The end of the PICT format

[GB, author of iNMR]

The "PICT" format (or "QuickDraw Picture") was the native format for
pictures on the Mac during the past millennium. In 2001, with the
arrival of mac OS X, it was replaced by the PDF format. The PICT
format is partially supported by the Mac OS of today, but only for 32-
bit applications. I have tried to find a work-around, but nothing
works.

All versions of iNMR can import PDF pictures from the clipboard. iNMR
version 4 is a 32-bit application and can therefore import PICT
pictures too. iNMR version 5 can't, because it's a 64-bit application.
To partially compensate for this, I have improved the support for
other common formats: JPEG, PNG, TIFF.
Today all applications can export a picture in PDF. The program that
has sticked to the PICT format for a very long time is ChemDraw.
Unfortunately, if you are importing a picture into iNMR, in most of
the cases it comes from ChemDraw. The current version 12 is OK. This
page:
http://www.cambridgesoft.com/services/desktopsupport/knowledgebase/compatibility/
says:
<< Due to continued modernizations in the Mac OS, newer applications
are no longer supporting the PICT format on the clipboard. In newer
applications, the use of PDFs to transfer copied images is now what is
expected.[…] Note: you must have the “Add PDF to Clipboard” preference
checked in ChemDraw for this to work with Microsoft Office 14.0.1. It
is checked by default in ChemDraw 12.0.2. >>

If you are using iNMR 5 you have at least Snow Leopard. ChemDraw 12
predates Snow Leopard, then I conclude that 90% of the users will have
no problem at all. If you have an old version of ChemDraw, like 11,
you can still import structures in the mol format, as described here:

http://www.inmr.net/Help3/pgs/formula.html

The sad thing is that iNMR version 5 can't read the pictures embedded
into old documents generated by versions 1, 2, 3 and 4 and there's
nothing we can do about it. It is the progress. I took a drastic
decision: if you open such an old document with version 5 and save it
again the picture is lost along the way, because it makes little sense
to store an invisible and bulky item. Considering that iNMR saves
files since 2006 when the PICT format was already deprecated, it
doesn't seem a big issue to me. The informed Mac users have always
been aware of this risk. Even if you ignored it, I am sure you have
back-up copies of all your important files, so if iNMR 5 deletes an
important PICT, you can recover it from the back-up.