Fetch Softworks

encoding file names (10 posts)

• Started 20 years ago by paleolith
• Latest reply 20 years ago from Jim Matthews

• paleolith Member

  Due to some backup failures, I'm trying to copy a lot of files from my Mac to a PC on the same desk that has 100GB of free disk space, for safekeeping. I'm using the remote -> put files and folders method. The first WinXP ftp server I tried claimed I was exceeding quota. The second gave me a clearer message: unable to create file. That, combined with another message, told me that the batch upload was failing when it hit a file with a name containing a trademark sign or a folder containing a u-umlaut. (And probably many other cases; these were the two I saw.)

  I have "encode and decode file and folder names" set. I thought this would solve the problem but it did not.

  The message was

  550 "/Copy of Lithic/Applications (Mac OS 9)/ACDSee Folder/ACDSee"": Unable to open file.

  where the "" should have been a TM symbol.

  I'm sure I have lots of odds characters in file names, so this method of ad hoc backup isn't going to work unless the name munging works.

  Let's see, what else ... oh yeah, Fetch 4.0.3.

  Edward Reid

  Posted 20 years ago #

• Jim Matthews Administrator

  I would expect "Encode file and folder names" to work as well. I just tried uploading a file named fooTM (where TM is the Option-2 trademark symbol) and Fetch turned it into foo%aa.

  Could you try uploading just that one file to see if that works?

  Thanks,

  Jim Matthews
  Fetch Softworks

  Posted 20 years ago #

• paleolith Member

  Originally posted by JimMatthews:

  I would expect "Encode file and folder names" to work as well. I just tried uploading a file named fooTM (where TM is the Option-2 trademark symbol) and Fetch turned it into foo%aa.

  Could you try uploading just that one file to see if that works?

  Still fails. Also tried adjusting Translate ISO Characters, Treat Mystery Items as Files, and the transfer type. As expected, none of these had any effect.

  Forgot to mention, I'm running Mac OS 9.1.

  Here's a little bit more of the transcript. The garbage in the ABOR command is odd too.

  Edward

  PASV
  227 Entering Passive Mode (192,168,1,30,5,175)
  STOR ACDSee"
  550 "/ACDSee"": Unable to open file.
  ftp_store_setup: -30000 (state == PUT_SETTING_UP)
  ABOR
  500 Syntax error, command "ÿôÿABOR" unrecognized.

  Posted 20 years ago #

• Jim Matthews Administrator

  If you press the Put Files... button, and choose that file, Fetch should then give you a chance to edit the name and pick a file format before uploading. What name does it suggest?

  And could you double-check that Encode File and Folder Names is checked in the Upload section of Preferences?

  Thanks,

  Jim Matthews
  Fetch Softworks

  Posted 20 years ago #

• paleolith Member

  Curiouser and curiouser.

  I double-checked and yes the "encode and decode name" option is checked.

  When I click "put files" and open the file ACDSee(tm), Fetch first suggests the name ACDSee" -- that is, it has substituted a double quote for the TM sign. I pasted the suggested name into a text file and dumped it in hex, verifying that the character I see is indeed hex 22 (quote).

  However, when I use the popup in the dialog box to change the file format FROM anything TO AppleSingle, Fetch changes the suggested name to the correct ACDSee%22. Changing from anything to anything else but AppleSingle does not correct it. It always comes up incorrect initially no matter what the default file format is, even AppleSingle. (I have the preference default format set to Automatic. I tried this exercise with various values in the popup menu below the Put File button.

  I created another file named Dürer.txt (the second letter is a u-umlaut). The pattern is the same: Fetch initially suggests an incorrect name and corrects it when changing the file format as described above. This time the incorrect name is Du?rer.txt, where the ? is hex 08 (!). In other words, the hex value of the suggested name is 44 75 08 72 65 72 2E 74 78 74. The corrected name is D%aarer.txt. (I assume this is correct; I forget where to look up the upper-half Apple codes.)

  Edward

  Posted 20 years ago #

• paleolith Member

  I just realized that the % encodings are NOT correct, at least not the first one, even after the manipulation I described. It changed the TM sign into hex 22, which is a quote. It changed the u-umlaut into hex aa, which you said earlier in the thread is the TM sign!

  Edward

  Posted 20 years ago #

• Jim Matthews Administrator

  Since you are transfering these files as a backup, I would recommend using AppleSingle format for the transfer. That should get you away from the special characters that are causing problems.

  It looks like there's a difference between Fetch's behavior on OS 9 and OS X; on X it always does the %xx substitution, while on 9 it only does so when AppleSingle is used. I will look into why that is.

  Thanks for the very detailed reports,

  Jim Matthews
  Fetch Softworks

  Posted 20 years ago #

• paleolith Member

  Originally posted by JimMatthews:

  Since you are transfering these files as a backup, I would recommend using AppleSingle format for the transfer. That should get you away from the special characters that are causing problems..

  Won't help me because I have to do the manipulation for each file, and I want to back up nearly my entire hard disk -- some 20,000 files -- using "put files and folders". I can't go through that series of manipulation for every file. And Fetch stops cold on the error; it does not continue with the remaining files (that would be very difficult), so I can't just copy everything else.

  It looks like there's a difference between Fetch's behavior on OS 9 and OS X; on X it always does the %xx substitution, while on 9 it only does so when AppleSingle is used. I will look into why that is.

  Thanks.

  But note that even AppleSingle does not work until I change the file format manually in the dialog box. It does not work at all when using "put files and folders". And even after changing the file format, the code is incorrect -- assuming a later download decodes correctly, the result would be a file with a different name. So it's more complicated than just "only does the substitution for AppleSingle". It's more like "doesn't trigger the substitution correctly under OS9".

  Edward

  [This message has been edited by paleolith (edited 08-13-2003).]

  Posted 20 years ago #

• paleolith Member

  Originally posted by paleolith:

  "put files and folders".

  Stupid BBS software. When the thread is displayed, the second quote above is left out. When it's displayed for a reply, the quote magically reappears. Yes, it's really missing from the HTML.

  Don't blame me. Stupid BBS software.

  End of rant. ;-)

  Edward

  Posted 20 years ago #

• Jim Matthews Administrator

  You're right -- the name encoding doesn't happen in Put Files and Folders, even when AppleSingle is selected. I'll add that to the bug report.

  I'm sorry this won't work for you -- but thanks for the bug report!

  Jim Matthews
  Fetch Softworks

  Posted 20 years ago #