.sav file shenanigans

[Brad Oliver]

I've seen some of the comments and the entry in the FAQ that indicate that you have to do all sorts of type/creator stuff to get .sav files to open in Civ3.

Now I've downloaded a number of .sav files and have been able to load them without changing the creator info. In fact, a few have creator info for totally different apps.

So can someone tell me under what circumstances this is necessary?

 

[tao]

Brad: IMHO, the issue is beyond the obvious. I'm working on two machines, one with MacOS X 10.2.5, the other with MacOS 9.2.2. We also have to distinguish between .sav files created on Macs vs. those created on PCs.

The problem is mostly non-existent, if the file is encoded (.zip, .sit). Some PC people however have problems with .sit. Hint: Get Aladdin's Stuffit Expander for Windows, which is free.

In many cases, it is a client-problem; I'm not sure, whether solely on the reciepient's side or also on the file provider. I come to this conclusion, because in most cases where I can't open a .sav file, I can make it work by using another method/client for downloading. The best experience is with Apple's Safari. Sometimes IE works also. (My default browser client currently is Mozilla.)

I also had problems mailing files to cracker, which I also attribute to client problems. I use Eudora, but cracker couldn't read my attachments. (I attribute this to his configuration.) Once I switched to Entourage for mailing him, it was o.k. Strange.

I currently don't want to interrupt my GOTM play, but once I finished, I will post concrete example cases as I experience them.

 

[dojoboy]

Would the type of browser present any issues? Most often files download fine. On occassion I have to right-click and save a file-link to disk to get it. This usuaully occurs w/ .sav files not .zip files. Weh someone attaches a file, not upload, it comes down as <attachment.php> which throws several people off. I assume its a zip file and change the .php to .zip where it will then unzip.

 

[Nixnutz]

I've had trouble using the downloads, however, when an attachment.php file is available, all I've had to do is rename .php to .sav, drag it into the Civ Save folder and I was good to go...(9.2.2 on a Beige G-3)

 

[Thermopyle]

Brad...I'm running OS X 10.25 as well and using the Safari web browser.

I always have to change the creator info before opening any .sav file from the GOTM staff. This month for instance, I opened the following link to the .sav file for GOTM18 provided by Cracker.

http://gotm.civfanatics.net/games/s...8_start_mac.sav

The window contained alot of text. I saved the file to my desktop. I had to open it ResEdit and change the creator type before CivIII could open it.

Last month I had the game of the month e-mail me a fix for a corrupted GOTM file. I downloaded the attachment and had to change the creator info to open the .sav. Unfortunately I no longer have the original .sav so this may be of no help.

 

[tao]

Originally posted by Thermopyle
I'm running OS X 10.25 as well and using the Safari web browser....I had to open it ResEdit and change the creator type before CivIII could open it.

This is the first time I here about ResEdit under MacOS X.

 

[n8mac]

We are all dealing with mac to pc differences, browser to broswer differences, upload vs. attach differences, OS differences, and app version differences. Many combinations.

There are bound to be problems for some and not with others with the same file. Don't fix it if it isn't broke. If it is broke then experience will tell us what steps have worked for us in the past.

 

[Brad Oliver]

Originally posted by Thermopyle
The window contained alot of text. I saved the file to my desktop. I had to open it ResEdit and change the creator type before CivIII could open it.

I think I understand. The downloading issues are likely browser/web-server config issues, so I'll ignore those.

As for changing the creator, can I assume that you didn't place the save in the "Saves" folder for Civ3? I can place just about any file in there with a .sav extension and it shows up in Civ3. If that's not the case for someone, let me know.

 

[jpalacino]

Brad,
I had a problem with the GOTM last month (the first with the PC community). I experienced the same error that a lot of people got with a corrupted .sav file and sent it to cracker. The repaired copy he sent back to me was a .sav tag, but it was recognized as some sort of Excel format. He re-sent me a new .sav to a different e-mail address, but I did not get to testing that one (went on vacation and never got to finish).
On a similar note, I have had a similar problem as noted above with downloading in Safari (haven't tried the newest version yet). When I click on a download, the file downloads as attachment.php. When this happens, I'll usually switch to Chimera or Explorer and download again to get the right file. This is not just on this site, so it is probably a bug with Safari.

JP