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file formatting lost when downloading files (6 posts)

  • Started 16 years ago by sgstokes
  • Latest reply 16 years ago from Scott McGuire
  • sgstokes Member

    I am downloading files from my website to make simple text edits. The files are HTML.

    When I open the files, all of the line breaks are missing, and the code is a general mess. I know that my webmaster doesn't put the files out there that way... any help would be most appreciated.

    Posted 16 years ago #

  • Scott McGuire Administrator

    Hi,

    There are several "styles" of line breaks, with a different style being used on different operating systems.

    When Fetch downloads text files, it will convert the line breaks from the format the server uses to the one you specify in the Download Preferences pane. It sounds like you might need to change that preference.

    To change the style of line break used by Fetch, do the following:

    * Click the Cancel button in the New Connection dialog, if the New Connection dialog is showing.
    * Choose Preferences from the Fetch menu.
    * Click the Download tab.
    * Change the setting of the "Text file line endings" pop-up.
    * Click OK (in Fetch 4) or close the Preferences window (in Fetch 5).

    On Mac OS X, normally you want the setting to be "Mac OS X and Unix" (in Fetch 5) or "Unix/Mac OS X (LF)" (in Fetch 4). If it is not set to that, I would try that first.

    However, some older programs may have trouble understanding Mac OS X-style line endings; in which case, you may want to try the "Mac OS (9 and older)" or "Mac (CR)" setting.

    Once you've changed the preference, try downloading an HTML file and see if that's fixed the problem. If not, try a different setting.

    If none of the line ending settings seem to do the right thing, let us know and we'll investigate further.

    Thanks,

    Scott McGuire
    Fetch Softworks

    Posted 16 years ago #

  • sgstokes Member

    Well, I tried all the different possible combinations of download mode and text file line endings, but no luck. I still get a mess for code.

    Any other good ideas?

    I didn't have this problem with Fetch 4.0.1, but something happened to my copy of that application, so I downloaded version 5.

    If I try to open Fetch 4.0.1, it just opens the script editor instead of launching the program. Which, of course, is not too helpful.

    Posted 16 years ago #

  • Scott McGuire Administrator

    Hi,

    What program are you opening the HTML files in?

    We would be interesting in hearing if files downloaded with Fetch 4 still look correct; then we can try to figure out what the difference is.

    There is a bug in Mac OS X 10.4 which can cause Fetch 4 to not run properly because of the file name; that's probably why it's opening in Script Editor.

    To fix this problem, try renaming your Fetch 4.0.1 application to "Fetch 4.0.1.app" - you should be asked if you're sure you want to change the extension to .app; click on the "Use .app" button.

    If you still can't run Fetch 4 after doing that, try downloading a fresh copy of Fetch 4.0.3 from our website. You can get it from our downloads page:

    http://fetchsoftworks.com/downloads.html

    Please let us know what happens.

    Thanks,

    Scott McGuire
    Fetch Softworks

    Posted 16 years ago #

  • sgstokes Member

    We finally got to the bottom of the problem. I was curious why my old version worked, but it occurred to me that my new webmaster works on a PC,not a Mac. (But I don't hold it against her...)

    I downloaded another FTP application to see if the problem existed with that program. I also downloaded Fetch 4.0.3. Regardless of how I viewed/downloaded the files, the formatting was lost.

    I asked my webmaster to check things on her end. It turned out to be a setting in the editor she is using. Once she changed a setting in ConText, the formatting is viewable on her side and mine.

    Thanks for all your help. I now have a much better understanding of how the FTP programs are working. More than I wanted to know, of course, but that's the way it goes.

    Posted 16 years ago #

  • Scott McGuire Administrator

    Hi,

    You're welcome. We're glad to hear you've sorted out the problem - thanks for the followup.

    Please let us know if we can be of further assistance in the future.

    Best,

    Scott McGuire
    Fetch Softworks

    Posted 16 years ago #

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