Trouble sending Omnigraffle files via Entourage

When User A sends Omnigraffle files to other users (all running
Entourage), the file extension (.graffle) is replaced by #9BEC2. So,
originally a file named SomethingOrOther.graffle comes out titled
SomethingOrOther#9BEC2.

When you try to open the file directly from within the message in
Entourage, it doesn't know how to. If you save the attachment, and try
to open it via File>Open in OmniGraffle, it's greyed out and you cannot
open it.

In Terminal, using "file", it reports that it is an "XML document
text". So, I tried just changing the file extension back to .graffle,
and it opens fine.

Any idea why it's omitting/changing the file extension to begin with?

Everyone involved is running 10.4.8 on a mix of PPC and Intel hardware,
and Entourage 11.2.5.

Thanks.

Michel
Tue Nov 28 14:08:08 CST 2006

An OmniGraffle file is no typical file, it is actually a package containing
several other files. In other words, it's not a single binary file, but a
folder, actually, which is why Entourage is having problems sending it. The
best thing to do in this case is to compress your OmniGraffle document as a
ZIP file and then send that ZIP file.

I can't really tell you why Entourage is changing the extension, or what has
happened in your particular case, but I guess it is all related to the
OmniGraffle file structure and Entourage's inability to cope with it.


On 28/11/06 20:08, in article
1164740911.924854.49190@h54g2000cwb.googlegroups.com,
"scott.gammon@gmail.com" <scott.gammon@gmail.com> wrote:

> When User A sends Omnigraffle files to other users (all running
> Entourage), the file extension (.graffle) is replaced by #9BEC2. So,
> originally a file named SomethingOrOther.graffle comes out titled
> SomethingOrOther#9BEC2.
>
> When you try to open the file directly from within the message in
> Entourage, it doesn't know how to. If you save the attachment, and try
> to open it via File>Open in OmniGraffle, it's greyed out and you cannot
> open it.
>
> In Terminal, using "file", it reports that it is an "XML document
> text". So, I tried just changing the file extension back to .graffle,
> and it opens fine.
>
> Any idea why it's omitting/changing the file extension to begin with?
>
> Everyone involved is running 10.4.8 on a mix of PPC and Intel hardware,
> and Entourage 11.2.5.
>
> Thanks.
>

--
Michel Bintener
Microsoft MVP
Office:Mac (Entourage & Word)

***Always reply to the newsgroup.***

Chris
Tue Nov 28 14:56:32 CST 2006

On 2006-11-28 20:08:08 +0000, Michel Bintener <m.bintener@NOSPAMmvps.org> said:

> An OmniGraffle file is no typical file, it is actually a package containing
> several other files. In other words, it's not a single binary file, but a
> folder, actually, which is why Entourage is having problems sending it. The
> best thing to do in this case is to compress your OmniGraffle document as a
> ZIP file and then send that ZIP file.

An OG doc is generally only stored as a package (ie folder containing
files) if there are bitmap graphics involved. Even then you can force
OG to save as a flat file - type:

defaults write com.omnigroup.OmniGraffle PrivateGraffleFlatFile 0

(Change "OmniGraffle" to "OmniGrafflePro" if that's what you're using instead.)

Change the 0 to 1 if you want the normal behaviour (flat unless there
are images).

Change the 0 to a 2 if you always want packages.

However this all sounds a bit like the way older apps handled long
filenames - by truncating the filename and adding some unique blurb to
the end. Are you sure that Entourage is the 2004 version?

Cheers,

Chris