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You need to restore the file signature (more on this later).
>Facsconvert was
>explained to me, and the users's guide also states, that this program
>converts FCS 1.0 files to FCS 2.0.
Yes, it does.
>How then it also restores the infamous
>Mac data resource fork is a mystery to me.
No, it does not. It is true that Mac files have two parts: a data fork and
a resource fork. However, FCS files do not have a resource fork, and
therefore this fork cannot be restored. What does need to be restored are
the Type and Creator attributes (together known as the 'signature'). The
Creator usually refers to the application that created the file; for
example, MSWD is the Creator code for a file created by Microsoft Word. If
you save a file in MacWrite II format from Microsoft Word, the Creator code
changes to MWII. This change occurs because the Creator code is used to
find the application to launch when you open (double-click) a document file
(a MSWD file would launch Microsoft Word, while a MWII file would launch
MacWrite II). The Type usually refers to the kind of file; for example,
TEXT is the Type code for a Microsoft Word file saved as 'Text only'. If
you were to save the same file as a 'Normal' document, the Type would
change to WDBN.
>Ideally , we here would like to
>send our cellquest generated data files to our unix file server for offline
>analysis on PC's and Macs. The Verity House programs are quite happy with
>the file format. To run every file through Facsconvert so that it can be
>read on whatever Mac configuration we eventually come up with is a
>distressing thought. The error rate in file conversion seems to be quite high
>and most end users will find this whole procedure to be a pain in the neck.
You can do exactly what you want without any distress or pain. The trick is
to get a program that can change the signature back to BDLY (Creator) and
BDLM (Type). (If you forget the signature, most programs will let you
choose a file as an example of the signature you want to use). I found
about 22 different shareware/freeware programs on Info-Mac, a popular
repository for Macintosh programs. In fact, it is so popular that you must
use a mirror site to download from. I found a list of shareware archives on
the Apple WWW server at
<http://www2.apple.com/documents/shareware.html>,
and a list of Info-Mac mirrors at
<http://www.apple.com/info-mac/info-mac-mirrors.html>.
One of these programs is called File Buddy, and will let you create a drag-
and-drop applet to change the signature. Just select the FCS files in the
Finder and drop them on the applet; it took 4 seconds to do 30 files on a
Quadra 800.
/\/\/\_ Eric Van Buren, vanburen%flovax.dnet@rocdec.roc.wayne.edu
\ \ \ Analytical Cytometry, Karmanos Cancer Institute and
\_^_/ Immunology & Microbiology, Wayne State University, Detroit, MI
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