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- Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac.comm
- Path: sparky!uunet!usc!sol.ctr.columbia.edu!destroyer!terminator!leonardr
- From: leonardr@ccs.itd.umich.edu
- Subject: Re: Can Microphone II recognize down-loaded file type/creator?
- Message-ID: <1992Jul30.165321.16733@terminator.cc.umich.edu>
- Originator: leonardr@diddley.ccs.itd.umich.edu
- Sender: news@terminator.cc.umich.edu (Usenet Owner)
- Organization: Campus Computing Sites, University of Michigan-Ann Arbor
- References: <1992Jul30.144442.24523@engage.pko.dec.com>
- Date: Thu, 30 Jul 1992 16:53:21 GMT
- Lines: 33
-
- In article <1992Jul30.144442.24523@engage.pko.dec.com> davis@gauss.enet.dec.com (Peter Davis) writes:
- >
- >I used to use ZTerm 0.9, which seemed automatically to recognize the
- >type/creator of most files I tried to down-load. Now I'm using Microphone II
- >4.something, and it seems really stupid. When I down loaded a UN*X tar file
- >with ZTerm, ZTerm said "Aha! TARF/TAR." Microphone II with the same file
- >said, "Duh, huh?"
- >
- >Is there anyway to make MPII smarter, or do I have to put the type/creator in
- >by hand for each file?
- >
- What you have discovered is a "feature" of ZTerm that Dave Alverson
- calls "Smart MacBinary". This "feature" keeps a list of known types and
- creators and pairs them with a combination of file endings (like .tar) and
- file contents (like a GIF header). This is why ZTerm can "auto type" your
- newly downloaded files that were not in MacBinary format (remember that non-
- MacBinary files don't have this info!).
-
- MicroPhone does not have this "feature" as we felt that it had
- some possible drawbacks and offered the possibility of data loss should a file
- be typed incorrectly and then the opening app damage the contents. If you'd
- like to see this in a future MPII, send EMail to paul@svcdudes.com.
-
-
- Disclaimer: I am a former employee of Software Ventures and the former Sr.
- Software Engineer on MicroPhone II 3.0 & 4.0. I no longer am affiliated with
- SVC other than as an interested party (and they are still good friends ;-)
-
- --
- -----------------------------------------------------------------------
- Leonard Rosenthol Internet: leonardr@ccs.itd.umich.edu
- Director of Advanced Technology AppleLink: MACgician
- Aladdin Systems, inc. GEnie: MACgician
-