- Bounced digests

- Re: File extensions

- Re: File extensions

- Re: File extensions

- Re: The Digest V1 # 916

- File .txt extension

- Re: Re: Recipies for Portable Chef

Date: Tue, 11 Apr 2006
From: Digest administrator
Subject: Bounced digests

Hi all,
in the last time we're getting a big amount of bouncings (abt 30 each day).
I think this is, because I'm sending the digest from my GMX.de account. GMX is a cost free ISP, which allows the sending of SPAM. Therefore GMX.de is blocked by many antispam tools.
We will not more check the bounced digests.
But probably the digests nevertheless arrive in your boxes.
You can check this, if you open www.psioneering.co.uk/digests/indexj.html and compare the digests at this site with your mailbox. Usually I'm putting the recent digest at this site in a few hours after sending it.
If you didn't get some digests, please contact your ISP and ask them no more to block the digest address<address truncated>

With best regards
Rolf Vonau
The Digest Team

Date: 10 Apr 2006 07:14:55 +0100
From: Ian Chapple
Subject: Re: File extensions

Tim,

>>I have symbian text editor on my 5mx.  I have files which are .txt files although many of them I have been able to delete the .txt extension and they are still recognised as text files.  (So instead of it being
Name.txt, it is just Name, but it is still shown as a text file).

However I have one that if I remove the .txt extension then it shows up with a question mark and my 5mx cannot decide what type of file it is. Why does just this one do this while all the others know what type of file they are?

Can anyone shed some light on this, or explain how I can delete the .txt extension on this one file so that symbian text editor still knows that it is a text file?<<

To solve the problem, what you probably could do is the following:

* open the file (with the .txt extension) in Editor
* Save as... and choose a different filename (with or without .txt)
* close Editor
* delete (or rename, which is probably safer!!) the original problem file
* rename the new file, giving it the name you originally wanted, without the .txt extension.

I have seen the problem you mention on one or two occasions. I believe that EPOC is set up to recognise file types by UID (ie. a hidden ID code, usually corresponding to the UID of the application that created the file), by extension, and by content type. In most cases, removing .txt from a filename doesn't cause any problems, because EPOC still sees that the file is a text file; I suspect that in your case, your problem file contains some information (UID?) which causes EPOC to try to associate it with a particular application. Because this application is not installed (I assume), it doesn't know what to associate the file with, hence the question mark icon. Using the Save as... option in Editor should create a bona fide text file, which hopefully does not confuse EPOC in this way.

I hope this helps, Ian.

Date: 10 Apr 2006 07:57:19 +0100
From: José Luis Cruz <address truncated>
Subject: Re: File extensions

> Can anyone shed some light on this, or explain how I can delete the .txt extension on this one file so that symbian text editor still knows that it is a text file?

I think read about this anywhere...

Text files without .txt extension, for being recognized by text
editor, the first X number of characters (50? 100?, don't remember)
must be standard ansii characters, not extended ones. (accents, and so
on) If there is present some of that (á é ñ ü, etc) File is not
recognized like text. But i've not tested it.

Check if that file has some special characters at the beggining.

regards,
JL

Date: 10 Apr 2006 08:35:08 +0100
From: Carl von Einem <address truncated>
Subject: Re: File extensions

SIBO had a DOS like scheme of 8.3 names for files but EPOC uses something that is long known in the Apple Macintosh world (though I'm not sure about Apple's pre-Mac "Lisa" and older systems): information about the file type is stored inside the file. Pre OSX systems in fact used a second 'hidden' file to store 4 digit case sensitive "type" and also "creator" codes.

An extension like .txt might help if that file type is not existing or corrupt, i.e. when storing files on servers that are not aware of this. This is at least true for Macs, and also OSX has this habit of storing 'hidden' files (like "how should this beautiful directory window be displayed on my user's lovely desktop") almost everywhere which can sometimes be annoying.

Part of this might be helpful to understand why opening series 5 files from the "Desktop" follows a different behaviour as known from a WinDOS box:
Mac OS X knows about both (META information and extension) since it is a UNIX related OS and also knows about some Macintosh ancestors. So when a Mac user only works with his/her own files no extensions are needed (but trouble arises for the average user when exchanging such files over email etc).

On the Mac you can even tell a file to open in a special app when doubleclicked, e.g. a index.htm will open in Exploder with Creator=MSIE and Type=TEXT or in Mozzila/Firefox with MOZZ/TEXT or in my favourite HTML editor BBEdit with R*ch/TEXT. Lower case creator codes are reserved for Apple's apps. Please don't ask me for Safari's creator code...

It's easy to edit this information on the Mac using AppleScript or specialized tools but I'm not sure how to do this on EPOC devices.

Carl

From: The FD
>
> I have symbian text editor on my 5mx.  I have files which are .txt files > although many of them I have been able to delete the .txt extension and > they are still recognised as text files.  (So instead of it being
> Name.txt, it is just Name, but it is still shown as a text file).
> However I have one that if I remove the .txt extension then it shows up > with a question mark and my 5mx cannot decide what type of file it is. > Why does just this one do this while all the others know what type of
> file they are?
> Can anyone shed some light on this, or explain how I can delete the .txt > extension on this one file so that symbian text editor still knows that > it is a text file?

Date: 10 Apr 2006 08:56:41 +0100
From: Martin Maxwell <address truncated>
Subject: RE File extensions

Answer to: Tim The FD

Dear Tim,

For determining file type Symbian/EPOC makes use of Unique Identifyers (UIDs) stored in the file header rather than file extensions as the case is with DOS and Windows.

However, since certain Symbian applications also need to handle "alien" files, i.e. files generated by another OS, support for filename extensions can be implemented in Symbian on application level. For instance, if Symbian UIDs are not found in the file header, the application will look for a file extension.

In your first case, most likely the text file has a Symbian UID header. Therefore, deleting the .txt extension will not change how this file is recognised, because it is still recognised by it's UID.

You can check this in a Hexeditor. The first three longs of the file should be:

UID1 = 0x10000037  // for stream format

UID2 = 0x1000006d  // for application generated in ER5 and earlier. If it's from a ER6 and later machines (in fact from ER5u and later) this long will be 0x10003a12 due to the need to differ between Unicode builds and narrow builds.

UID3 = 0x1000412b  // for Symbian text Editor - this is the application UID.

Take note that Symbian stores longs in Little Endian format. Hence 0x10000037 will appear as 0x37000010 in your Hex editor etc.

In your second case, a file which does not have the Symbian UID header but has a .txt extension will be recognised as a text file. But if you remove the .txt extension as well, there is no way the application can tell which type of file it is. Hence the questionmark.

Hope this can shed some light.

Kind regards
Martin Maxwell
http://www.dp.com.my
Kuala Lumpur - Malaysia

Date: 10 Apr 2006 10:31:28 +0100
From: "Dave Hankinson" <address truncated>
Subject: File .txt extension

Tim, the file needs at least 40 chars to be recognised as a text file without .txt.

Cheers
Dave

Date: 10 Apr 2006 11:33:56 +0100
From: *** <address truncated>
Subject: Re: Re: Recipies for Portable Chef

To: The FD <>
<<<<< I have had a look at the sites you have suggested and downloaded some files but they are all .MMF files.  As you said, I need .dat files!  Can you help?>>>>

Yeep!

see last paragraph in Chef Help
of course you also can merge 2  files

+ for  free (PC) recipes managers & converters see:

and specialy:
http://grecipe-manager.sourceforge.net

Hth
Jack