Photoshop .psd files converted to Unix Executable files

I have never seen this happen, so can't explain immediately. Can you freshly store one, burn to disc, and then confirm that it is OK at that point?

What versions of Photoshop have been used previously, versus currently?

Ernie

That's a sign the OS has lost track of what a .psd file belongs to. Such information is kept in the LaunchServices database.

You can enter this UNIX command in Terminal to clear the current database. It's all one line. Copy and paste it from here. Before doing so, close down all other applications.

/System/Library/Frameworks/CoreServices.framework/Versions/A/Frameworks/LaunchSe rvices.framework/Versions/A/Support/lsregister -kill -r -domain local -domain system -domain user

After running the command, close the Terminal and restart the Mac. You will see that the OS will treat a lot of apps as if they've never been run before with the usual message, "This is the first time you have run xxxx"

Kurt,

If this is the case, can one not simply drag the file onto the computer, and with Get Info establish the connection?

I was guessing it would have been caused by newer versions of PS since the disc was created?

Ernie

Select one of the problem files in the Finder and open the Info window. What is the file size?

If this is the case, can one not simply drag the file onto the computer, and with Get Info establish the connection?

Possibly. But this initial statement was somewhat incomplete.

After a period of time my files are converted from Photoshop .psd files to Unix Executable files and I can't open them.

Does that mean the OS rights itself for a while and then goes back to displaying .psd files as unknown? The OP reinstalls or restores the OS, and then it works for a while before going loopy again?

Which is of course why I asked some questions without venturing that guess, except as response to your excellent post.

Ernie

I suspect that the files originally had resource forks, which were stripped in the process of transferring them to the CD. That may be why Photoshop doesn't recognize them as valid. Have you tried importing them, instead of opening them?

The file sizes range from 22.2 MB to 67.9 MB.

Size isn't the issue then. Linc was asking that question because we see that with other file types. Older fonts in particular, which have all of their data in the resource fork. If that gets stripped, you end up with a zero byte file.

Does that mean I'll have to go through the Adobe authorization process for Photoshop again?

If the version of Photoshop you're currently using is already activated, then no. Either way, it has nothing to do with .psd files showing as UNIX executables.

In Windows, any file that doesn't have an association to a program is displayed as a white, dog-eared piece of paper with the Windows logo in the middle. That's Windows' way of saying, "I have no idea what this is." In OS X, (except for those files which actually are UNIX executables), displaying them as such is OS X's way of saying the same thing.

I thought I was home free when the icon changed to a thumbnail picture of the illustration, but PS refuses to open it saying it is not a Photoshop file. ???

Now that is weird. As of Snow Leopard, Apple put the old Type and Creator codes to rest. It will read them as a last resort to try and identify an older file, but none of Apple's applications add them to any file they save. For better compatibility with Windows, and OS X's own underlying UNIX core, file extensions have taken their place. So adding a .psd extension should have worked. Without playing with one of your files, I couldn't tell you why Photoshop declared it wasn't a valid .psd image.

On a side note, Apple added Uniform Type Identifiers to OS X to keep things separate. A big problem in Windows is that multiple apps may use the same file extension. EPS is a big one in printing. So you have Photoshop, Illustrator, Freehand, Quark and others all using .eps for Encapsulated PostScript files. However, Windows can only associate one application to any given extension. So if Illustrator happens to be the one tagged to .eps files, it will try to open any file ending in .eps, no matter what program actually created it. OS X keeps them separate with Uniform Type Identifiers. So even though multiple files may have .eps file extensions, the extra metadata keeps track of what program it actually belongs to.

This is what is part of the LaunchServices database, and was why it was my first suggestion. If that database is wonky, you'll see weird things like this. Have you tried clearing it yet?

The files are fine when newly burned to CD. It is only months, or years, later that they become Unix Executable Files. This has happened to just about all of my CD backups and it's frustrating to think that CD backup doesn't work across newer OSs and Photoshop upgrades. I suspect that may be the problem, but it just shouldn't happen.

That shouldn't make a difference. I've got a bunch of very old files created in Photoshop back from OS 8 on CD. No file extensions, as nothing did at the time. Just Type and Creator codes. They all open fine in PS CS5.5 in Snow Leopard, though the native Photoshop files do need to have a .psd extension added.

Certainly glad you found a solution, but you shouldn't have had to do that. Can't guess why PS wouldn't recognize its own file format.