StuffIt (.sit)

This is the most used file compression format. Files with a .sit termination are compressed with StuffIt, and they can be decompressed (extracted) using StuffIt Expander™. You should have installed the DropStuff with Expander Enhcancer, too. DropStuff with Expander Enhancer is an extension to StuffIt Expander, that allows you to decompress and decode almost every file formats on the InterNet.

You can find a decompressed version at http://www.aladdinsys.com/consumer/expander2.html. Here you may find the way to transfer the file, if you don't have any decodifier software.

You also may go to Aladdin Systems site.

If you alredy have an earlier version of StuffIt Expander, you may get the newest one here: ftp://ftp.aladdinsys.com/pub/stuffit_exp_40_installer.hqx.

After installing StuffIt Expander, you may get the DropStuff with Expander Enhancer here: ftp://ftp.scruz.net/users/aladdin/public/dropstuff_w_ee_4_installer.hqx

StuffIt Expander™	DropStuff™	Expander Enhancer™

The installation is very easy: the files are compressed in a single application, witch is an Installer. When you open that intaller (double-clicking on it), it automatically installs every necessary files on the correct places, on your hard drive. To install DropStuff with Expander Enhancer, do the same thing. You should read the Read-Me files, to understand these programs better.

CompactPro (.cpt)

The second most popular method of compression. StuffIt has 3 versions (a comercial one, a ShareWare one, and a free extractor), CompactPro has a ShareWare version only. With this version, you may compress, decompress, and you may create .sea files (.sea files are treated below). In my opinion, CompactPro is better than StuffIt, not only in speed, but also in compression rates, and even in the user-interface. With StuffIt Expander™ you may expand .cpt files, so you may distribute them, because people, in a way or another, may extract the files again. You can find CompactPro at ftp://sunsite.doc.ic.ac.uk/Mirrors/mac.archive.umich.edu/mac/util/compression/compactpro1.51.sea.hqx.

CompactPro

The installation is identical to the StuffIt Expander's: just open the installer, and everything will be done automatically.

Zip or gZip (.gz, .zip, .gzip, and so on...)

A less popular method, but used some times, is zip. It came from the PCs, and the zip archives are multiplatform: if you compressed a zip file on an UNIX machine, for example, you can decompress it on a Mac, PC, Amiga, or in any other computer. The protocol is always the same. To use Zip and gZip (a zip variant) on the Macinstosh, you can use a dedicated program (like, for example, ZipIt, located at ftp://askhp.ask.uni-karlsruhe.de/pub/matlab/utilities/mac/zipit-1.3.1.sea.hqx) or DropStuff™.

Self Extracting Archives (.sea)

To say the true, this files are applications. When you open them, the archives contained on those applications will self-extract automatically. Usually, you'll find the .sea files encoded (in .hqx, most of all), in order to make a correct transmission.

BinHex (.hqx)

This is a codification method. It's used on the Internet, on the file transmission. This codification transforms a normal (binary) file on a text file. In this format, the files pass on every machine of the Internet with no problems. Including files on the news articles is also possible, using this format. Today we don't really need to use BinHex, because almost every computer on the net accepts binary transmissions, and the codified files are bigger than the original ones.

The decodification is easy. StuffIt Expander™ allows you to do that, just like CompactPro. To codify, you may use CompactPro.

MacBinary (.bin)

The MacBinary converts a file in other almost equal. Both have the same size. Both have the same contents, on the same format. The difference is that .bin files are better handled by Internet computers. You can use the Apple Converter that comes with the system, with an appropriate extension, or the StuffIt Expander™ WITH DropStuff™ + Expander Enhancer™ to decode those files. You may also use a program like MacBinary II+. You may find it on ftp://ftp.loria.fr/pub3/umich/util/compression/macbinaryii+1.01.sit.hqx and it's convinient to have it, because there are some files that StuffIt Expander can't decode.

On a FTP server, when you see two versions of the same file, one finishing in .hqx, and another finishing in .bin, it's better to transfer the last one. The tranfer is faster, because the file is smaller.

To those who want to know more, here goes the reazon of existance of the MacBinary: every Mac program, and many files, have two parts of code: the "data fork" (contains the code lines), and the "resource fork" (contains the resources, like sounds, pictures, menus, dialogs, windows, and so on). On the InterNet, the data fork is transmited with no problems. But the resource fork is simply wiped out! As you don't know what to do to a program without its resource fork, a new encoding had to me made: MacBinary. This is what MacBinary does: it reads the original file, and then he re-writes everything in a file, using only the data fork. It writes all the resources in a row, with a few code to tell the decoder program where each resource start and end. On the decoding, the process is inverted: the decoder program read that index code, and re-writes the original file, building the resource fork again.

UUencode

UUencode is a codification method very close to the BinHex. It's used on the file transfers via news. To decodify, you may use DropStuff™. But, to extract the files from the news articles, you should use a program that extract and join every segment of the file. Unfortunately, Netscape doesn't do that. A good Mac program with those capabilities is NewsWatcher. The program receives every file segment, joins them and "sends" the file to DropStuff™. You may find binary files in several groups. For example, comp.binaries.* and alt.binaries.*.

You may find NewsWatcher on ftp://ftp.tex.ac.uk/ctan/tex-archive/tools/gopher/Macintosh-TurboGopher/helper-applications/Newswatcher-20b24.sea.hqx.

The ideal configuration

To decompress most of the Internet files, you just need this configuration: you can decompress .cpt and .sit files, using StuffIt Expander™, and Zip files with DropStuff™. You can decodify .hqx and .bin files too.

If you want to compress or codify files, you may use CompactPro to make .cpt (or .sea) files, or DropStuff™ to make .sit files (or .sea), and one of them to make .hqx files. To make .bin files, use the MacBinary II+, or the Apple Converter with the appropriate extension.

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Compact Pro is a registered trademark of Bill Goodman. StuffIt, StuffIt Expander™, and DropStuff™ with Expander Enhancer™ are trademarks of Aladdin Systems, Inc.

This page was made by Miguel Arroz. If you find any problem, please e-mail me!

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