Why doesn't a downloaded file have a custom icon?

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The BeOS
Usage & Interface

Why doesn't my downloaded file have a groovy icon? And when I double-click it, the BeOS asks me if I want to open it in StyledEdit! What's wrong?

The BeOS:
Usage & Interface

FAQ Number:
FAQ-0377

Last Modified:
2/3/98

Keywords:
BeOS, Usage, Interface, Tracker, icon, plain, custom, setfile, mimeset, StyledEdit, download, archive

Some of the BeOS archiving utilities which are used to compress and archive files for transmission over the Internet do not automatically set certain file settings that the BeOS Tracker expects to see before it will show a custom icon, or treat the item as an application. Instead, it makes the file look like a generic document file.

The Tracker will normally deal with this the first time you double-click the file, but if not, or if you don't want to open or launch the file, there is an easy way to fix this, by selecting the file in the Tracker, and choosing Identify... from the Tracker window's File menu.

You can also do a mimeset on your entire file system at once, catching all the files which might not be set correctly:

Launch the Terminal application (located in the /apps folder).
At the "$" prompt, type "mimeset -all" and press Return.

It will take a minute or two for mimeset to touch all of your file system, then you should be all set, custom icons and all.

What do I do with ".zip" or ".tgz" files?

Why doesn't my Tracker add-on work?