opening pict files

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Level 1

16 points

opening pict files

I am trying to open some old files that I'm pretty sure are PICT files created with something like MacPaint back in the early 1990s. In Finder they are currently showing as Unix executable files with no extension.

If I give them a .pict extension I can open them with Preview but the resolution is very poor, very fuzzy.

If i give them a .pdf extension I can open with Graphic Converter, but they are very badly skewed and also unusable.

But if I give them a .jpeg extension I can open them with MapSpinner and they look fine. The only problem is, I can only save them as a .hmm file. I have no idea what this is (and can't find anything either), and nothing will open them. Curiously the file size is only 414 bytes.

Anyone have any suggestions, apart from zooming to 800% in MapSpinner and taking a screenshot...?

MacBook Pro, OS X Mavericks (10.9.5)

Posted on Mar 22, 2018 4:03 AM

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Answer 1

VikingOSX

Level 10

123,218 points

Mar 22, 2018 6:32 AM in response to Leo Bloom

GraphicConverter 10.5.5 can read and write .pict images natively while preserving the ICC profile. LibreOffice Draw can open MacPaint (.pict) images. Changing the file extension does not alter the internal image format.

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Answer 2

Leo Bloom Author

Level 1

16 points

Mar 22, 2018 8:04 AM in response to etresoft

That's not strictly true - I realise that adding an extension doesn't change the format, but it does seem to allow apps to recognise them. Preview won't open them with no extension, but will if I add a .pict extension.

Still, thanks for the advice - everyone - and I mangaged to open them with LIbre Office - the only app so far that can do it and save in a useful format!

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Answer 3

Eau Rouge

Level 8

42,656 points

Mar 22, 2018 4:58 AM in response to Leo Bloom

As it is an old format, it is likely that Preview is the only app that will open them natively on a Mac. You could try opening in Photoshop and converting to jpeg or tiff if it will allow.

414bytes is a very small file size so I wouldn't expect great resolution.

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Answer 4

Rudegar

Level 10

180,192 points

Mar 22, 2018 5:32 AM in response to Leo Bloom

there are tons of small editors in app store like xee and seashore maybe you can try to see if they can

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Answer 5

Leo Bloom Author

Level 1

16 points

Mar 22, 2018 5:18 AM in response to Eau Rouge

Indeed, strangely small, although they are bitmapped files. Unfortunately Photoshop won't open them. But there must be something there if MapSpinner can extract it.

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Answer 6

Leo Bloom Author

Level 1

16 points

Mar 22, 2018 5:39 AM in response to Rudegar

Interesting. Seashore also opened it, but the quality is lousy. How is MapSpinner doing it and where is it getting the data from if none of the others can do it?

I think it's screenshots...

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Answer 7

VikingOSX

Level 10

123,218 points

Mar 22, 2018 7:54 AM in response to etresoft

Inkscape 0.92.2 (current) does not include .pict in its open panel's all files listing. Just FYI.

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Answer 8

etresoft

Level 9

56,314 points

Mar 22, 2018 7:17 AM in response to Leo Bloom

Hello Leo Bloom,

You can't just change extensions like that. If it works the way you describe, you are just taking advantage of bugs in software. If these files are the old Quickdraw images, they need a ".pict" extension. That being said, hacking the extension is a good strategy. Just remember that you are not actually changing any formats, you are just hacking old apps that might have support for this ancient format and are old enough that they don't actually use the extension to read the data. They only use the extension to be allowed to try to open the file.

The problem is that your file is a vector file. Those are particularly hard to work with. Preview opens them, but rasterizes them at a low resolution.

I can confirm that MapSpinner is one of the few apps that can open a vector pict file. I think if you keep looking, you might find another one that will allow you to save. I think Adobe Illustrator can read these files. Maybe an old app like Inkscape could too. The trick is, you have to find an old app, that still runs, and can handle vector files.

The file may be larger than 414 bytes. That might just be the preview or metadata. The vector data could be in the resource fork and well-hidden.

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opening pict files

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