Hi everyone, Merry X'mas to all! Now my problems is: my boss asked me to open a file which was sent to him through email. That file has a .Ink extension, and the application is OCTET-STREAM, according to the computer. The problem is, I'm a Mac user, and have trouble opening the file. Would someone give me a hint or help me out here? Even an explanation about .Ink files will help. Thanks a lot in advance!! Have a nice holiday. Jeanie

Dear Jeanie: I just checked my file associations and I do not see an LNK or INK file extension. Is that an "L" or an "I"? What is Octect-Stream (What kind of program is it supposed to work in?). It sounds like some kind of multimedia file, like a sound file (streaming????). Need a little bit more help here from you. Hint: If this file works with a particular program, then all you need to do is execute the program and then go up to File, Open, and find the PATH to the file and click OK. The PATH is the DOS pathway to the file. If the file is on a floppy, you are in luck. You need to go into windows explorer and click on the A drive, or from the program it operates in, click on the A drive, then point at and double click on the file name. This should execute the file. Need a bit more info to be of better assistance.

IF YOUR BOSS DOES NOT KNOW WHO THIS FILE IS FROM OR WHAT IS IN IT DO NOT EVEN TRY TO OPEN IT!!!!!!! How do I decode a file whose type is "application/octet-stream"? When a web server sends your web browser a file, it includes information (called a MIME type) that tells your browser what type of data (such a QuickTime movie, text, a JPEG image) the file contains. One MIME type is "application/octet-stream". application/octet-stream usually refers to one of the following data categories: DOS/Windows programs. If the file's name ends with ".exe" then the file probably falls into this category. You need either a DOS/Windows PC or a DOS/Windows emulator (such as WINE/WABI for Unix or SoftWindows/VirtualPC for MacOS) to use these files. Files whose contents cannot be determined by the web server. "octet-stream" simply means that the web server is sending your computer a stream of octets--groups of 8 bits. Since 8 bits make a byte, "octet-stream" simply means that your computer is receiving a string of characters. A description of the type of data in a file can't be any more vague than this, which is why web sites send this information when they can't figure out what the "real" data type is. Consequently, there is no magic decoding software that you can download to let you use "octet-stream" files. You'll have to contact the owner of the web site to find out what type of information is actually in the file. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Also see http://help.netscape.com/kb/consumer/990107-2.html

Try using Quickview to open it. Al

.LNK = Link Shortcut that links to another file Try right clicking on the file, then properties, to see what file it is connected with.