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1994-11-27
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33KB
From: dmag@caen.engin.umich.edu (Dan DeMaggio)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.apple2,news.answers
Subject: comp.sys.apple2 - Frequently Asked Questions (and answers) part 1 of 2
Supersedes: <a1_760168695@caen.engin.umich.edu>
Followup-To: comp.sys.apple2
Date: 2 Mar 1994 05:25:11 GMT
Organization: University of Michigan Engineering, Ann Arbor
Lines: 692
Approved: news-answers-request@MIT.Edu
Distribution: world
Expires: 5 Apr 1994 05:25:02 GMT
Message-ID: <a1_762585902@caen.engin.umich.edu>
Reply-To: dmag@umich.edu
NNTP-Posting-Host: sc.engin.umich.edu
Summary: What you need to know about the comp.sys.apple2 newsgroups
Originator: dmag@sc.engin.umich.edu
Archive-name: apple2/part1
Last-modified: 30 Jan 1994
Version: 3.5
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: 1/1/93
From: dmag@umich.edu
Subject: The FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) post
Hi! Welcome to the comp.sys.apple2 newsgroup!
This article contains the answers to some Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
often seen in comp.sys.apple2. I am posting this article (once every three
weeks or so--but once a week in September) to help reduce the volume in this
newsgroup and to provide hard-to-find information of general interest.
I hope it answers some of your questions. If you have other questions, feel
free to e-mail me.
Dan DeMaggio (dmag@umich.edu)
P.S. On a suggestion, I've converted this to the news archive format (I
think).
Table of contents
-----------------
Part I: The Net
How do I get to comp.sys.apple2 and what is it?
How do I get files from the net?
What are the Anonymous FTP sites for Apple II software?
What archivers do I need to know about?
What do these file extensions mean?
How do I tell what kind of file I have?
Part II: Apple stuff
What is an Apple II? (common configurations and additions)
Frequently Asked Questions (IBM+HFS disks, HD drives, computer versions)
GS System 6.0 Notes (from the experts)
What the Apple II can do (ideas for adding to your system)
Apple II resources (Places supporting the II)
troubleshooting (90% of problems can be solved with these hints)
SCSI Notes (Notes on dealing with SCSI)
New items are marked with:
---- NEW OR CHANGED
FTP-able items are marked like this:
FTP: apple2.archive.umich.edu /apple2/faq/faq1.txt
Note that the apple2.archive.umich.edu site is often loaded down, so see the
section on FTP for other sites, including mirrors of umich.
------------------------------
Date: 8/8/93
From: dmag@umich.edu
Subject: How do I get to comp.sys.apple2 and what is it?
---- NEW OR CHANGED
The comp.*.apple2.* groups were created for the discussion of the Apple II
series of computers. They provide a forum for interested people to compare
notes, ask questions, and share insights about Apple IIs. Currently, these
groups include:
comp.sys.apple2 - General discussion and questions
relating to all Apple //'s
comp.sys.apple2.comm - Communications and networking related
issues
comp.sys.apple2.gno - Discussion of program GNO/ME for the
Apple IIGS (UNIX for the Apple IIGS)
comp.sys.apple2.marketplace - Buying, selling and promoting Apple //
related products
comp.sys.apple2.programmer - Discussion relating to any aspect of
programming the Apple //
comp.sys.apple2.usergroups - Discussion relating to Apple //
usergroups
comp.binaries.apple2 - Public Domain/Shareware Software for all
Apple //'s
comp.sources.apple2 - A moderated newsgroup for the posting of
Apple // related source code
alt.emulators.ibmpc.apple2 - Discussion relating to the use of Apple //
emulation software/hardware on an IBM
compatible system
Each message gets passed on to tens of thousands of systems around the world,
so please do not cross-post unnecessarialy. Also, please be nice. New users
should check out news.answers new user's post.
There are three ways to access these groups:
1) via USENET, with a news-reader program.
2) via a ProLine BBS.
3) via INFO-APPLE, a bi-directional e-mail gateway maintained by Apple
Computer.
For this: Send a message body of "help" to:
--------------------------- ---------------------------------
Subscribe to INFO-APPLE info-apple-request@apple.com
(Alternate address) LISTSERV@vm1.nodak.edu
(BITNET address of above) LISTSERV@NDSUVM
APPLE2-L archives LISTSERV@brownvm.brown.edu
(BITNET address of above) LISTSERV@BROWNVM
Games from APPLE2-L LISTSERV@utarlvm1.uta.edu
(BITNET address of above) LISTSERV@UTARLVM1
More files via E-Mail archive-server@plains.nodak.edu
(BITNET address of above) FILESERV@PLAINS
Kermit file tranfer program KERMSRV@cuvmb.cc.columbia.edu
(BITNET address of above) KERMSRV@CUVMA (BITNET)
Apple /// files APPLE3-L@WVNVM.WVNET.EDU
To post your message all over the world, use these addresses: (PLEASE
do not post general requests for help here. Use the addresses
above to subscribe and unsubscribe.
Post to comp.sys.apple2 info-apple@apple.com OR
comp-sys-apple2@ucbvax.berkeley.edu
Post a BSQ file comp-binaries-apple2@ucbvax.berkeley.edu
Post AAF source comp-sources-apple2@ucbvax.berkeley.edu
Comp.binaries.apple2 is a newsgroup used to distribute public domain,
freeware, and shareware Apple II software (executables, pictures, sounds,
etc...). Software distributed on comp.binaries.apple2 is expected to be a
BinSCII text file of ShrinkIt archives. [See later in the FAQ for information
on getting these programs.] ALWAYS include text in the first message that
describes what is in the BSQ file. Include such things as what type of
computer it runs on and what it does.
[Public Domain programs may be used and copyied freely. FreeWare is the same,
except that the origninal owner retains the Copyright. ShareWare programs can
be distributed freely, and tried out for free, but if you use it a lot, you
are expected to help pay for it.]
Comp.sources.apple2 is a newsgroup used to distribute public domain,
freeware, and shareware Apple II source code. The posts in
comp.sources.apple2 should be in Apple Archive Format. Contact
jac@paul.rutgers.edu for details.
Discussions concerning the software posted in these groups, or the methods of
locating, decoding, or accessing this software, or questions on locating
archive sites of this software, or any OTHER discussions are to be held in
comp.sys.apple2. If someone DOES either intentionally or accidentally post to
these groups, please respond only in Email - do not compound the problem!
Note: Distributing commercial software on the net is a crime - just don't
do it!
------------------------------
Date: 1/29/94
From: dmag@umich.edu
Subject: How do I get files off the net?
---- NEW OR CHANGED
Quick Summary:
Step 1: Make a list of files that you want
Step 2: Get files to your host (a UNIX box or ProLine BBS)
Step 3: Get files to your Apple II
Step 4: Create BINSCII
Step 5: Create ShrinkIt
Step 6: Use BinSCII & Shrinkit to create Shrinkit GS
Step 7: Extract the files you _REALLY_ wanted
Step 1: Make a list of files that you want
1) You need BINSCII (binscii.exe) and ShrinkIt (shrinkit.3.3.exe.bsc)
unless you already have them, or know someone who has them.
2) If you have a GS (and use GS/OS), you will want Shrinkit GS
(shrinkit.gs.exe) and GSCII (gscii.bsc)
3) Add any other files you want. Don't try to get everything the
first time around. Try one or two test files for starters.
Note: Filenames will vary from site to site. Shrinkit and Binscii
are usually avaliable on all the Apple II FTP sites.
Step 2a: Get files to your host (For ProLine users)
1) Dial up your host and log in.
2) I'm not familiar with ProLine, so I'll be vauge here. Just go
into the files section and look...
Step 2b: Get files to your host (For UNIX, using FTP)
1) Choose an FTP site from the FAQ
2) At your UNIX prompt, type "ftp ______" (fill in site name)
3) At the "Login:" prompt, type "anonymous"s
4) Type in your e-mail address
5) Type "bin"
6) use "cd ____" to get to where the Apple II files are
7) Locate each file (more "cd ___"'s and "ls" (list files). Also,
"cd .." will move up a directory.)
8) use "get ______" to get it
9) When you are done using FTP, type "quit"
10) Advanced users may want to run uudecode, uncompress, tar, SciiBin,
or Nulib on the files before they download them.
Step 3: Get files to your Apple II
1) Find out what file transfer protocols your Apple communications
package supports. (see below for a list)
2) On your local comm program, set your file transfer type to Text
(TXT) or Binary (BIN) depending on what type of file you are
downloading. If there is an option to "strip incoming linefeeds",
try turning it on.
3) Get your host to send you the file. I don't know about ProLine,
but UNIX users can use these commands:
For Z-Modem: "sz ___ ____ ____" (file names)
For X-Modem: "sx ____" (one at a time)
For Kermit: "kermit", then "put _____" (filename)
5) If needed, tell your local communications program to Receive. You
must do this quickly, or the other host will give up trying to
send the file.
4) Write down the full pathname of the files you downloaded and where
you put them. There will be a quiz later. Pathnames look like
"/DISK/DIR/FILE.NAME"
Note: If something goes wrong, hit ESC, Ctrl-X or Ctrl-C 3 times.
If you can't get one protocol to work, try the next one
down. Z-modem is much faster than the others. You will
want to find a program that supports it.
Step 4: Create BINSCII
1) After you disconnect, go into Applesoft by starting BASIC.SYSTEM
2) At the `]` prompt, type 'EXEC ____' (your BINSCII file name)
Note: If you get ?SYNTAX ERRORs then something went wrong. Try
looking at the file with a Text Editor.
3) Type "cat" and look for BINSCII (type 'SYS')
4) type "-BINSCII" or "-BINSCII.SYSTEM" depending on above
Note: You should get the BINSCII opening screen.
Step 5: Create ShrinkIt
1) If your Shrinkit file ends in ".BSC" then (In BINSCII) type in
the filename of your ShrinkIt file
2) Quit BINSCII. Get into AppleSoft again.
3) Type "EXEC SHRINKIT3.3.XTX" (you may need the full pathname)
4) Run ShrinkIt with "-SHRINKIT.SYSTEM"
Step 6: Extracting everything else
1) If it's BSQ or BSC, run it through BINSCII
2) If BINSCII creates a ".SHK" file, or if you download a ".SHK"
file, then use ShrinkIt on the file. It's easy to use and it
doesn't give you the dreaded "FILENAME QUIZ!"
For those who haven't picked a program to download with, here are the
biggies: When in doubt, buy ProTerm.
Program Comp Emulations Protocols Note
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ProTerm E$ PSE, VT-100 Kermit, X,Y,Z-modem From InSync
Kermit-65 E VT-100 Kermit, X-modem Hard to use,Works on ][+
Z-Link E VT-100 X-modem Good.
CommSys E none X-modem Works on ][+
TIC E$ VT-52 (+) X-modem For hackers. From Q-Labs
Agate E mono ANSI X,(Y,Z rec'v only) Unpacks ZIP, Buggy
ColorTerm GS color ANSI X-modem Desktop based
MegaTerm GS color ANSI none ProDOS 8
ANSITerm GS$ color ANSI, PSE X,Y,Z-modem Editor, scrollback, etc.
SnowTerm GS VT-100 (+) none Desktop based
FreeTerm GS none X-modem Desktop based
GenComm GS none none Text, Shell Compat.
GSVT GS VT-100 none Desktop
GTerm GS color ANSI none Written in BASIC/ML
Telcom GS VT-100, PSE X, (Y rec'v only) Shell compat
----------Key:---------
Key: $ = A commercial program
Computer: E = works on GS and //e, GS = only works on GS
See the resources section for where to buy the commercial programs.
All of the non-commercial programs are available on the different FTP sites.
If you don't have a comm program already, your best bet is to have someone
mail you one on a disk.
------------------------------
Date: 6/7/93
From: dmag@umich.edu
Subject: What are the big Anonymous FTP sites for Apple II software?
The following is a list of FTP sites with Apple // related files. See
elsewhere in this FAQ for details about using FTP.
apple2.archive.umich.edu /archive/apple2 *
info2.rus.uni-stuttgart.de /afs/umich.edu/group/itd/archive
archive.orst.edu /pub/mirrors/archive.umich.edu *
brownvm.brown.edu LISTSERV.193 (Note 1)
cco.caltech.edu /pub/apple2 (mostly GS stuff)
f.ms.uky.edu /pub/appleII
grind.isca.uiowa.edu /apple2 *
/umich?
plains.nodak.edu /pub/apple2
wuarchive.wustl.edu /systems/apple2
/usenet/comp.binaries.apple2
/usenet/comp.sources.apple2
/mirrors/archive.umich.edu/apple2
ftp.uni-kl.de /pub/apple2
calvin.sfasu.edu /pub/apple2 (HyperC, a few other things)
cs.bu.edu /PC/APPLE (a little bit of everything)
ftp.apple.com /dts/aii (sys software, tech notes)
ftp.cc.utexas.edu /gifstuff (some Apple GIF programs)
ftp.hawaii.edu /incoming/apple2 (a couple of games)
iskut.ucs.ubc.ca /pub/apple (Kermit, BinSCII, unshrinkit)
pindarus.cs.uiuc.edu /pub/apple2 (GNO utils and info)
slab.slip.uiuc.edu /apple2 (GScii, fonts, GS sys 6)
ucrmath.ucr.edu /PC/apple2 (LISA assembler)
Note 1: Files on brownvm.brown.edu are stored by serial number. For a
human-readable directory, send e-mail with the text "help" to
listserv@brownvm.brown.edu.
Items marked with a "*" can be also be accessed via 'gopher' if you have it.
Archives of comp.sources.apple2
===============================
wuarchive.wustl.edu /usenet/comp.sources.apple2 (complete!)
cnam.cnam.fr /pub/Archives/comp.sources.apple2 (incomplete)
hp4nl.nluug.nl /pub/newsarchive/comp/sources/apple2 (incomplete)
mcsun.eu.net /pub/newsarchive/comp/sources/apple2 (incomplete)
nic.funet.fi /pub/archive/comp.sources.apple2 (complete?)
Archives of comp.sys.apple2
===========================
relay.cs.toronto.edu /pub/lists.1989 (1989 only)
wsmr-simtel20.army.mil PD2:<ARCHIVES.APPLE> (1990 and 1991 only)
FTP: watsun.cc.columbia.edu /kermit/a (the OFFICIAL source for Kermit)
Non-USENET readers wanting files should look at the e-mail addresses in the
"What is comp.sys.apple2" section.
Subtopic: Archie, the archive searcher
================================
There is a program called archie that allows you to search many archives
quickly. Look for the program 'archie' or 'xarchie' at your site, or you can
telnet (login as archie) to:
archie.rutgers.edu 128.6.18.15 (Rutgers University)
archie.unl.edu 129.93.1.14 (University of Nebraska in Lincoln)
archie.ans.net 147.225.1.2 (ANS archie server)
archie.mcgill.ca 132.206.2.3 (Canada server, original archie site)
archie.au 139.130.4.6 (Australian server)
archie.funet.fi 128.214.6.100 (European server in Finland)
archie.doc.ic.ac.uk 146.169.11.3 (UK/England server)
archie.cs.huji.ac.il 132.65.6.15 (Israel server)
archie.wide.ad.jp 133.4.3.6 (Japanese server)
------------------------------
Date: 1/1/93
From: dmag@umich.edu
Subject: What archivers do I need to know about?
Subtopic: BinSCII
================================
BinScii converts binary files to text files and back. Binary files contain
pictures, computer programs, etc. Text files usually contain human readable
text (like this file), but a BinSCII file just looks like a jumble of letters
and symbols. A BinScii text file is larger than the original binary file.
Binscii is needed to transfer programs across the network when there is no
binary mode (like the Usenet newsgroups and e-mail).
When turning a binary file into text, BinSCII will output a series of files.
Each file contains a segment of the original program encoded in BinSCII
format. These segments are small enough to be posted or e-mailed without
clogging the network. (Actually, they are usually posted 3 at a time to save
bandwidth).
When re-creating a binary file from the BinScii segments, all one has to do
is collect ALL the segments and run them through BinScii. Each segment has a
header that tells BinScii which segment it is. BinScii is intelligent enough
to wade through all extraneous text (i.e. newsgroup headers, etc) and find
the segments. It does not matter what order the segments are in, and the
segments can be in different files. The only thing you have to remember is
that BinScii does not check to see if ALL of the segments have been accounted
for. If there are segments missing, the program will not work, or more likely
you will get a 'file corrupted' error when unshrinking.
FTP: apple2.archive.umich.edu /apple2/8bit/archivers/binscii.exe
GS users can use GSCII+, an NDA version of Binscii. GSCII+ can also
encode/decode several other formats.
FTP: apple2.archive.umich.edu /apple2/gs/archivers/gscii.bsc
[ Note that most files on the network are NuFX archives that have been
BinSCII'ed so they can be posted. After running Binscii, you will still need
to run ShrinkIt on the resulting file.]
For those of us on Unix boxes who are able to transfer binary files to our
Apple ][, SciiBin can reduce the time spend downloading. It is a decode-only
version of BinSCII written in C. The idea is that you compile this on your
Unix box, and run your BinScii files from comp.binaries.apple2 through it. It
will re-create the original (smaller) file. This works great if there is a
NuFX archive in the BinSCII file, but can cause problems if BinSCII was
applied directly to ProDos executable files. (Unix has no way of storing the
ProDos file type and aux type of a file, so they simply get lost. See the
section on filetypes.
FTP: wuarchive.wustl.edu /?
If you need a Unix BinSCII encoder, Bsc will do the trick. The source code is
in "Apple archive format".
FTP: cco.caltech.edu /pub/apple2/source/bsc.aaf ?
FTP: apple2.archive.umich.edu /apple2/unix/bsc.aaf
Subtopic: ShrinkIt and NuFX archives
================================
ShrinkIt is an Apple II program which takes one or more Apple II ProDOS files
or disks and 'archives' them into a single file (called a NuFX archive). It
also stores all the vital ProDos information, such as filetype and auxtype.
Usually these files are denoted by putting a ".SHK" extension on the archive.
ShrinkIt can also shrink an entire disk into a file (extension ".SDK"), but
this is only used when the disk is not ProDos. ShrinkIt is also a menu driven
utility that compresses/extracts, but also formats disks, copies files, etc.
ShrinkIt can also extract programs with Binary II headers, and files in BLU
archives.
FTP: apple2.archive.umich.edu /apple2/8bit/archivers/shrinkit.3.3.exe.bsc
GShk is a version of ShrinkIt for GS computers. This is even more of a wonder
utility in that it extracts many different archive types (Unix compress, PC
Arc, Mac StuffIt, Apple Single). Files encoded with GShk are usually smaller
than those encoded with ShrinkIt, but can still be extracted with ShrinkIt
(except files with resource forks).
ShrinkIt+ and UnShrinkIt+ are programs for the Apple II+ that allow an Apple
II+ user to create NuFX archives and extract from them. Autounshrink is a
NuFX extractor that attempts to recover from errors within an NuFX file.
Subtopic: Executioner
================================
Executioner was the standard program previous to BinSCII for converting Apple
II files into text to be mailed/posted. It is no longer considered the
standard for most transferals of Apple II binary files. Presently,
Executioner is typically only used to distribute BinSCII. Some older files in
the various archives may also be encoded with this program. Many of them will
not work under ProDos.
To translate an Executioner text file to an Apple II file required that you
delete the mail headers/trailers, translated the newlines into carriage
returns, download the file to your Apple II and from Applesoft Basic, type
the command 'EXEC <filename>' where <filename> is the name of the file you
downloaded.
Subtopic: Apple Archive Format (aaf)
================================
Apple Archive Format was invented as a standard way to post source code to
comp.sources.apple2. The C and Basic source code to aaf unpackers are
available on the various FTP sites, in aaf format. Fortunately, files in aaf
format can be turned back into source code with a simple text editor. Just
break the file up into component files and remove the first character of each
line.
FTP: apple2.archive.umich.edu /apple2/unix/*.aaf
Subtopic: Net standard formats
================================
There are several formats that are used widely on the Internet. The most
common in FTP sites are tar (.tar) and compress (.Z). To undo a Tape ARchive,
type 'tar -xvf filename.tar'. To undo a compress, type 'uncompress
filename.Z'. Since tar does not make the file smaller, and compress can only
compress 1 file, many times you will find files that are 'tarred an
feathered'. They have a '.tar.Z' extension. Just run uncompress then un-tar
the result.
To distribute binaries on the net, most other groups use uuencode (c.b.a2
uses BinSCII). To return them to normal, type 'uudecode filename'. Note that
uuencoded things were not meant to be split up and posted, so when getting
multiple parts, you will have to paste them together and run them through
uudecode. (BinSCII is a lot smarter, that's why we use it on c.b.a2.) BinSCII
is better because 1) It stores the ProDos filetype, etc. 2) It splits the
file into 12K chunks, 3) It does a CRC checksum on each chunk.
Most of these 'Unix' standard formats are available on the Apple. For
example, ShrinkIt GS will uncompress files, there is a uudecode for the //e,
and Tar is available as a GS shell executable.
FTP: apple2.archive.umich.edu /apple2/8bit/util/dearc.*
Subtopic: A quick note about ProDos filetypes
================================
ProDos keeps some information about a file's type. Files can be text (TXT),
binary (BIN), executable (SYS), fonts (FON), etc. Most other file systems do
not have a place to store this information, so it may get 'lost' when you
upload the file. Similarly, when you download a file, you may not know the
file type. Most comm programs will use some default. For NuFX archives, this
is not a big deal, since you can still unpack an archive if the filetype is
wrong (and the archive stores the filetype of the files inside the archive).
For other files, you may need to change the file's type. One utility I
recommend is File Attribute Zapper II.
FTP: apple2.archive.umich.edu /apple2/8bit/util/fazz.2.3.bsq
Program Format Author
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Nulib v3.21 C Andy McFadden (fadden@uts.amdahl.com)
SciiBin v3.10 C Marcel Mol, Dave Whitnet, Bruce Kahn
Bsc v1.2 C Neil Parker
Executioner A Glen Bredon
BinSCII v1.0.3 A David Whitney (davewh@microsoft.com)
ShrinkIt v3.3 A Andy Nicholas (shrinkit@apple.com)
(Un)ShrinkIt+ A Andy Nicholas (shrinkit@apple.com)
AutoUnShrink A Andy Nicholas (shrinkit@apple.com)
GShk v1.1 G Andy Nicholas (shrinkit@apple.com)
GSCII+ 2.3.1 G Darek Taubert (dat33228@uxa.cso.uiuc.edu)
Format:
C - Distributed as source code written in C.
A - Executable, runs on most Apple //s.
G - Executable, runs on GS only.
|Type| NuFX | Bin | uuen-| com- |.ZOO | Bin | LZH/| Stuff| ARC | Other|
Program | | | SCII | code | press | | Hex | LHA | -It | | |
--------|-|------|------|------|-------|-----|-----|-----|------|-----|------|
Binscii |e| | X | | | | | | | | |
Shrinkit|e| X | | | | | | | | | |
DeArc |e| | | | | | | | | D | |
Angel[1]|e| | | | X | X | | X | | X | .ZIP |
GShk |g| X | | | D | D | | | D | D | |
GSCII+ |g| | X | X | | | D | | | | .AAF |
sscii |x| | X | X | | | X | | | | |
PMPUnzip|x| | | | | | | | | | .ZIP |
LHext |x| | | | | | | D? | | | |
BSC |c| | E | | | | | | | | |
Nulib |c| X | | | | | | | | | |
SciiBin |c| | D | | | | | | | | |
(Key: E = Encode only, D = Decode only, X = Encode and Decode)
(Type: e = Apple //e, g = GS Only, x = GS EXE file, c = C Source code)
[1] Angel is pretty Buggy, but it's worth a try.
------------------------------
Date: 6/7/93
From: dmag@umich.edu
Subject: What do the file extensions mean?
Many times, people put filename extensions (extra characters at the end of a
filename) to denote what type of file it is. Please note that these are just
accepted standards. If a file does not indicate it's type, see the section on
file formats. The following is a table of some common filename extensions.
See the section on archivers for programs that will deal with these files.
Extension What is it? (What program do I use?)
--------- ---------------------------------------------------------------
.aaf [TEXT] Apple Archive Format for source code (aaf.unpacker)
.ACU NuFX (Shrinkit)
.ARC ARC Archive (IBM ARC, GS Shrinkit, //e Angel or DeArc2E)
.CPT Compactor Pro archive (Compactor Pro on a Mac only)
.BSC BinScii file. [TEXT] (BinScii)
.BSQ BinScii'ed NuFX file. [TEXT] (BinScii, Shrinkit on the result)
.BXY NuFX archive with a Binary II header. (Shrinkit)
.BNY BLU archive. (Shrinkit)
.BQY NuFX with BLU header. (Shrinkit)
.BNX NuFX with BLU header. (Shrinkit)
.exe Executioner file [TEXT]. May only work in DOS 3.3.
.GIF Graphics Interchange Format: Compressed picture.
(IIGIF for //e, many programs for all other computers)
.HQX Mac BinHex file. [TEXT] (BinHex on Mac or GSCII+)
.JPG Newer graphics format. (only Unix/IBM/etc viewers)
.JPEG Newer graphics format. (only Unix/IBM/etc viewers)
.LZH LZH Archive (IBM/Amiga LZH program, //e Angel)
.LHA LHA Archive (IBM/Amiga LZH program, //e Angel)
.QQ BLU archive. (Shrinkit)
.SEA Self-extracting archive (Might be Mac, Might be Shrinkit archive)
.SIT Mac StuffIt archive. (Stuffit on Mac or GS ShrinkIt)
GS Shrinkit will not decode StuffIt Deluxe files.
.SHK NuFX archive. (Shrinkit)
.SDK NuFX with a shrunk disk image. (Shrinkit)
.tar Unix Tape Archive (Unix tar [with -xvf option, GS EXE tar])
.txt [TEXT] An ASCII text file: usually english text.
.TIFF Graphics format (GS SHR Convert)
.uu Unix uuencode file [TEXT] (//e uudecode, Unix uudecode)
.ZOO IBM Zoo Archive (GS Shrinkit or IBM ZOO program, //e Angel)
.ZIP IBM Zip Archive (GS EXE Unzip, IBM PKUNZIP, Unix unzip, //e Angel)
.Z Compressed file (GS Shrinkit, Unix uncompress, //e Angel)
All of these types, except the ones marked [TEXT] are BINARY files. Binary
files cannot be sent over e-mail, posted to the newsgroups or FTP'd in text
mode. You must FTP them in binary mode (see the section on FTP). You can also
download them using kermit, X-,Y- or Z-Modem.
Generally, anything labeled as 'Archive' above will contain multiple files,
and even subdirectories. Most archives are also in compressed format.
Sometimes you will find multiple filename extensions. Simply take the
filename extensions apart one at a time and you should be able to reconstruct
the original file. (i.e. somefile.bsq.tar.Z would mean: uncompress, untar,
unbinscii, then unShrink to get the original file!)
------------------------------
Date: 1/1/93
From: dmag@umich.edu
Subject: How do I tell what kind of file this is?
Here is a simple guide to help you identify a file. You should always go by
filename extension first, but not everybody uses those. In Unix, you can use
the 'head' command to look at the first couple of lines of a file. If it
turns out to be a binary file, you may be in for a surprise. You may want to
use the Unix 'file' command to find out if it is a text file or not first.
Once you have identified the file, see the section on filename extensions for
how to deal with it.
If there are lines in the file that look like this (there can be other text
before it--search for 'FiLeStArT'):
FiLeStArTfIlEsTaRt
ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZabcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz0123456789()
GBINSCII AQhmAAAAA8)4MIAI02DA9ARMQEDtAQhmAIVZ
gYITA6u7xADA0MjM3YTNBlDOENkQwYURzITM2UDN5gzNDJUQGVERyEDM1QzM4cjN
CFUOFR0QxAjR0MjM3YTNBlDOENkQwAQRzITM2UDN5gzNDJUQGVERyEDM1QzM4cjN
...
then you've got something encoded by BinSCII. You must decode _all_ the
parts using BinSCII before attempting to extract using ShrinkIt.
On the other hand, if you have a binary file which resembles:
NuFilei][