IE filename length bug

Nov 22, '00 03:42:01PM

Contributed by: robg

If you find that a downloaded package is not behaving as expected, and you used IE under OS X, check the filename.

For some reason (OS 9 legacy would be my guess), downloaded filenames are truncated to 31 characters. As a result, downloaded files may not be expanded as you expect.

For example, WebGrabber from Epicware, is named "WebGrabber.app.0.4.DP4.gnutar.gz" on their website. However, after downloading in IE, the download manager shows the name as "WebGrabber.app.0.4.DP4.gnutar.g".

I had to rename the file to add the "z" back in the terminal, and then was able to use OpenUp to expand the download as usual. Without renaming, though, even File -> Open from within OpenUp couldn't see the file.

Weird...

This issue arose due to a problem that drboss discussed in a MacFixIt forum; see the link in the comments for the whole story.

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