A Public Service provided by NEXOR _________________________________________________________________ HOW TO DOWNLOAD THESE FILES People often ask what all the file formats are all about. The basic problem is that the way files are stored on a Mac is incompatible with PC's, UNIX, and most forms of electronic mail. To allow files to be transferred nevertheless they are converted into a format called binhex4.0. Here is what the Archivists say about how to handle these formats. See also Problems with decoding below. This material was taken from the introduction, and adapted for this WWW service. _________________________________________________________________ WHAT DO .CPT, .SEA, .SIT, AND .HQX MEAN? These filename extensions are tacked on to help you figure out the utilities that you will need to get the finished software. All of our files have been converted from binary to ascii/text format using BinHex 4.0 format. A MacBinary copy is available from these FTP sites, be SURE to transfer this file with MacBinary mode using a terminal program or FTP client that supports it. If you already have a working copy of StuffIt, Stuffit Expander, or Compact Pro, DO NOT BOTHER downloading BinHex 4.0. Stuffit and Compact Pro both can encode and decode BinHexed files. Each of these programs (Stuffit, Compact Pro, Stuffit Expander) does a better job of it than the original BinHex 4.0. Files and directories are compressed into smaller, easy to manipulate "archives" using one of the popular compression utilities. Files that have the .sit extension have been compressed with Stuffit. .cpt extensions denote Compact Pro files. Archiving programs and utilities are available in the util/compression directory. To make things difficult, the extension .sit can refer to any of three completely different compression schemes: StuffIt 1.5, StuffIt 2.0, and StuffIt 3.0. StuffIt 1.5.1 (the "Classic" StuffIt) will decode *only* the first of these formats. If you are having problems, please consult the index and make sure you are using a program that will decode the compression format you have. Another extension you will see is .sea (Self-Extracting Archive). This type of file is a double-clickable application that will automatically uncompress itself when launched. The advantage is that you don't need a utility or decompressor to use it, but it can aid in virus transmission, so we convert submitted .sea files to their regular archive format (.sit, for example). We use .sea files only in special circumstances, such as an actual archiving program or installer. After all, compactpro1.33.cpt.hqx would not do you much good since you couldn't unmangle the unmangler. On very rare occasion, you may run across a .pit (PackIt) file. These archives were pioneers in Macintosh file compression and archiving, but today they're completely obsolete. StuffIt 1.5.1 and PackIt 3.0 will both uncompress .pit files, but PackIt is no longer supported, so it's unlikely that you'll see one. You WON'T find one lurking around on mac.archive. (StuffIt and Compact Pro are, as are most of the files on mac.archive, SHAREWARE! Remember to pay your shareware fees to support the development of these fantastic programs and utilities.) It goes like this: If you have a file called foo.sit.hqx Then what you do is start from the right side of the name and work your way left. In other words, you want to get the file "foo". On the right you see the suffix ".hqx", so you know that you have an ASCII-encoded BinHex format file. The first thing you need to do is get it into a binary file for further processing, so you can fire up your favorite archiving program (StuffIt or Compact Pro) and unbinhex it. The "textbook" method of handling files tells you to use the BinHex 4.0 application to unbinhex files, but since the archiving apps in use today include the ability to encode/decode binhex files, BinHex 4.0 is unnecessary, but you will need it to unbinhex the actual archiving programs! A MacBinary copy of binhex4 is available from these FTP sites. When FTP'd to your local host in binary mode and transferred to your Macintosh in MacBinary mode, this file will be ready to use. For Self-Extracting Archives, all you need to do is double click on the file, and it will extract itself. So if you have a file named bar.sea.hqx You would first unbinhex it, and then double click on the file to extract it. WHAT ABOUT .Z? As .hqx is the standard suffix for BinHexed files, .Z is the standard suffix for files encoded with the UNIX program "compress". The only files that we store in this format are files that require UNIX systems to run. However, we are aware of some mirrors of our archive that store copies of *all* of our files in this format. We think this is a really silly thing to do for many reasons, not the least of which being that it defeats the purpose of the BinHex encoding. Still, we have little control over our mirror sites: we are offering our files for free distribution, after all. To decode a file inding in .Z, you must get it in BINARY mode during your ftp session. If you transfer it to a UNIX host, the command "uncompress filename.Z" will usually produce a straight BinHex. If for some reason this is not possible or doesn't work, the program MacCompress will decode this format on your Macintosh. WHAT ABOUT .GZ? This is very similar to .Z, except the files were encoded with the UNIX program gzip. All of our above comments regarding .Z files hold here, too. You canuncopress them by doing "gunzip file.gz", or using a Macintosh-based gzip extractor. Problems with decoding WHY DOES BINHEX 4.0 GIVE ME ERROR MESSAGES AFTER I HAVE DOWNLOADED IT ACCORDING TO THE INSTRUCTIONS ABOVE? If you are getting the error messages "System Error -39", "System Error -199" or BinHex 4.0 "cannot be opened because app that created it cannot be found", then you have NOT downloaded it according to the instructions above, whether or not you think that you have. Remember: MacBinary transfer in the final step to get the program to your Macintosh, Binary transfer every other step along the way. WHY DON'T THE FILES UNBINHEX CORRECTLY? This problem creeps up on us every now and then. The cause can be blamed on several things (garbled mail, incomplete transfers, bad nullines, etc.), but since programs like StuffIt and Compact Pro are used by droves of Mac faithfuls daily, it is safe to assume that these applications are doing their job properly, so if a file won't unbinhex, it's a good bet that it's been corrupted. If you run into such a file in our archives, PLEASE drop us a line at comments@mac.archive.umich.edu and we'll take care of it, and drop you a line when the problem is solved. However, don't mail us without trying to de-binhex a file with either StuffIt or Compact Pro. There are several programs, including at least one auto-de-binhexer, that choke on legitimately binhexed files. Ironically, there are many files that even BinHex 4.0 can't de-binhex. Neither Compact Pro nor StuffIt have this problem. When you download BinHex 4.0, you should immediately download either StuffIt or Compact Pro, decode it, and trash BinHex 4.0 (Really...). If you cannot download files directly to a Macintosh but you instead must transfer them through another computer (such as an IBM compatible, for example), you're stuck. You need to bootstrap yourself, and there is *no* simple way to do this. Once you get a working copy of BinHex 4.0 (or Compact Pro, or StuffIt) installed on your Mac, you're all set, but there are *only* two ways to do this: download it directly to your Mac or get a copy on disk from a friend. It is impossible to get a working copy of BinHex 4.0 (or Compact Pro, or StuffIt, or any related program) from an IBM compatible without having one of those programs present on your Mac FIRST. Also, remember that BinHex files are pure TEXT, so they must be transferred in ASCII or TEXT mode at all times. Transfers in BINARY or IMAGE mode will more often than not just corrupt the file. IS THERE A BINHEX FOR THE PC? No, and there can't be. Remember that the whole purpose of binhex is that non-Mac systems can't store Mac files! You can transfer binhex files via a PC, but you need a Mac to de-binhex them. _________________________________________________________________ The Mac Software Catalog  files via a PC, but you need a Mac to de-binhex them. _________________________________________________________________ The Mac Software Catalog