Can I convert EXEC files to PDF on my Mac?

Add whatever file extension you think they may be and try to open them with that program or substitute.

If they are old Word files, try .doc.

That Icon means it has no file type and the executable bit is set. Let the system know what file type it has and you should be able to open it.

If Mac created files are stored on FAT formatted disks for a long period of time they may lose their file suffix. Then the OS reads them as executables or .exe. files. Replacing the suffix to the correct one is usually the solution.

If you don't want to reinstall Word to open the files, then one of the clones of Office, like Libre Office or even Google Docs.

Both of your statements are incorrect.

There are many actual Unix executables in macOS. But, the OS also uses the exec icon for items it has no association for. It's the same idea as Windows, which uses a white, dog-eared piece of paper with the Windows logo on it as a way of saying, "I have no idea what this is."

So yes, just because the old Word documents have an exec icon, doesn't mean gidpor is wrong, or that they can't be Word documents.

We see this somewhat often here. Sometimes the exec files are old JPEG images. Or Freehand documents.

Per Yer_Man, what gets lost is the resource fork, which held the old Type and Creator codes. Without those, there's no easy way for the OS to determine what that file is.

Anybody that has a Mac can take a look in settings/ general/ startup items and can find those .exec extensions and they are not Microsoft word extensions or windows files , when you open safari the .exec starting in the dock

There is no such thing as a .exec extension in any macOS files.

The icon does not mean it has a .exec extension (or even a windows .exe). The exec icon is used when macOS cannot determine the actual file type.

Here is an example:

I created an empty file with no type using touch in Terminal.

It has a white, dog-ear icon because it does not have the execute bit set.

I chmod'd the file to enable the execute bit:

All of the binary executables in the OS will have this icon and no file extension.

If you think these are old Word files, change the file extension to .doc or .docx and try to open them. .exec file extensions indicate an executable file not a document.

You can use xxd in the Terminal to sniff what the suffix-less file might be.

For example:

xxd -l 4 -p file_a

d0cf11e0

xxd -l 4 -p file_b

504b0304

xxd -l 4 -p file_c

504b0304

Then find out what the corresponding correct suffix might be by searching on this page (so search "d0 cf 11 e0" for the 1st riddle):

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_file_signatures

So the answer is:

file_a = file_a.doc

file_b = file_b.docx

file_c = file_c.xlsx

Kurt Lang wrote:

The tiny AppleScript compiled app I threw together would be great for this issue. Assuming the files still have their Type and Creator codes, you could at least find out what app a file belonged to, and what type it is.

Unfortunately, I just found out you can't get it from MacUpdate at the moment. With my now dead business site linked as the "developer home page", it tries to send you there instead of downloading the file. I did contact them to fix the page, but haven't heard back yet.

Here's the link in case they fix it in the next day or so:

https://www.macupdate.com/app/mac/62161/typecreator

Unfortunately that page is still down (...and MacUpdate offers there apps like Avast and NordVPN...).

Does your app use mdls or a similar approach?

Earlier Mac Systems 0-9 used Type and Creator codes that later OSX/macOS versions no longer recognize:

mdls test.doc

kMDItemFSCreatorCode = "MSWD"

kMDItemFSTypeCode = "W6BN"

Some applications might still insert them but LibreOffice 7 leaves them blank for .doc and .docx:

mdls LibreOffice7.doc

kMDItemFSCreatorCode = ""

kMDItemFSTypeCode = ""

gidpor wrote:

Thanks Barney-15E

Adding .doc or docx does open some of the files with the help of textedit. Some not.

It does change the icon to a Pages icon, but does not keep the formatting, which is a problem.

Any advice on how to achieve that ? Third party app. perhaps?

Neither TextEdit nor Pages will open a Word document with perfect formatting. If they are actually Word documents and you need them to maintain the exact formatting as when they were created, you will have to open them in Word.

If they are not Word documents, then you will have to guess what the file extension should be.

LibreOffice might open old .doc files that current MS Word can not.

I was going to suggest that approach… 😉

which is an AppleWorks 6 document.

And even that won't be easy if they're really old documents. I just found out in the forums within the past couple of months that Word won't open files older than a certain format. It simply tells the user the file can't be opened.

But they have to be really old. Like before Word 97 and Works 6.0 and 7.0. That according to a discussion on Microsoft's forum. Though I also could swear the person who was having trouble opening old Word docs here were newer than that, and they still wouldn't open.

gidpor wrote:

Thanks BobTheFisherman

Adding .doc or docx does open some of the files with the help of textedit. Some not.

It does change the icon to a Pages icon, but does not keep the formatting, which is a problem.

Any advice on how to achieve that ? Third party app. perhaps?

If these are indeed Word documents, open them with Word to retain formatting created by Word.

Anybody that has a Mac can take a look in settings/ general/ startup items and can find those .exec extensions and they are not Microsoft word extensions or windows files , when you open safari the .exec starting in the dock