MacOS X Applications General Information

Files

• Old compressed (*.sea, *.sit) and binhexed (*.hqx) files can be decoded and expanded with
• MacOS X applications require Unix (LF) end of line input files. Mac OS Classic (CR) or Windows/DOS (CRLF) end of line need be converted. This can easily be checked and modified within the free version of BBEdit, (text encoding status is indicated and can be modified at the bottom of the window), the freeware Smultron (menu text), or the shareware Plain Text Editor (menu edit).
• Sometimes the open file dialog box misinterpretes file types and does not allow to select the input text file. If you are sure the input file is plain text, then try allowing 'all documents' (top of dialog box).

Graphic outputs

Each application is built in different flavors that differ by the graphic library and graphics output type. Graphic output is directed either towards a window on the screen or towards a deferred PostScript file. These flavors are identified by -ps-, -qdx-, -qtz-, or -qz- suffixes.

Screen plots

Graphics directed towards a window on the screen

• are recommended for first use to become familiar with the program because you will see what is happening on the screen in real time;
• can be printed or saved by screen capture, but better quality is obtained in PostScript plot files;
• are available for MacOS ≤ 10.14 only, because they rely on Carbon access to the Quartz library which is limited to 32 bits applications.

PostScript files

Graphics directed toward a PostScript file can be

• displayed on screen and converted into PDF by MacOS X Preview, Ghostscript, or Adobe illustrator,
• and edited within Inkscape or Adobe illustrator.

Beware of two issues while generating PostScript files:

• New page in plot : by default, everytime it is required, a dialog is issued that suggests to create a new page. However if the file is later to be edited with Adobe illustrator, this program can import the first page only. A solution is to close the current plot file and open a new plot file at each new page dialog.
• End of plot : if the program is properly exited by typing the 9999 (= QUIT PROGRAM) command, all files, including plot files, are properly closed. If exiting the program otherwise, the plot file must be properly closed beforehand to be usable. If the PostScript file is not properly closed, it will be incomplete and will not print and may not be readable by the above software.

System and hardware compatibility

Versions built on different hardware and system versions are identified by suffixes (N.B. old versions without suffix correspond to _ppc). The Table below summarizes their compatibility with hardware types and system versions.