Downloads open as Text Edit files

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Downloads open as Text Edit files

Hi, I bought my first Mac a couple of weeks ago (never been able to afford one before!) and it's proving to be as amazing as I expected, but I'm still trying to work lots of things out.

When I try to download files from the internet or from email attachments they go to my downloads folder but when I open them they come up as what looks like a computer code in a Text Edit window.

At first I thought this was because I was trying to open Windows only file types but I just tried to download a game that was supposed to be for Mac only and it happened here as well. (This is the website I was trying to download from: http://absolutist.com/mac/bubble_shooter/ )

I appreciate I'm probably being a moron but I've trawled the forums here and can't seem to find an answer - any help would be very welcome.

Thanks

MacBook Pro 13", Mac OS X (10.5.7)

Posted on Jul 8, 2009 10:45 AM

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Answer 1

Jul 8, 2009 10:56 AM in response to S. Tod

The .sit extension is a StuffIt archive, you need the free Stuffit Expander to open it.

http://www.apple.com/downloads/macosx/systemdiskutilities/stuffitexpander.html

The game itself, after extraction, may not run. Anything that lists Mac OS 9 or later as a system requirement, but claims to run on OS X, is certainly an outdated app, and may in fact require the Classic environment (something that was dropped in Mac OS 10.5).

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Answer 2

Jul 8, 2009 11:12 AM in response to S. Tod

To The Apple Discussion Boards!

After you click on the download link a window will pop up showing you what type of file it is you are trying to download. In this case, it's a .sit file.
In the center of the window you will see:
_*Open With.*_ Make sure this is selected.
Now check to see what application/program is selected to open your files. It appears to be some text edit program. You will need to select an application that you want to open your .sit files or all your files for that matter.
I personally, use the free Stuffit Expander to open all my files instead of depending on the OS to open them.

You can download Stuffit Expander from VersionTracker.

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Answer 3

S. Tod Author

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Jul 8, 2009 11:23 AM in response to S. Tod

Thanks to both of you, that sorts it out. On another note, is there somewhere I can find a list of applications that will open the various file types? Or will Stuffit open most/all?

Thanks again

Message was edited by: S. Tod

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Answer 4

Jul 8, 2009 11:35 AM in response to S. Tod

Stuffit Expander will open all. After Stuffit is installed, repair permissions & restart your computer.
Open up Stuffit & then go to Preferences>File Mapping. There you can assign all the files you wish Stuffit to open.

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Answer 5

Jul 8, 2009 11:33 AM in response to S. Tod

http://filext.com/

or

http://www.fileinfo.com/

Just type the file extension (i.e. filename.ext where .ext is the extension) into the search field of one of the above sites.

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Answer 6

S. Tod Author

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Jul 8, 2009 11:50 AM in response to Baby-Boomer-USofA

Cheers folks, job done!

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