How to read file created in Mac OS 9 in Mac OS 10.4.9 on a Intel core mac

You really don't provide any information that would enable us to help you. What software created the file? What software are you trying to use to open the file in OS X? Have you simply added the appropriate extension to the file's name?

As an aside for future reference this forum is for the Mac Pro. There is a separate forum for the MacBook Pro.

if you click the file and press apple + i it should tell you in there what type of file it is and may help with adding extensions. I cant promise this will work though since im not to familier with classic files but i guess anything is worth a shot.

If you don't have MS Office 2004 for OS X then you have some other options for using those files:

NeoOffice Aqua is an integrated application almost fully compatible with MS Office 2004. This product is freeware Open Source.

ThinkFree Office is Office 2004 substitute that includes word processing, spreadsheet, and graphics components. Almost 100 percent Office 2004 compatible.

Apple's iWorks '06 includes Pages and Keynote which are word processing and presentation software that can read, edit, and save files in Word and Powerpoint formats.

Papyrus is another integrated application with word processing, graphics, and data/spreadsheet capabilities that can read Office files.

Tables is an excellent spreadsheet application that will import Excel spreadsheets. However, it is not 100 percent compatible with Excel although it does provide all of Excel's basic features (but not macros, charts, and the like.)

Other word processing applications available include Nisus Writer and TextEdit. The latter comes with OS X and can open Word files. Other spreadsheet applications are Mesa and Mariner Calc. You will find these and the others mentioned at VersionTracker or MacUpdate.

Statistical software is another matter. The only freeware application I'm aware of that would be the equal of SAS is R, an Open Source project. Other stat packages are:

Aabel
Stata
SPSS
Jump (from SAS Labs)
Instat

Of course Adobe products are available for OS X including Photoshop, InDesign, etc.

Not all of the above products are universal binaries but many are. You can find demos for most at the two previously mentioned sites.

Generally, you can associate any file with any application by selecting the file and pressing COMMAND-I to open the Get Info window. In the section labeled "Open with" select the desired application from the drop down menu. If you want all similar files associated with that application, then click on the Change All button. You can also open a file from within the desired application then do a Save As to write a new version in the application's native format. Note that often applications hide the extension (it isn't visible in the filename, but can be changed in the Get Info window.) Here's a master list of file extensions.

There is another way to create a Classic-like environment called SheepShaver. Go to:

http://www.emaculation.com/forum/viewforum.php?f=20

You need an OS 9.0.4 insallation disk or earlier. OS 9.2.X will not work.

Then you can install your OS 9 apps and work as if you are in a classic environment.

Have you tried opening those files directly from within the application? Were these files created by the OS 9 versions of the same software? Word files use the extension ".doc" and Excel files use the extension ".xls." Not sure what Photoshop uses because you can save in so many different formats (.ps, .jpg, .jpeg, .gif, etc.) I don't know about SPSS but I doubt you can open those files without using an application that was able to read an SPSS file. You would probably need to open them in OS 9 (on another machine) and then export them to a text format (.txt, .csv, for example.)

The normal solution to this is to add an the appropriate extension. You can also get info on the file and tell it what program you want to open it with. If you have thousands of files then getting back to the originals on an OS9 machine may allow you to find a batch renaming program that will make it a bit faster.

David,
Have you used Sheepshaver? I just installed the emulator and followed a tutorial on-line http://uneasysilence.com/archive/2006/08/7352/. I used a disk image and installed 9.0.4 to the image from a os 9 cd....it seemed to be working super but when I eject the cd and restarted the emulation, sheep shaver couldn't find the operating system. I get the flashing disk with a question mark? Any ideas at all?