Hello, and welcome to this month's edition of A Spider Speaks. This column is dedicated to tips, tricks, and other information for use by every type of Mac user. If you have any comments, send me an email at erik@applewizards.net. Note: Picture captions are available by clicking on the pictures. Click everywhere!
 
Spiderism #1 — Understanding File Types and Creator Codes
Why do SimpleText files have an icon resembling a piece of paper with writing? How does your Mac know to open those files using SimpleText and not BBEdit, Tex-Edit, or ClarisWorks? The answer lies in a pair of somewhat hidden and cryptic items called file "type" and "creator" codes.
Embedded in each MacOS file is that file's type code 
and creator code. These codes tell the Mac what the
file is and how it should be handled. The four-letter
creator code tells the Mac which application created the file. If, for example, you created a word processing document in ClarisWorks, the creator code would be BOBO (see graphic). Double-clicking on that file causes your Mac to search for the application with the creator code BOBO. It then finds ClarisWorks and opens the document. All files created in ClarisWorks have the creator code BOBO, regardless of whether they are a spreadsheet, database, painting, graphic, communications file, or word processing document.
The type code tells the Macintosh what kind of file it is (database, graphics, text, etc.). A type code of CWWP instructs your Mac that the file is a word-processing file created in ClarisWorks (you should be able to guess what "CWWP" stands for). Each type of file has a separate creator code.
This information is also used to display the file's icon in the Finder. This is why your SimpleText file looks like a piece of paper and your ClarisWorks icon looks relatively different. In fact, here are some examples to illustrate just what I mean.
  Here you can see that I have 3 SimpleText files that vary only in
their file types (listed to the right of the icon). These icons are
contained within the SimpleText application itself (and can easily
be changed with ResEdit).
To the right I have shown 4 files, all with the  
same file type (PICT). However, their creator
codes are different (8BIM, BOBO, JVWR, and
GKON clockwise). These are four icons of
the same file, mind you, only with different
creator types. Double-clicking them opens
them in their own application.
 
Spiderism #2 — Manipulating These to Your Advantage
Oftentimes I need to work with file types and creator codes to manipulate my files. For example, I use Adobe Photoshop for many of my graphic- design activities. If I email my associate a PICT file with a creator code of 8BIM (Photoshop), and my friend does not have Photoshop, he will encounter a dialog box asking him which application he'd like to open the file in. If I can change the creator code to "ttxt" he will easily be able to open the file in SimpleText simply by double-clicking.
  Snitch is a control panel that expands the "Get Info" window of
almost every file. To the right is a picture 
illustrating just what I mean. From this
"extra" portion of the "Get Info" window I am able
to change file types, creator codes, and many other
things. Currently seen is the "More Info" plug-in,
but plug-ins also exist for Aliases, Dates & Sizes,
Make Visible, StuffIt Comments, and Text Preview.
I use Snitch every day and I can highly recommend
this bit o' shareware to almost anyone that knows
what they are doing (or those that are feeling lucky).
A general rule of thumb is to change file types on copies of files until you learn how it all works, then go full-bore like me!
Snitch can be found at http://www.niftyneato.com/. Check it out!
  FileTyper is another of my favorite applications for modifying file
types and creator codes. Let's suppose that my associate once again
does not have the same application that I have, so he sends me 50 HTML files in SimpleText so that I may finalize a website. However, I prefer to use BBEdit for editing HTML. What do I do? Well, I drag the folder with the SimpleText files to FileTyper and tell it to change them to "R*ch" files. Voilà! A whole slew of BBEdit files! I could've also made a stand-alone "droplet" that could perform this function for me. FileTyper is very versatile and powerful.
FileTyper has many, many more qualities that I can not list here. I encourage everyone to check it out at http://www.ugcs.caltech.edu/~dazuma/filetyper/
There are a multitude of other ways to "mess with" file types and creator codes. ResEdit is the old stand-by, of course. Contextual Menus offer yet another feature and Éric de la Musse's CMTools offer "Set Creator to," "Set File Type to," and "Set Creator and Type to" options from a contextual menu. I also use this function daily. CMTools, the best contextual menu plug-in, can be found at http://interdesign.ca/cmcentral/software/cmtools.html.
I use all of these tools in conjunction with each other. If you download and try them all out, I'm sure you'll strike a balance between the three of them yourself.
Warning — I do not recommend that Mac novices play around with file types or creator codes. If you are feeling adventurous, start by messing around with copies of files so that you do not irreparably damage your only copy.
 
Spiderism #3 — Internet Config, ICeTEe, and IAD
Many readers have written in requesting that the URLs in Apple Wizards be "clickable" — i.e. take you, the reader, to the URL without any copy-paste silliness. I would like to set the record straight and say that it can, in fact, be done. However, you first need some tools.
  Internet Config is a stand-by and a must-have. If you're on the
internet, get it. It is relatively easy to set up and it can make your life
on the internet much easier. One component of Internet Config (a separate extension, in fact, that hooks into Internet Config), is ICeTEe. ICeTEe allows you to command-click in Apple Wizards (or a SimpleText file, or email, or almost any other Mac text-processing application) and launch your browser, FTP client, or email application. You must have Internet Config installed and configured to properly use ICeTEe, but it does work, and it works quite well! I recommend that you stop by ftp://ftp.share.com/peterlewis/ to grab the latest version of Internet Config (currently 1.4).
Another option for MacOS 8 buffs out there is Apple's own Internet Address Detectors. These are available as part of the Data Detectors at http://applescript.apple.com/data_detectors/ and offer a ton of cool things (like automatically adding people to address books, etc.). If Internet Config and ICeTEe just aren't cool enough for you, check out Apple's very nifty solution!
Fact of the Month:
64% of websites are created on a Mac. 80% of the multimedia market share belongs to the Mac. 100% of the Apple Wizards staff use Macs. Wanna talk market share?
Second-Best Disclaimer Ever:
I am using MacOS 8. Not all of my tricks and tips work on pre-MacOS 8 systems, though I try to provide work-arounds or solutions for MacOS 7.x users whenever possible. If you have a problem or question concerning OS 7.x or 8.x, please send me an email.
