Converting MacDraw Files
Did a conversion job today for a client who had some files on old Mac floppy disks, he needed them useable on his PC. There were an assortment of old Word and Excel documents, along with a few MacDraw & MacDraw II files that needed migration. I was able to use my trusty PowerBook G3 Wallstreet (Mac OS 9.2.2) for the task.
Macro-Pro is the most respected and most successful document retrieval service company because of one big difference.SERVICE. From order to completion, Macro-Pro is faster, more cost-effective and more responsive. We have been providing this exceptional service year-after-year since 1988. For opening macdraw II files within macdraw, you may want to set your screen res down a bit (like 640 x 480 or 800 x 600) and put your colors down to 256. For example, PaintShop Pro (shareware.
Most people don’t need to manipulate their old drawings, just view and print them, so flat file formats tend to be fine. I typically create JPEG and TIFF files as the end product. The MacDraw Family knows nothing of these formats however, so some creativity is required.
MacDraw II can save documents as PICT files, the old Macintosh standard, in Black & White (1 bit) or Color (8 bit). Windows 8.1 single language iso. These were all Black & White drawings, so I opened each file and saved to 1 bit PICT format.
Next I use one of my favorite Mac Graphic Swiss Army Knives, Adobe Photoshop, to do further conversions. The WallStreet has v5.5 installed. I open each file, then do a Save As… to TIFF format. A dialog asks whether I want Mac or PC byte ordering, with a checkbox for LZW compression. Defaults are Mac format with LZW On. I always use this, and the resulting files have always worked fine on modern Macs and PCs. Photoshop adds the .tif file extension to the name automatically, a nice touch.
In order to save a copy as JPEG, one further step is required. The PICT file was Black & White, but JPEG requires Color or Greyscale – the JPEG option is currently dimmed in the Save As… dialog. No problem for The Shop, I convert the document to greyscale mode, no visible difference at all, and now I can Save As… to JPEG.
Claris Macdraw Pro
In the end, of the 4 formats (MacDraw, PICT, TIFF and JPEG) the JPEGs are the largest sized files. How’s that for progress!
Posted by Adam Rosen on August 21st, 2009 in Vintage Mac Museum Blog | 3 Comments »
The PowerPC Bows Out »
Macdraw Pro Replacement
- I have several files (approx 25-30) from MacDraw II from about 20 years ago, that I’d love converted for use on a PC – I would settle to simply be able to open & print them (although editing them would be icing on the cake). Either PDF or some other file is fine. Hd disney wallpapers for mac. Sims 4 sword fighting mod. If I were to either e-mail or snail mail the files, would someone be willing to do this for a fee?