Unable to open QuarkXPress files

[Ferkner]

Hello 

I'm new here; brand new. I will start out by saying I have never been a Mac person. Not a fan of using it, used Mac a bit in college and did not like how things worked.

That being said, last weekend I picked up an iMac G3 (in blue) running Mac OS 9. the reason for this is because I have the original layout files for a page from the August 1995 issue of GamePro magazine. The Video Game History Foundation was given all the backup discs containing the files used to put the magazine together when it closed. Needless to say they have been having trouble finding a quick way to open these and have them look good using QXP 4 for Windows. I thought I would give it a go as well and found a cheap G3 locally.

On this G3 I have installed various versions of QuarkXPress from 3.x to 5. When I go to the open dialog in any of those program, none of the files in the folder for this page layout show up. I know the OS "remembers" which files go with which programs but my version doesn't seem to. Even if I open the location of the program executable and frag one of the files on it, Quark opens but doesn't have anything to work with.

I went as far as opening up several of the files in a hex editor and while most of the extension-less files didn't reveal much, one file did. I am hoping someone can help me make sense of the following which is the first part of the file that I thought gave me some clues:

Code: [Select]

<v1.60><e0>
@header:DOCUMENT
@doc info:Source Pathname:<bh:09>PROD:Finals for Prod Manager:Collect for CR:GamePro:Penn&Teller/SCD
Destination Pathname:<bh:09>MDFT_outBasket:6/5 GP:Penn/GP58:
Last modified: 3:09 PM; 6/2/95
Document Size: 563K
Most recently saved version: 3.31r5
Document has been saved by the following versions of QuarkXPress:
<bh:09>3.10r0
<bh:09>3.11r2
<bh:09>3.20r1
<bh:09>3.20r2
<bh:09>3.30r0 Macintosh format
<bh:09>3.31r2 Macintosh format
<bh:09>3.31r5
Total Pages: 1
Page Width: 48p
Page Height: 64p6
@header:Required XTensions:
@XT info:
@header:Active XTensions:
@XT info:<bh:09>Thing-a-ma-Bob; <bh:09>Frontier<bh:aa> Menu Sharing 2.0; <bh:09>NetworkConnection (3.1); <bh:09>Kern/Track Editor; <bh:09>Cool Blends; <bh:09>CopySpecs; <bh:09>JPEG Import; <bh:09>MacWrite; <bh:09>Multiple Master Utilities (3.2); <bh:09>Microsoft<bh:a8> Word 4.0; <bh:09>Microsoft<bh:a8> Works 2.0; <bh:09>Pasteboard XT <bh:a9>1994 Markzware; <bh:09>PCX Import; <bh:09>PhotoCD XTension; <bh:09>QuarkPrint 1.04; <bh:09>Stylin<bh:d5> 1.0.2; <bh:09>Typesetting marks (3.0); <bh:09>WordPerfect<bh:a8> 2.0.2; <bh:09>WriteNow<bh:a8> 3.0 Import; <bh:09>WriteNow; <bh:09>XPress Tags; <bh:09>Stars and Stripes 1.0

@header:DOCUMENT FONTS
Am I correct to guess that it's not working because I am missing a bunch of Xtensions? If so, how do you install Xtensions on the make version of QXP? Or is it a case of the OS not knowing that these files are QXP files?

[IIO]

from what i can tell the listed extension should not be "required" - or at least QX 4.11 should throw an error.

(do the files have a proper quark icon? did you already try to open them using the file menu?)

[Mat]

As IIO I think it could be a problem of your files with damaged Ressource forks. Tell us aout the icons of your files, and how the files have been stored/transported.

[Ferkner]

I tried opening them in the File menu in QXP 3.32, 4.0, 4.1, and 5. They do not show up in the open dialogue box. Within Mac OS they appear as white paper icons with a folded corner that say PC. I posted on another form and was advised that when files are moved to non-Mac systems and back, they tend to shed their Mac-specific metadata and they probably lost their QuarkXPress "type" and "creator" codes. These files were taken off CD backups. I don't know how the CDs were created but at some point the files for this page were moved over to a Windows machine because the VGHF was able to create the page using AXP4 for Windows. However it was a lot of work. So these files went from a Mac to a Windows machine and now back to a Mac.

Anyhow, I was told to use FileTyper to change the type to XDOC and the creator to XPR3. Once I did this they gained actual icons that seem to belong to QuarkXPress. However I still could not open them.

I was also told that Pasteboard XT 1994 from Markzware is probably the other culprit, as it was notorious for preventing QXP documents opening on systems that didn't have this extension, where the document had been created on systems that had it installed. I tried installing Pasteboard XTerminator but it did not help. The version of QXP 3.32 that I have has an Xtensions folder and another folder called Xtra-Xtenstions-PPC, I guess for running on a PPC Mac and not the 68K Mac.

If you want to take a look at the files they are here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1-r6IfEgHq9iCE_rYdqwj3poe5yRi7kjg/view.

And here is the original Twitter post about this GamePro page where you can also see the link to the files in case there is any worry about something nefarious being contained in the zip file: https://twitter.com/frankcifaldi/status/1240750931836194822

[paule]

Hi,
I would give the OS9 app "ResEdit" a try. Just download it here:
https://macintoshgarden.org/apps/resedit

After you have started it, go to file-menu and select "Get info for..." and open your document. Then type in the field Type "XDOC" and in the field Creator "XPR3". Save it and close Resedit.
Then just throw the file again on a QuarkXpress version and it should open.
Hopefully.

Best, paule.

[DieHard]

I would give the OS9 app "ResEdit" a try. Just download it here:
https://macintoshgarden.org/apps/resedit

After you have started it, go to file-menu and select "Get info for..." and open your document. Then type in the field Type "XDOC" and in the field Creator "XPR3". Save it and close Resedit.
Then just throw the file again on a QuarkXpress version and it should open.
Hopefully.

Best, paule.

Great info !

You can also try "File Buddy 7" which is a super easy and simple to use (and it's now free), it can change hundreds of files at once and fix creator
https://www.skytag.com/file_buddy/version07/

For those who live in the distant past…

File Buddy 7.6 is still available for individuals using Mac OS 9 or Mac OS X 10.1-10.2.8. We no longer sell File Buddy 7, but we do provide a free license for anyone who would like to use it.
Freeware License

FB7-03011-4821409051-7167

Change Creator CM

The 'Change Creator CM' plug-in adds a Change Creator submenu to your contextual menus that contains commands for files, given that all currently selected items are files. The items in the submenu are the same as what appears in the creator pop-up menu in File Buddy's info window. Selecting a creator changes the creator of all selected files.

[Ferkner]

Hi,
I would give the OS9 app "ResEdit" a try. Just download it here:
https://macintoshgarden.org/apps/resedit

After you have started it, go to file-menu and select "Get info for..." and open your document. Then type in the field Type "XDOC" and in the field Creator "XPR3". Save it and close Resedit.
Then just throw the file again on a QuarkXpress version and it should open.
Hopefully.

Best, paule.

It seems to do the same thing as FileTyper, which I already used to change the Type to XDOC and Creator to XPR3. I still get the same error as before, "This document can't be opened by this version of QuarkXPress [17]".

I'm communicating with the guy who made the files available to see if he has versions laying around that weren't moved to a Windows computer at some point.

[IIO]

They do not show up in the open dialogue box. Within Mac OS they appear as white paper icons with a folded corner that say PC.

aha, okay, so it is the resource fork - many programs would still open such a file from the menu, and even fix it by "save in" -  quark obviously does not.

not sure what is stored inside (styles? meta?) but it is probably something important enough to declare the file corrupt.

[Ferkner]

I've given up the files that were in that Google Drive link. Bringing them to Windows and then back seems to have messed them up and for the other files with no extension it's hard to know what they were originally. Thankfully he sent me two ISO files with a bunch of the work for that issue, burned to CD at the GamePro office back in the day, the files being untouched by Windows. I made a CD of one to try it out, and I can open the files properly. I get a warning about "Some settings saved with this document are different than those in the 'XPress' preference file: Hyphenation exceptions do not match. May cause reflow. Custom frames may not be available, etc.". I am missing a bunch of fonts, but he also sent those to me so I just have to figure out where they get installed.

[Mat]

I've given up the files that were in that Google Drive link. Bringing them to Windows and then back seems to have messed them up and for the other files with no extension it's hard to know what they were originally.

Like IIO and I suspected, the Ressource forks are damaged. You could give it still a try with special programs like "Resorcerer" ( http://www.mathemaesthetics.com/ResorcererIndex.html ) , but it sounds like this is not necessary for you anymore.

Thankfully he sent me two ISO files (…) I made a CD of one to try it out, and I can open the files properly.

  Great that you got the ISOs. You can mount them directly without burning a CD, with various programs like for example Adaptec/Roxio "Toast".

I am missing a bunch of fonts, but he also sent those to me so I just have to figure out where they get installed.

Either you are using a professional font manager like Extensis "Suitcase" or Adobes "ATM Deluxe" or you just drag your fonts into your fonts folder inside your system folder. Here is a nice howto with screenshots: https://www.fonts.com/support/faq/installing-fonts
Do not forget to use "ATM light" for PS fonts in any case!

[Ferkner]

I am missing a bunch of fonts, but he also sent those to me so I just have to figure out where they get installed.

Either you are using a professional font manager like Extensis "Suitcase" or Adobes "ATM Deluxe" or you just drag your fonts into your fonts folder inside your system folder. Here is a nice howto with screenshots: https://www.fonts.com/support/faq/installing-fonts
Do not forget to use "ATM light" for PS fonts in any case!
[/quote]

I dumped all the fonts into the Fonts folder on the iMac but it didn't seem to work. I think I came across that site when I was troubleshooting. It could also be that the fonts Quark was saying were missing weren't on the backup disc. I tried using Suitcase, but it did not see any of the fonts. All the fonts are TTF and OTF.

[DieHard]

It could also be that the fonts Quark was saying were missing weren't on the backup disc.

Absolutely, the original "production" mac obviously had all the fonts installed, but perhaps he did not "updated" the library of font installs that he gave you on the CD, the fonts in the project are references to fonts that must be installed on the system.  It should "substitute" them when possible to a similar font; lastly, ask him if he has a backup on the production mac without the projects included, at least you'll have more fonts.

[Ferkner]

I think I found the fonts. Looking at them in Windows they show up as files with no extension and are 0KB. They have the names of the fonts that were missing in the files. Now I am just trying to find the best way to get them into the right place. Moving them off the disc to Windows and then to a USB drive causes them to show up as locked PC files that are 0KB, so that's no good. I'm trying to use Sherlock 2 to search for them since they are in all sorts of folders, but the search is so basic that I have to search the entire hard drive and can't tell it to only look in specific folders. I feel that once I get these fonts in place I won't have the font problem in Quark anymore.

[Ferkner]

Something mess up when getting all the fonts installed and now I have new problems: http://macos9lives.com/smforum/index.php/topic,5842.0.html

[IIO]

there is a limit of fonts which OS9 accepts in the folder, i.e. you cannot install them CD-wise.

[Ferkner]

How do I know which ones are needed by the system and which ones I can take out of the fonts folder? I have suitcase working decently now, so I can use that for all the extra fonts. However Suitcase doesn't seem to see OTF and TTF fonts, so those I would have to install I guess. I tried doing that with some but they were still flagged as missing by Quark. There are only a handful left as far as I know that I need to get working and I can't seem to get them to take for the life of me. Does Mac OS 9 even like TTF fonts? If I find them online, do I have to download them onto a Mac so they never touch my Windows computer? It seems the only fonts that want to work are ones native to Mac OS; the suitcased ones and the ones that operate by resource fork.

Someone also mentioned using ATM Light. I would like to so the text looks better in Quark but I can't find it anywhere. Does someone know where it is or is it just known as Adobe Type Manager 4.6.2?

[IIO]

yeah we have otf, ttf and postscript.

i dont now what the limit is or how different types add up to it (i think it mostly applies to ttf) but there should be no need to reduce the defaults.

my recommendation is to tint the default fonts with a blue label color and your personal additions with another color. then you can sort stuff better manually if required and always see what has been newly installed by programs.

note that you might have to reboot after new you added new fonts. (i cant tell offhand for which type of fonts that statement is true but i remember it well)

[Ferkner]

yeah we have otf, ttf and postscript.

i dont now what the limit is or how different types add up to it (i think it mostly applies to ttf) but there should be no need to reduce the defaults.

my recommendation is to tint the default fonts with a blue label color and your personal additions with another color. then you can sort stuff better manually if required and always see what has been newly installed by programs.

note that you might have to reboot after new you added new fonts. (i cant tell offhand for which type of fonts that statement is true but i remember it well)

I am in the process of maybe just reinstalling Mac OS 9.1 and starting from scratch. That way I can see what all the default fonts are (and mark them as you suggested) and then experiment with adding my own to see if Quark will even recognize them if they are OTF or TTF.

Last night I downloaded the fonts Quark said were missing. I did this on the Mac Mini I also acquired; got the Post Script, OpenType, TrueType and DFONT versions. I used Font Finagler (I think that's the name) to supposedly make the DFONT versions usable in OS 9, but that didn't work. Suitcase did not see the PS, OTF or TTF versions, and Quark didn't think they were present when I installed them into the Font folder.

I know these fonts existed on the system back in the day. Is there a repository of old Mac fonts that use the resource fork/data fork storage method somewhere on the web?

[Mat]

Ferkner it seems to me you are mixing up a lot of things. Please try to inform yourselve about fonts at Mac OS 9, so you will understand for example, that you have to "activate" a font either by the OS or by an ATM for example, so that it is available to all other programs via the OS. That means for example that "Quark" always can use what the OS offers. Btw. very few programs have own or additional "font-systems".

Here are some further unsorted hints, regarding to where I see missunderstandings from your side:

ATM light was formerly "ATM". You need any ATM (light or deluxe) for using PostScript fonts. Below the version 4.5.2 ATM does not work with Mac OS 9 (just 8.6 or below). The last version for Mac OS 9 is 4.6.2, for example here:
https://www.macintoshrepository.org/172-adobe-type-manager-4-6-2

A font manager is for activating the fonts that you need (on the fly, without rebooting the programs). So usually you have your system fonts active, and several thousands in your manager, but you just activate the few (10 or 20) additional that you need (as you would not like to scroll thru thousands of fonts in every menue of your programs). Suitcase is the better manager, and can do things automatically for you (read the manual).
ATM light is not a manager, but a "PS System" that is providing PS fonts for your Operating System and the displaying of PS fonts. You need ATM light even if you use Suitcase as manager.

If you like to use OTF fonts, you need to use "ATM Deluxe" as font manager. Suitcase cannot handle OTF (sadly)!
ATM deluxe can be found here for exaple: https://macintoshgarden.org/apps/adobe-type-manager-46-w-adobe-type-reunion-26

TrueType as PS Type 1 Fonts are different for Mac OS and Windows. They are differently "packed" and with different informations, so that you have to use Mac or Win fonts! You cannot simply use the one at the other plattform. There are converters in existance that can convert your Type 1 or TrueType Win fonts to Mac and vice versa.

If you cannot use the fonts, I suspect that you try to use Windows fonts at your Mac?

The 29 Mac OS 9 standard fonts are:
https://www.oreilly.com/library/view/mac-os-9/0201700042/0201700042_ch15lev1sec6.html
No need to reinstall the entire system

The Systme Folder can handle up to 128 fonts at the same time.

[macarone]

>The Systme Folder can handle up to 128 fonts at the same time.

Excellent summation!

And the set of fonts in the System Folder are actually numbered by the OS. You select the file by name, but the application picks it by number. If you  move a file you created to a different computer, with a different set of fonts, even if the different set has all the fonts you used, they may have been added to the second computer in a different order, and have a different number, and will not show correctly. You must select the text and then reselect the font name for it to be used correctly.

I seem to recall that the program FontMonger converted between font types well, even converting PC fonts to Mac fonts.