ubi@ginger.sri.com (Ron Ueberschaer x4399) (01/19/90)
I've been trying unsuccessfully to transfer a MacPaint
file to my Mac & then import it into HyperCard, etc.
I'm using a set of tools which converts bitmaps between a
large number of formats. One of the tools is called
pbmtomacp (portable bitmap to MacPaint converter). To
test it, I download it using the Kermit facility within
VersaTerm. (I'm starting from a Sun workstation.) The
data transfer seems to work OK, in Text or Binary mode
(not sure about the MacBinary mode...).
The problem is, the Mac refuses to recognize the transferred
file as a MacPaint document. I choose Import Paint from the
HyperCard menu & go to the folder with the document in it,
and nothing there is recognized. Is there a way to "tell"
the Mac that it is a MacPaint document?
Thanks in advance,
--Ron Ueberschaer
SRI International
ubi@unix.sri.com
...!{hplabs, rutgers}!sri-unix!ubiArmadillo@cup.portal.com (Russ Armadillo Coffman) (01/20/90)
>The problem is, the Mac refuses to recognize the transferred >file as a MacPaint document. I choose Import Paint from the >HyperCard menu & go to the folder with the document in it, >and nothing there is recognized. Is there a way to "tell" >the Mac that it is a MacPaint document? Assuming the file is indeed in MacPaint format once on your Mac disk, you need to set its "type" field to PNTG (case sensitive). This will let the file filters in HyperCard and other programs recognize it as a "paint" file (the filters keep every file from showing up in the Open dialog - only valid filetypes show). You can do this with ResEdit and any of a number of file utilities like DiskTop that let you edit file attributes. Open the file with such a tool and change the "type" field to PNTG. It is not really necessary to edit the "creator" field to that of MacPaint (MPNT) unless you want to launch MacPaint by double-clicking the file from the desktop. If you need to edit the picture first, any "paint" app or DA will be able to Open it from within that program once its type is set to PNTG. You could then copy a part of the picture to the Clipboard and paste it into HyperCard or whatever. If you get garbage, that probably means the conversion program didn't work correctly. If your conversion program is storing the paint file in MacBinary format, you'll need to use BinHex 5.0 (I think - been a while) to convert it. Normally Mac comm programs do this automatically while receiving a file, so you should be OK. -Russ Mac Guy Sales & Mac support whiz Still looking for MacWork