Typehunter Mac OS
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Solving Mac File Amnesia with Type & Creator Codes
I recently received a request for help from a research group who had an old Macintosh file they couldn’t open. The file was created in the late 1980s in a statistical research program, but they couldn’t extract the contents no matter what they tried. The data was not stored in text format, and the file had developed a case of amnesia: it didn’t know what it was, and no software could recognize it.
Old Mac files contain two embedded strings, called Type and Creator codes, which tell the Mac OS what kind of file it is and which program was used to create it. An equivalent kind of file type identification is used in most operating systems (including Mac OS X) in the form of a three character extension after the filename, e.g., filename.txt. This embedded data was missing on my client’s file, which is not uncommon when files have been copied across multiple disks and platforms over many years.
My client thought the file was originally created in a program called StatView. I found an archived copy of the software online at the Macintosh Garden (a great resource for Mac Abandonware), and tried to open the file. No go. I also tried some other statistics programs I have around for good measure, but nothing worked.
Next I launched Statview again and created a couple of test files, in both the “StatView4.1” and “old StatView” formats. This creates samples which contain the correct type/creator codes. Using File Buddy – another venerable old utility – I applied these codes to copies of the original file, then tried to open the copies. The file tagged as “old StatView” did the trick and opened no problem. Sweet. From there it was easy to export the data in text format (TSV), then import into Excel for use with modern computers.
For a situation like this it helps to have some guess as to the original software used. Creating sample files in various formats is a helpful way to apply educated guesses about missing type/creator codes to other amnesiac files – assuming you can find a copy of the software in the first place.
My client was thrilled to hear the news, they’d been working on this file for some time and had already gone down several dead ends. I asked what the data was for, and was told the following:
The data is from a European researcher. I am conducting what is called a “systematic review” which involves looking at every piece of data in a given area, in this case, vegetarian diets and weight loss. If I do not incorporate all the data (even those kept in old software in a foreign language) then my findings would not be considered complete.
You’ve saved science!
Nice. It’s not every day one gets to save science. Vintage Macs to the rescue!
It was great to see The Macintosh Picasso Dealer Sign on your site. I’ve had one since about 1991, which I purchased at a flea market in Cupertino. I have rarely seen on on eBay or elsewhere, and have no idea what value they may have. Without asking what you may have paid, could you speculate on the range of asking prices that you have seen recently? Mine is in quite nice condition and the lamp works fine. Thanks from a Mac user since 1986, and still going.
Hi, I have tried to follow your suggestion, but no way to open the file. Actually recovering these data would be very important to me for scientific reason, but I really don’t know which way to turn. So you have any further suggestion.
I thank you in advance
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Here are some examples of some good Hunter class macros:
Pet Macros:
/cast [pet,mod:shift] Dismiss Pet<br />/cast [nopet,button:2]Call Pet 2; [nopet,mod:shift]Call Pet 3; [nopet,mod:ctrl]Call Pet 4; [nopet,mod:alt]Call Pet 5; [nopet]Call Pet 1
If a pet is out and you're holding down [shift], then it will dismiss your pet. If you have no pet out and you push 'button 2', it will call your second pet. If you have no pet and hold down [shift], it will call your third pet. If you have no pet out and you hold down [ctrl], it will call your fourth pet. If you have no pet out and you hold down [alt], it will call your fifth pet. Otherwise, it will call your first pet.
#shotooltip<br />/cast [button:1,modifier] Revive Pet<br />/cast [button:1,@pet,exists] Mend Pet<br />/cast [button:2,@pet,noexists] Call Pet<br />/cast [button:2,modifier] Dismiss Pet
If you're holding down a modifier and you click 'button 1', you'll revive your pet. If your pet exists and you click 'button 1', it will cast 'Mend Pet'. If your pet does not exist and you click 'button 2', it will call your pet. If you're holding down a modifier and you click 'button 2', it will dismiss your pet.
Trap Macros:
#showtooltip<br />#show Explosive Trap<br />/castsequence reset=15 Trap Launcher, Explosive Trap
This will first cast 'Trap Launcher', then once used again, it will cast 'Explosive Trap'. The macro will reset in 15 seconds or when the sequence is complete. The reset is 15 seconds because that is how long the buff 'Trap Launcher' lasts. For all the traps you want just replace 'Explosive' with whichever trap you want.
#showtooltip <br />/stopcasting<br />/stopattack<br />/cast [modifier:alt] Ice Trap; Freezing Trap
This will stop your attacking and casting so that you will not accidently break your traps. If you're holding down [alt] you will cast Ice Trap, if not, you will cast Freezing Trap.
#showtooltip<br />/castsequence reset=15 Trap Launcher,!Freezing Trap<br />/cast [mod:alt]Ice Trap<br />/cast [mod:shift]Snake Trap<br />/cast [mod:ctrl]Explosive trap
This will cast Trap Launcher, then cast Freezing Trap once click again. If you're holding down [alt] it will cast Ice Trap. If you're holding down [shift] it will cast Snake Trap. If you're holding down [ctrl] it will cast Explosive Trap.
Typehunter Mac Os Download
For Survival Hunter:
#showtooltip<br />/focus [mod]<br />/clearfocus [@focus,dead]<br />/cast [@focus,harm,nodead] Wyvern Sting
Misdirection Macros:
It is highly advised you use more than one Misdirection macro, just in case there are different situtations that call for different
uses of MD.
#showtooltip<br />/cast [@focus,help][help][@pet,exists] Misdirection
This will cast 'Misdirection' if your focus target is friendly, if you don't have a focus target then it will look for your current
target and cast it on them, if none of those exist then it will cast it on your pet.
#showtooltip<br />/focus [help]<br />/stopmacro [help]<br />/cast [@focus,exists] Misdirection;[@pet,exists] Misdirection
This will set your focus target to whatever your target is, but it will not set your focus to an unfriendly target, the macro
will stop. You only have to set your focus target once. After this, it will cast 'Misdirection' on your focus target, if it
exists. If none of this is true, then it will cast 'Misdirection' on your pet, if it exists.
#showtooltip <br />/cast [@focus,help][@focustarget,help][@target,help][@targettarget,noplayer,help][@pet,nodead,exists] Misdirection
This will cast 'Misdirection' at your focus target and it's friendly, if not, then it will cast at your unfriendly focus target's
target, if not, then it will cast at your current target if it's friendly, if not, then it will cast at your unfriendly target's
target, if not, it will cast at your pet if it's not dead and exists. Be careful when yo use '[@targettarget] for your Misdirection
macros, your enemy target may be attacking a healer and you do not want your threat to go to them. It is highly advised that you
use two to three variations of this macro.
Hunter's Mark Macros:
#showtooltip Hunter's Mark<br />/assist [@focus, exists]<br />/cast [harm] Hunter's Mark;<br />/focus [help]This will assist your focus target if you have one. Then, it will cast 'Hunter's Mark' at an unfriendly target. The last line will
set your focus target if you don't already have one and your target is friendly (hopefully your tank) - you only need to do that
once.
#show Hunter's Mark<br />/cast !Aspect of the Hawk<br />/cast Hunter's Mark
This will toggle 'Aspect of the Hawk' on, and keep it on, before casting a 'Hunter's Mark'.
#showtooltip Hunter's Mark<br />/assist [@focus, exists]<br />/cast !Aspect of the Hawk<br />/cast [harm] Hunter's Mark;<br />/focus [help]
This is simply a combination of the two previous macros. This will assist your focus, cast 'Aspect of the Hawk' if it's not on
already, then cast 'Hunter's Mark' on your focus target's target. The last line will set your focus target if you don't already
have one and your target is friendly (hopefully your tank) - you only need to do that once.
#showtooltip Hunter's Mark<br />/assist [@focus, exists]<br />/cast !Aspect of the Hawk;<br />/cast [harm] Hunter's Mark;<br />/startattack [harm]<br />*/focus [party]
Mac Os Catalina
This is another version of the previous macro. This has '/startattack' added in, so I wouldn't use it as your main Hunter's Mark macro,
but it is great for switching targets in the heat of battle. *I put '/focus [party]' because sometimes your focus target might be
targetting a friendly NPC, and if you assist your focus target, and they're targetting a friendly NPC, your focus target will switch to
that NPC, which can get annoying. I would still be careful with this because your tank might be targetting a healer, then it would
switch your focus to that healer. Honestly, I wouldn't put in that last line unless you want to change focus targets on the fly and you
know what target is going to be set to focus target.
#showtooltip Hunter's Mark<br />/assist [@focus, exists]<br />/cast !Aspect of the Hawk;<br />/cast [harm] Hunter's Mark;<br />/startattack [harm]<br />/petattack [harm]
This is the final version of the Hunter's Mark macro. I have taken out the setting of the party member as a focus and replaced it
with my pet attacking the assist target that I have gotten. I suggest setting your focus target manually, just in case your focus target
is targetting something that the macro can set as a focus target. This will also send your pet to attack your focus target's target,
which will happen as soon as you switch targets, which is quicker than WoW's 'petassist' mode, espcially if you're casting a spell or
ability that take a few seconds.