[Gllug] Opening MacBinary files in Linux

[Kim Hawtin]

On Thu, Jun 06, 2002 at 04:37:46PM +0100, mriscott at yahoo.co.uk wrote:
> > I'm not too up on Macs but as I understand it MacBinary format is
> > like a wrapper that stores the data and metadata separately and I just
> > need to extract the data.
> 
> Hmm.  The thing with macs is that the data and metadata are stored in
> separate "forks" of the file (known as the data and resource forks).
> What MacBinary does is to munge them into the data fork, producing one
> "normal" file, which can be passed over FTP, etc.
> 
> Typically, mac formats will store different stuff in data and resource
> forks - so you wouldn't necessarily be able to open them with windows
> word, let alone abiword.  You might expect to get text-without-pictures
> or something, but you may well just get something unreadable.
> 
> 
> If you unMacBinary a file on a "single-fork" filesystem, I guess you'd
> either just get the data fork (I think thats what stuffit expander does
> on windows), or you'd get the resource fork hidden in a .Resource.frk
> directory or somesuch.
> 
> You may find the only way to get the data out is to load it on a mac
> and Save As word for windows or somesuch.
> 
> Sorry - I know that's probably not what you want to hear.
> 
> Having said that, IIRC the text is available in the middle of a word doc
> - if you edit it with a normal text editor, you may be able to extract
> that - but obviously you will then lose formatting, pictures, etc.

there is also a couple of programs for windows that allow you to 
de-binhex the damn things ...

there was a port to solaris some time ago, but not seen it in years.

yours,

kim
~ it just occurs to me, is BinHex and MacBinary the same thing?
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