Compression utility adds many features but still needs work
Scott Love
Reviews / Data Compression
Rating: Acceptable (3 of 5 mice)
ALADDIN SYSTEMS' STUFFIT DELUXE is an indispensable tool for anyone who transfers files online or needs to compress file archives, and StuffIt Deluxe 4.0 adds welcome new features. However, it hasn't kept pace with the growing needs of its users.
Like past versions, StuffIt Deluxe 4.0 includes the StuffIt application, which can be used to compress files and folders into archives; decompress compressed files; and translate data to and from standard Mac-binary format to a variety of cross-platform formats. Also included are drag-and-drop applications that perform some of StuffIt's more common tasks; StuffIt SpaceSaver, which works in the background to compress files automatically; and the Magic Menu feature, which lets you invoke StuffIt functions from a pull-down Finder menu.
Among StuffIt 4.0's advantages is unprecedented integration of StuffIt with the Finder: The new Archive Browser feature lets you open StuffIt archives by double-clicking, just as you'd open a folder in the Finder. Dragging files from an archive to the desktop (or any unstuffed folder) decompresses the data; dragging an unstuffed file into an archive compresses it. For users who can't be bothered with dragging files or selecting menu commands, StuffIt now allows the stuffing of files. Alternatively, you can make them self-extracting archives by appending .sit or .sea to their filenames. Handy.
StuffIt's drag-and-drop applications -- DropStuff, DropConvert, and StuffIt Expander -- make it easy to select a group of files and perform StuffIt operations on all of them simultaneously. A new drag-and-drop tool, Drop Segment, adds the ability to quickly create large archives that span multiple floppy disks or other removable media.
Translation formats have been expanded to include ARC (.arc), tar (.tar), UUencode (.uu), and BinHex (.hqx), among others. Some e-mail capabilities have been added as well: Magic Menu brings up mailers for Microsoft Mail, QuickMail, and Eudora; StuffIt Deluxe supports PowerTalk mailers from within its application. Getting StuffIt to recognize your mail applications can be tricky, but compressing and mailing files by issuing one simple menu command is a real boon.
Aladdin has improved the other main part of the StuffIt Deluxe package, SpaceSaver. Compressed files' icons (both large and small) now sport a StuffIt tag that gives users clear feedback about which files have been automatically compressed, and users have more control over which files get compressed during idle time. StuffIt-engine speed improvements have tempered the system slowdown users experience when using SpaceSaver.
StuffIt 4.0's interface enhancements accompany an overall engine upgrade: Compression speeds show as much as a 20-percent improvement over StuffIt 3.5, and StuffIt Expander is faster in all operations.
Despite these improvements, Aladdin has missed the boat on a few basic functions that Internet users may miss. When BinHex-encoding multiple archives that are already compressed as .sit files, StuffIt stupidly recompresses them, despite preference settings to the contrary. Furthermore, StuffIt is dumb in its handling of UUencoded and BinHex files that have been broken into segments: StuffIt can translate the segments without difficulty, but it can't reassemble them -- a feat that's well within the capabilities of other utilities, such as the shareware uucd.
The Bottom Line
StuffIt Deluxe is a vital tool, but basic omissions force you to use additional compression tools. Overall, StuffIt Deluxe is as necessary as a modem if you spend much time in cyberspace, but it needs improvement before it can be your only compression tool.
StuffIt Deluxe 4.0, $129.95 (list). Company: Aladdin Systems, Watsonville, CA; 800-732-8881 or 408-761-6200; http://www.aladdinsys.com/. Reader Service: Circle #417.
StuffIt Deluxe 4.0 consolidates extensions and control panels from previous versions into the True Finder Integration control panel.
