In testing this problem, I installed Microsoft Word on a PowerBook 520c and a Performa 636. Microsoft Word would show up in the Macintosh Easy Open list when trying to open 'TEXT' files. However, when I rebuilt the desktop, Word was no longer in the list of applications. I deleted Word, rebuilt the desktop and reinstalled Word. Word appearred in the list of applications again. The installer for Word adds the information it wants to the desktop database which is why Word appears in the application list. However, when the desktop is rebuilt, Macintosh Easy Open adds additional information and Word no longer appears in the list.
The reason Translation Manager (Macintosh Easy Open) behaves like this is because it only uses the 'FREF' resources if the application does not have an 'open' resource. Macintosh Easy Open uses two new resources. These are the 'open' and 'kind' resources.
The 'open' resource is supposed to contain a list of file types that the application can open without any external help, like MacLinkPlus. Another purpose of the 'open' resource is to allow an application to have custom icons for files that it does not want the user to open and prevents the Finder from launching the application when the user tries to open one of these documents. For example, an application can have a settings file with a custom icon by putting the type of the settings file in the 'FREF' and 'BNDL' resources but by not putting the type in the 'open' resource, the Finder does not launch the application if the user tries to open the settings file.
The 'kind' resource contains kind strings the Finder displays. For example, the kind string for a read only SimpleText document is "SimpleText read-only document."
Some applications have a 'FREF' resource for files of type '****'. This is wildcard file type and means any file can be dropped on the application. However, in the 'open' resource, Macintosh Easy Open treats this as a file type and not a wild card type. Microsoft Word's 'open' resource only contains the '****' file type. For example, when attempting to open a file with a creator type of '****', Word shows up in the Macintosh Easy Open application list. However, when attempting to open a file with a creator type of 'ZZZZ', Microsoft Word was not in the list of applications.
According to the Macintosh Easy Open engineer, having only '****' in the 'open' resource is a mistake. However, the Translation Manager documentation does not indicate if '****' is a valid file type; there is no mention of wild card file types. Wild card file types are described in the Finder Interface documentation.
It appears Microsoft thought that by putting the wild card file type in the 'open' resource, Word would show up in the list no matter what file the user was trying to open. However, Macintosh Easy Open does not support wild card file types. Other applications have the '****' type in the 'open' resource but they also have other types as well. Microsoft Word seems to be the only application that has only the '****' type in the 'open' resource. Please contact Microsoft at (206) 454-2030 for additional help with this problem.
This article was published in the "Information Alley":
Volume II, Issue 7, Page 14
Article Change History:
27 Jul 1995 - Updated from Info Alley.
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