[MWForum]Re: Invalid File Format" Error

[Wendy Petti]

We've also occasionally run into that error message when emailing projects
from Macs to PC, when the PC uses Outlook as its email program.  Sometimes
Outlook seems to corrupt the MW file attachment.  If you zip the file before
emailing or if you can open email without using Outlook (such as from an
online version of your email account) then it should work.

In fact, it was Shawn of LCSI who helped us resolve this problem last
February, though he hasn't mentioned this solution in the current thread.
Here is the message I wrote to our OWL team back then:

* * *

It works - I can finally open Mac MW projects on my PC.  Shawn of LCSI
pinpointed the problem accurately when he said that Outlook can damage
attachments.  I never knew this before! ... Just now I sent two projects
from my Mac to my PC, using online accounts at both ends, and the files
opened perfectly on my PC.

But it is important to make note of these requirements:

*** On the sending end ***

1) Be sure to save projects with the extension .mw2 and send them without
using Outlook.
	[Note, 9/1/04:  I think adding a file extension is not necessary with MW
EX; we were using MW Pro.  Shawn?]

2) It might be safest to attach only one project to each message (but if
you'd like to try sending multiple attachments, we can give it a try).

3) Send to an online account or other account that does not require Outlook
on the receiving end.

*** On the receiving end ***

When you open the mail message [online] containing the attachment, you will
see a link for the attachment. Do not click on this link, because the
computer will attempt to open the project online (that does not work, at
least on my computer, and it does not allow you to save the project).
Instead, follow these steps:

1) RIGHT-CLICK on the link for the attachment.
2) Select "Save target as"
3) In the window that opens, navigate to the folder on your hard drive to
which you wish to save the file, then save.
4) Open the saved project from that folder.

By the way, Shawn had told me that when Outlook corrupts files, you can see
that the file size ends up smaller.  I was concerned by the smaller file
sizes of the projects sent and received online.  For instance, the "storm"
project is 392K on the Mac and 268K on the PC.  But it did open when I
followed the steps above.  I am not sure why the files end up being a
smaller file size on the PC; it doesn't make sense to me.

Wendy

Wendy Petti
OWL's MicroWorlds in Action
http://mia.openworldlearning.org