Mac to PC JPEG problem

[CarlSeiler]

One of our clients (not for my web stuff) has sent a series of JPEG files from a Macintosh. I have been unable to open them in any Adobe or Corel products or any image viewer that I have. They have JPG extensions, so Windows thinks that they're JPEG files, but as soon as I try to open them, software says that they're the wrong format and refuses to open them. I've looked at the file in a text viewer and it's a binary and looks like a JPEG to me. It looks like it was generated by Adobe Photoshop CS2. I'm thinking this has some sort of Macintosh meta data prepended to the file, and I just need to trim it off. I used to have a little utility in DOS that I used years ago for trimming Mac files, but I haven't run into this problem in a while, and I don't know where that DOS utility might be (on some 5.25 disc I'm sure). I've also fiddled with Stuffit to see if it was some BINHex problem, but I'm pretty sure that's not it, as I can see by looking at it that it's rather JPEG-looking. Stuffit doesn't work on it either, though.

I've read on the web that there's some way on the Mac version of Photoshop for the user to save it in a "web friendly" format, but I don't know if I want to have the client have to go back and re-save all the files if I can make it work here.

I'm attaching it in case anyone wants to have a go at it and give me a suggestion.

[ktinkel]

Originally Posted by CarlSeiler

One of our clients (not for my web stuff) has sent a series of JPEG files from a Macintosh. …

I'm attaching it in case anyone wants to have a go at it and give me a suggestion.

I would be glad to (as would others, I bet), but something went weird with your attachment (it says there is one but no thumbnail is shown and there is nothing to click on).

It could be that these are just plain old lousy files. I always thought a JPEG was a JPEG (or JPG), and have exchanged many of them with PC users.

See if you can get it attached and I’ll see if I can open it in Mac Photoshop CS2. Or anything else, for that matter.

[CarlSeiler]

Originally Posted by ktinkel

I would be glad to (as would others, I bet), but something went weird with your attachment (it says there is one but no thumbnail is shown and there is nothing to click on).

It could be that these are just plain old lousy files. I always thought a JPEG was a JPEG (or JPG), and have exchanged many of them with PC users.

See if you can get it attached and I’ll see if I can open it in Mac Photoshop CS2. Or anything else, for that matter.

I noticed that. I assure you I attached it.

I know the old jpeg is a jpeg is a jpeg bit, but I know I've run into this problem before. Going to try and attach again.

[CarlSeiler]

Originally Posted by CarlSeiler

I noticed that. I assure you I attached it.

I know the old jpeg is a jpeg is a jpeg bit, but I know I've run into this problem before. Going to try and attach again.

Hmmm. It goes, it appears in the list of files uploaded, but as soon as I post the message, it disappears. Maybe the forum software knows that it isn't a jpeg ;-)

[CarlSeiler]

Originally Posted by CarlSeiler

Hmmm. It goes, it appears in the list of files uploaded, but as soon as I post the message, it disappears. Maybe the forum software knows that it isn't a jpeg ;-)

OK, here's the file in a zip.

[Robin Springall]

I think it's just a corrupt file: it won't open here in Preview or Photoshop CS2 on OSX. How did you get these files: email or CD? If email, were they loose or in one zip file? If zipped, the corruption is probably due to the file being unzipped in Windows.

Mind you, I'm assuming that you're not trying to open the Mac resource file! Actually, that's a point, isn't it? OK, Carl, let me have the answers and it shouldn't be too hard to get you sorted out.

[ktinkel]

Originally Posted by CarlSeiler

OK, here's the file in a zip.

Whew. Got it.

Photoshop wouldn’t touch it; neither would Preview. But the old reliable GraphicConverter opened it, showed me a 72X72-pixel image of the bottom of a plate, at first identified it as an ICON file, but then said it was a PICT file (ancient MacPaint file format).

Neither of those is on the list of acceptable attachment formats, so it doesn’t appear to be corrupted (though PICT is so old that it is virtually obsolete, so may as well be).

I saved it as a JPEG at the highest level, and will attach it here. It really is tiny. See if it is good enough to use. If so, it is not difficult to make the conversion (even easier if I can remember how to do batch processing with this app).

But it sure is small!

[CarlSeiler]

Originally Posted by Robin Springall

I think it's just a corrupt file: it won't open here in Preview or Photoshop CS2 on OSX. How did you get these files: email or CD? If email, were they loose or in one zip file? If zipped, the corruption is probably due to the file being unzipped in Windows.

They were six files attached in one email. They were not ZIPped. They were five .jpg files and one .pdf. I ZIPped it only so that DTPForum would let me attach it here. They very well could be the resource files, but they're some 64k in size, which is a bit much, or have they increased in size over the years?

[CarlSeiler]

I think I got it. I think this was something to do with our mail server's anti-worm filtering software stripping out the resource file. It was accepting a JPEG file, but it didn't match what it thought a JPEG should look like, so it put it on hold at the server. When I opened up the "Moderator client" on the server, it showed me the little iconic 64k file that I posted here. By approving the email and letting it proceed onto the recipient's mailbox, I was able to open it (indeed it is larger than the 72x72). The file came attached with five JPEGs, with an HTM file in between each. I have no idea where the little 72x72 file got eaten along the way, but it's not there now, even though it was clearly there when I saved it and uploaded it here. I think we have some incompatability between the platforms. I have no idea where the problem lies, though.

In the absence of the network mail admin, I learned how to shake mail out of the server's filters, and I'm fairly certain I didn't break anything in the process.

[CarlSeiler]

Originally Posted by ktinkel

but then said it was a PICT file

I noticed that when I looked at it with a text viewer that it mentioned something about PICT in there, but when I tried to open it with Corel PhotoPaint as a PICT file, it wouldn't take it Anyway, I'm pretty sure now that we were dealing with an icon file of some sort that was being separated by the mail scanner.