[net.micro.mac] Does anyone have MacDraw file format documentation?

bradn@tekig4.UUCP (Bradford Needham) (06/14/85)

The main problem of writing a MacDraw -> Pic converter is the lack of
documentation of the MacDraw file format.  Has anybody seen a description
of a MacDraw file?

I had hoped that "Inside Mac" would describe the formats of data files for
all of the Apple programs, but instead it only describes MacPaint format.
Does Apple's idea of a "closed system" mean that their file formats will not
be available even to developers?

Apple should realize that releasing their file formats will help their sales
in several ways: People will write programs to convert their own data into,
say, MacDraw format, causing more MacDraw sales; others will write programs
that process or create MacDraw or MacWrite files, making the Mac more useful
and competitive.

Look at the number of add-on image digitizers that create MacPaint files --
how many of those products would not exist if Apple hadn't described the
MacPaint format?


Brad Needham
...tektronix!tekig4!bradn