How do I rescue a Final Cut 7 project that elicits "File Error: Wrong Type" when I try to open it in FCP?

Question

When I try to open this project, Final Cut Pro 7.0.3 running on Mavericks pops up an error box that says "File Error: Wrong Type."

I've fixed this in the past using the Project Repair tool in Digital Rebellion's great Pro Maintenance set of tools but I'd like to find a free option if possible.

I've seen people discuss setting the file type and creator, possibly using a command line tool, SetFile, that is part of the OS X developer tools but none of them seemed to have complete instructions and there were a number of claims of it not working anyway.

Answer 1

After installing SetFile (instructions below), go to terminal and execute this command:

setfile -c "KeyG" -t "FCPF" INSERT_FILENAME_HERE

According to SetFile's man page, "-c" sets the creator and "-t" sets the type.

I found what the type and creator should be set to in Peppy's second post on this thread: http://hintsforums.macworld.com/archive/index.php/t-16983.html

SetFile can be installed as part of the Xcode Command Line Tools by opening Terminal and typing:

xcode-select --install

But if I recall that sometimes fails so you might also try downloading it from the Apple Developer site.