Open document that was sent as Unix Executable File?

[2A Batterie]

I just received a cd of basic employee handbooks from my new company in the form of a CD. The majority of the files that I would anticipate would be .docs or .pdf's are Unix Executable Files. I'm assuming that they were created on a Windows computer. Is there anyway to open up these files so that I can read them? Double-clicking on them just opens up the terminal. I've tried dragging them into text edit and just get lines of gibberish, and I also unsuccessfully tried the ./whoa command in Terminal. Any suggestions as to what to do?

 

[ert3]

Can you give us the file extension that is associated with said files.

Unix executables come in all shapes and sizes so knowing what is in place of .doc would be a huge help

 

[2A Batterie]

There is no file extension on these. It is listed as a Unix Executable file when I hit Apple + I

 

[MisterMe]

There is no file extension on these. ...

This is understood. The files on the CD are not Unix executables. However, they appear to be Unix executables because they have no extensions. If you append extensions to these files, then they will not appear to be Unix executables.

That said, there is no way for anyone on this forum to guess which extension should be appended to your files. It is not a certainty that all files are of the same type. My suggestion to you is to insert the CD into the optical drive of a Windows machine so that you will know how the files are expected to behave. It may be that there is no Mac application that can handle open them. If there is, then you may be able to parse them out if you know the contents of each.

 

[karenflower]

When I have mysterious Unix Executable Files, I drag them onto TextEdit's icon. Most of the content might be junk, but there's usually the file type stated at the beginning at the document.

Edit: Oops! Just saw you tried that. Did you have a look at the top for any clues?

 

[mkrishnan]

It's more likely to be some kind of custom Windows-based viewer if the files have no extension, as it is not customary for the files any of your apps will be able to read to be extensionless in Windows. But then it's not really customary for anything to be extensionless in Windows.

What exactly were you supposed to do with the disc? Use it on a Windows PC? If you cannot access a Win PC, can you post a screenshot of what the directory contents look like? It might help someone figure out what the disc was supposed to do.

 

[snberk103]

I've seen this too, and while I can't remember what they finally ended up actually being - the solution was to simply append the extension that they should have come with. I have 3 suggestions to try.

1) Contact the company and find out what they sent. This is your last option since you are a new hire and don't want to look silly, presumably.
2) You said they opened in text edit with gibberish. Look at the beginning and then the end of the gibberish. Often there will be some clear text that will give you a hint as to the program that created it.
3) Just tack on some extensions until they open properly. There are a limited number to try, actually. Start with Doc, PDF, WPD, etc. Also try ODF and perhaps the new Word extensions - Docx IIRC. There are a few more, but you get the idea.

 

[Infrared]

I've tried dragging them into text edit and just get lines of gibberish

Feel free to post a few lines of said gibberish, and we'll try to
work out what kind of files they are.

 

[2A Batterie]

I feel like such a n00b now.... they ended up being .pdf's. I assumed that they were .doc's and wrestled with that forever, but just adding on a .pdf allowed me to open up the files no problem. Thanks for the help... I feel so embarrassed!

 

[ert3]

Glad you figured that out. I was gona recommend busting out vim and seeing if they where some sort of xml format