formats allow partly-transparent pictures; when converted, these pictures become opaque.
Bugs
Please report any bugs to geoffk@ozemail.com.au. Be sure to mention:
• The version of the Bitmap Translator, which you can determine by choosing Get Info… on the “Bitmap Translators” file in the Finder;
• The format of the file you were trying to convert;
• Where you got the file from;
• The application program you were trying to open the file with, or the type you were trying to convert the file to; and
• What went wrong.
Legal Notice, Licence, and Shareware Fee
The author does not claim that the Bitmap Translator is suitable for any purpose whatsoever. Because the Bitmap Translator is provided free of charge, no warranty is provided. The author accepts no liability or responsibility of any sort for any loss or damage resulting from the use or operation of this software.
This documentation, and the Bitmap Translator, are Copyright 1996 Geoffrey Keating.
The Bitmap Translator may be used and distributed by individuals and charitable organizations, so long as any fees charged in relation to its use or distribution do not exceed costs, and the translator is kept together with its documentation.
The translator may be licensed for use that does not fit the above description by sending:
• A check drawn on an Australian bank, or international postal money order for $A10; or
• $US10 in US currency (sending cash through the mail is discouraged, but…); or
• A check drawn on a US bank for $US20.
If you have a choice, I would prefer the first of the above; it’s less work for me.
If you double the above amounts (that is, $A20, or whatever), I will also send you the latest revision of the translators on floppy. The shareware fee includes any minor and bugfix revisions; that is, up to version 2.0.
Send the fee to:
Geoffrey Keating
PO Box 2043
Woden ACT 2606
Australia
Signature
This documentation, the Bitmap Translators file, and the Stuffit archive they are distributed in, are all signed by me using PowerTalk. The purpose of this is to give some reassurance that the program has not been tampered with in transit. To check a signature, choose “Get Info” in the Finder, and click on the icon next to the space for comments. If you don’t see an icon, either the signatures have been removed or you’re not running PowerTalk.
You don’t need to install all of PowerTalk just to support signatures; all you actually need is the file named “PowerTalk Extension”, and the “PowerTalk Setup” control panel.
