Fetch Softworks

confusing text uploading problem (4 posts)

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

• vaxlox Member

  I am wits end on resolving a problem a client of mine is having.

  Here is the situation:

  I've created a Flash site for a client which is supposed to read from a text file. The info on the text file is the content that should appear on the site. It has been tested and used by many people on many platforms and works fine, except for this particular client.

  I am on a windows2000 PC. I have provided my client with the text file.

  My client is on a Mac and is using Fetch to FTP files to their site. I believe their site is hosted on a Unix server.

  The problem is, whenever they upload the text file to their site, it becomes messed up. Any place where there originally was a line break, a weird character that looks like a square is put in place of the line break. Because of this, the site doesn't work because it can no longer read from the text file.

  I have asked them to upload in ASCII mode, which I believe they have.

  Still, nothing works.
  I don't understand everything about ASCII text and how it behaves on UNIX vs. Windows/DOS vs. Mac, particularly with respect to line breaks.

  All I know is that text is supposed to be uploaded in ASCII mode so that the line breaks and other characters don't get mistranslated by Unix. (I think).

  Can anyone help, or explain what might be happening, or offer some kind of solution? I'm about to give my client a refund because I am completely out of ideas!

  Posted 20 years ago #

• Jim Matthews Administrator

  Your client should upload in Text format; that will ensure that each line break in the file is translated to a UNIX line break if the server is UNIX, a Windows/DOS line break if the server is Windows, and so forth. If that does not work it means that the file has incorrect line breaks before uploading.

  Thanks,

  Jim Matthews
  Fetch Softworks

  Posted 20 years ago #

• vaxlox Member

  Thanks for your quick reply.

  Can you tell me how line breaks could be done incorrectly, and how they can be done correctly? All I did was hit "Enter" to go to the next line when the text file was created.

  Posted 20 years ago #

• Jim Matthews Administrator

  There are three standards for line breaks:

  LF (linefeed), used on UNIX
  CR (carriage return), used on Mac OS
  CRLF (carriage return followed by linefeed), used on DOS/Windows

  The problem with this text file probably happened when it was moved between two systems. Fetch is very careful to handle all three kinds of line endings, but some software isn't. How did you move the text file to your client? Do you know what version of Fetch the client is using (the latest is 4.0.3)?

  Thanks,

  Jim Matthews
  Fetch Softworks

  Posted 20 years ago #