Virus Warning - If you are sent a program as an email attachment that you can run, or a document that can execute a macro, your computer can become infected with a virus. Purchase an up-to-date anti-virus software and use it!! Keep your virus definition files current!! For information on anti-virus software, see CIAC Security Tools. Regardless of what program you purchase, keep your license current and update the anti-virus definitions regularly!!

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General Program Information

Decode Shell Extension is a freeware internet email attachment decoder for decoding files that contain one or more internet email attachments. The program works from Windows Explorer only. Basic usage is that you first save the complete internet message - text and attachment - to a file on disk. Then you use Windows Explorer to navigate to the file you saved, highlight the file, right click, and select 'Decode' from the menu. See Basic Decoding Steps for more information and follow the above links to the examples for more information on actual usage.

Decode Shell Extension can decode Base64(MIME), yEnc, BinHex (Mac format), quoted-printable, plain text, XXENCODED, and User (table) encoded files. Support for yEnc is new to version 4.6. The program can decode multiple attachments within a single message files and multi-part files (already concatenated).

Please note that the term "decode" for our program does not refer to tasks such as unlocking password encrypted zips or password protected documents or anything having to do with audio or video 'decoder' software. Our program is for internet email attachments only.

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Q: How do I install Decode Shell Extension?
A:

I. Review these instructions

Because you will need to exit the software you are using now to read this, review these instructions in their entirety now. Perhaps print this page. Or save it to your hard disk - From your web browser's File Menu, select Save As. At minimum, write down some notes. 

You may also wish to visit http://members.aol.com/decodemime, which has pictures of the install process. 

Note: Do not bother the webmaster at members.aol.com/decodemime with questions about Decode Shell Extension. Folks there are not affiliated with Funduc Software. Write support@funduc.com instead.

II. Download the installer - setupdx.exe

IMPORTANT NOTE FOR ALL USERS
Do not experiment with your installation and try to trick Decode Shell Extension into doing something it was not designed to do. The dll only works with Windows Explorer. There is no way to coax it into decoding files automatically or getting a decode function into your AOL or Compuserve 2000 menu. 
  - DO NOT save setupdx.exe to your Startup folder!! 
  - DO NOT save setupdx.exe to your Desktop folder!!
  - NEVER experiment with changing a Windows file association to
    associate a particular file type with setupdx.exe or decext.dll!! 
    The program does not work that way. 
  - DO NOT put decext.dll into your StartUp folder.
  - DO NOT associate any files with decext.dll.
  - DO NOT use REGSVR32.EXE to register the dll.
Other creative efforts have been reported. NONE of these are supported. NONE will work. DO NOT EXPERIMENT!!!!

AOL Users - Go to AOL keyword: telecom; Click on "MIME Help"; Look for a link to download MIME:v4.3 Decode Shell Extension or MIME:v4.4 Decode Shell Extension. Alternatively, search the AOL Shareware library for 'Decode Shell Extension' and download from there. Follow your AOL software instructions for downloading files. It is not enough to have setupdx.exe in the AOL Download Manager - you must save it to your hard disk. Make note of where AOL saves the file on your hard disk. The default download location is a folder named "download" under your main AOL program folder. For example, "c:\America Online 5.0\download" or "c:\Program Files\America Online 7.0\download"

CompuServe 2000 Users - Visit the Email & Communications Forum. Decode Shell Extension is available in the forum library. Follow the instructions for CompuServe 2000 to download setupdx.exe to your hard disk. Make note of where CompuServe 2000 saves the file on your hard disk. The default download location is a folder named "download" under your main CS2000 program folder. For example, "c:\CompuServe 2000\download".

Internet Users - Download setupdx.exe from our site by clicking here. The file size is 300K. AOL and CS2000 users can also use this link, although the above two spots for your respective home service will probably be faster. Make a note of where on your hard disk you browser saves setupdx.exe.

III. Exit All Software

Before you run setupdx.exe to install you should close all running programs such as word processors, web software, email programs, etc. It is good practice to do this before running any installation program. 

America Online and CompuServe 2000 users should not attempt to run setupdx.exe from the AOL or CS2000 File Menu. Exit your software first.

IV. Run setupdx.exe to install Decode Shell Extension

There are two ways to do this, both of which involve knowing the location where setupdx.exe was saved in step III above.

Method A

1. Click on Start, Run

2. Click on the "Browse" button and navigate your way to where setupdx.exe was saved in step III. Highlight setupdx.exe once you get there and click on "Open".

Alternatively to using "Browse" you can manually in the complete file specification to setupdx.exe and click on OK. You must specify a complete 'path' if you type in manually. For example, 
   c:\America Online 7.0\download\setupdx.exe
If you type only 'setupdx.exe' your computer won't know where to find setupdx.exe and you'll get a message about 'Cannot find setupdx.exe or one of its components ...'.

3.  Follow the installer's instructions from there. We recommend you let the installer use c:\tools\decext for the destination path.

4. Restart your computer.

5. See the America Online Example or CompuServe 2000 Example for step-by-step usage instructions.

Method B

1. Click on "My Computer" to open a Windows Explorer view of your hard drive. "My Computer" will probably be the icon in the top upper left of your Win 95/98 desktop.

2. Navigate to the folder where setupdx.exe was saved on your hard disk -- perhaps "c:\America Online 7.0\download" or "c:\CompuServe 2000\download" for AOL & CS2000 users. Depending on your windows settings you may only see 'setupdx' and not the complete file name, 'setupdx.exe'.

3. Double click on setupdx.exe.

4. Follow the installer's instructions from there. We recommend you let the installer use c:\tools\decext for the destination path.

5. Restart your computer.

6. See the America Online Example or CompuServe 2000 Example for step-by-step usage instructions.

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Q: I downloaded setupdx.exe but when I typed Run, setupdx.exe the computer said "cannot find setupdx.exe or one of its components...". Where is setupdx.exe?
A: Pay attention to the name of the folder where files are being saved when you download them. For example, for AOL users check on your hard drive in the folder 
c:\America Online 5.0\download\ 
or perhaps 
c:\Program Files\America Online 7.0\download\
or perhaps 
c:\CompuServe 2000\download.
If you cannot locate setupdx.exe, perhaps try using the Windows Find Files or Folders utility (Start Menu, Find). If you still cannot locate it, download it again, this time making note of where it is being saved to on your computer.

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Q: Is there is a hidden charge each time I use Decode Shell Extension?
A: Absolutely not! The program is "contribution-ware". You are free to use it at no cost. We are not associated with AOL or CompuServe 2000. We do not have a secret arrangement with either service to charge you when you download or use the program. If you see fit to send us the $5.00 contribution for email support and automatic email delivery of program updates, great. If not, that's also fine.

Addendum: Microsoft Wallet may issue a notice of some kind that the Decode Shell Extension is "unregistered" when you decode files. We do not have a secret arrangement with Microsoft Wallet. By report, if you uncheck the Microsoft Wallet "Always Use..." option the warning will cease.

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Q: I downloaded setupdx.exe but nothing happened. I don't see a Decode option in my Windows Explorer right click menu.
A: Did you run setupdx.exe to install the program? AOL or CS2000 won't do this automatically. See the Installation Instructions.

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Q: Where is the Decode Shell Extension program item in my Windows Start Menu?
A: There isn't one. All functions are via a Folder/File view from Windows Explorer. Highlight a file in Windows Explorer and right click with your mouse. "Decode" will activate Decode Shell Extension on the highlighted file. "Decode" is not present when a folder is highlighted.

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Q. How come I can't find the Decode menu in my Email program.
A. There won't be one. Decode Shell Extension works from Windows Explorer only.

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Q: Your annoying "Readme.txt" on Decode Shell Extension comes up every time I re-start my computer. Make it stop!
A: This absolutely is not by design. Promise! We would never intentionally harass users like that.  Unfortunately, we have never been able to repeat this so we are not sure why it occurs in rare cases. Please try the suggestions below.

Uninstall and Reinstall 

Possibly something went amok during installation. 

1. Uninstall Decode Shell Extension via Start -> Settings -> Control Panel -> Add/Remove Programs. Look for Decode Shell Extension in the list of programs. Click on the Add/Remove button.

2. Reboot your computer.

3. Run setupdx.exe again but this time carefully review the Installation Instructions first. Make extra sure that you exit AOL / CS 2000 before you run setupdx.exe.  

Remove "Decode Shell Extension Info" from your Windows Startup Folder 

For reasons unknown, the shortcut to the Decode Shell Extension readme.txt file may have ended up in your Windows Startup folder. Anything in that folder is run (or displayed) automatically when you start your computer. Here's how to check for and remove the shortcut to the readme.txt.

1. Open up a Windows Explorer view of your hard drive. This can be done by clicking on the "My Computer" icon on the top left of your windows desktop.

2. Navigate to C:\WINDOWS\Start Menu\Programs\StartUp.

3. Look for a shortcut named "Decode Shell Extension Info"

4. Delete "Decode Shell Extension Info" to the Windows Recycle bin or, if you want, move it to C:\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\Tools. C:\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\Tools is where "Decode Shell Extension Info" belongs.

Remove setupdx.exe from your Windows Startup Folder 

Did you somehow manage to get the actual install program into your Windows Startup folder? Users have sometimes done this. The result is that the program re-installs each time you start your computer.

1. Open up a Windows Explorer view of your hard drive as above.

2. Navigate to C:\WINDOWS\Start Menu\Programs\StartUp.

3. Look for an actual file named "setupdx.exe" or a shortcut that points to setupdx.exe. The latter will might be named something like "Shortcut to setupdx.exe" or "setupdx.exe". The size of the file will be small. The icon will probably have a little arrow in it.

4. Move setupdx.exe to another folder where you keep your install programs &/or delete the shortcut to setupdx.exe.

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Q. How do I use Decode Shell Extension to decode a message?
A. Follow these steps:

1. Use your Email software and save the entire message as a text file. For most Email programs you will find a "save" function under the File/Save menu. Make note of the filename and path you use when saving the message to a file.

2. Use Windows Explorer and navigate to the file you created in step 1.

3. Highlight that file, Right-click with your mouse, and pick Decode from the right-click context menu.

4. The program will automatically detect the attachment format and provide you with prompts for file names and overwrites.

5. See the America Online Example or CompuServe 2000 Example for step-by-step usage instructions.

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Q. How can I decode the file to another directory?
A. When prompted, click the "Change Name button" and select a different directory.

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Q. I can't decode my attachments. What is your general advice?
A. Attachments sometimes simply refuse to decode properly. This may not be the fault of your email service. Here are some general tips.

- Tell your correspondent set their email program to send messages to you as "plain text"!!! Tell them that to NOT use "html" or "rich text" messages. This is very very important!!! The majority of attachment problems involve "html" format messages. We made enhancements to our decoding software to handle this but the highest probability for success will be if your correspondent uses "plain text" formatting for their messages. If your correspondent uses Outlook Express or Outlook, they can change the default settings for your address to 'plain text' in the address book or possibly the Tools-Options-Send tab.

- Tell your correspondent to send ONLY ONE attachment per message!!!

AOL and CS 2000 users - If your correspondents follow the above two rules you probably won't even need an external decoding program! The email client of your software will easily decode a plain text message consisting of one attachment. 

- Tell your correspondents to attach files as separate attachments and not as "in line" images or text.

- If you are dealing with images, have your correspondents send only .gif or .jpg format images (one per message). 

- A tactic for multiple images is to have your correspondents send you a single word processing document with the images embedded in the document. This of course requires that you and your correspondent have compatible word processing programs.

- Tell your correspondent to acquire and use a modern Email program to send their mail to you. Programs such as Forte Agent, Eudora, Pegasus, Outlook Express, Netscape Communicator, and others work very well. 

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Q. I received a mail message that has the attachment spread out across multiple messages. I decoded the first message but the attachment is truncated. If I decode the second the program tells me the file is not encoded. What can I do.
A: Decode Shell Extension can handle multipart attachments if they are in a single file. Therefore you must combine the multiple messages into a single file. 

This process of combining multiple individual files into one single file is called 'concatenating'. 

Our shareware utilities, Directory Toolkit and Explorer Extensions have a built-in concatenate function that can be used to combine separate individual files into a single 'target' file. You can even change the order by which the separate files are added to the single large file. This is important because for the single large file to decode properly, you need to add the separate files in the correct order as per what the person who sent you the messages intended (usually the sender's mailer handles this OK).

Let's say you have the saved messages - message1.txt, message2.txt, message3.txt. To decode those you need to get them into one single file and then decode that resulting single file. bigmessage.txt seems as good a name as any for the single file (the file name doesn't matter) so what you would do is concatenate message1.txt, message2.txt, message3.txt to the target file, bigmessage.txt. You must do them in that order! If you use the order, message1.txt - message3.txt - message2.txt -> bigmessage.txt, bigmessage.txt won't decode properly. Directory Toolkit & Explorer Extensions let you control the order visually.

If you are technically minded you can also concatenate files manually from the MSDOS command line. Please see the command line help for the 'COPY' command. To do this, go to a MSDOS prompt and type 'copy /?'. 

An example manual concatenate of the above would be: 
  copy message1.txt + message2.txt + message3.txt bigmessage.txt

Please do not write us for support with MSDOS commands or using the MSDOS shell. If you are baffled by such things and much prefer a nice Windows program, get Directory Toolkit or Explorer Extensions.

Note for Outlook Express Users: If you receive a large mail attachment that Outlook or Outlook Express divides into multiple files when saving to disk, the order of the files may not make much sense. The file names &/or section numbers may offer little guidance about what order you should use when concatenating the individual files to a target file. A general convention is that the smallest file is the last section. If you decode and end up with an invalid file you can try experimenting with the order in which the files are concatenated. Or, if you want to avoid getting into guessing randomly, write your correspondent and ask them for advice. Perhaps they can deliver the file using another method. 

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Q. How can correspondents send 'Plain Text' messages to me?
A. We cannot provide support for other email programs so it really is up to your correspondent to study the program help for their email program for instructions on how to do this. If you want to give your correspondents a 'head start', here are general suggestions for a couple of very common email programs:

- Microsoft Outlook 5.0: Go to the Tools Menu - Options - Mail Format. Look under "Message format", "Send in this message format:" Plain Text is one of the choices there. Also, if your correspondent has your name in their Contacts list they can configure your address so "Send E-Mail use plain text only" is activated. There is a checkbox for this.

- Microsoft Outlook Express 5.0: Go to the Tools Menu - Options - Send. Look for "Mail Sending Format". Click 'Plain Text'. Similar to the above, entries in the Outlook Express Address Book can be configured so that the program automatically uses 'plain text' when sending to that correspondent.

- Netscape Messenger 4.7: Go to the Edit Menu - Preferences - Mail & Newsgroups - Formatting. There are choices there for plain text vs. HTML. Addresses in the Netscape Messenger Address Book can also be configured for plain text - Make sure "Prefers to receive rich text (HTML) mail" is not checked.

This is all the advice on specifics that we can provide. And, of course, the above is subject to change w/o notice.

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Q: I right clicked on a file and Decode Shell Extension tells me the file is not encoded. What gives?
A: First, is it possible that the file really is not encoded. If the original message contained only one attachment, perhaps your email software decoded the file already and that is what was saved on your hard disk. Double click on the file and see what happens. If you can open the file, you are all set. If you get a "Click the program you want to use..." type message, then perhaps the file is not encoded but you don't have the correct program installed. See Cannot Open the Files Sent to Me.

If Windows give you a "Click the program to use... MIM file" or "Cannot open MIM" type of message, the problem may be an error in the raw message that leads Decode Shell Extension to conclude the message is not encoded. What could cause this? Forwarded messages are a primary culprit here - Sue hears a funny joke and pictures that she forwards to Michele, she forwards them to Alice, who forwards them to you. By the time you get the message it is such a mess that Decode Shell Extension cannot make sense of what's there. 

Another cause is an outright error in the message. This, in fact, is probably what happens with forwarded mail - somewhere along the line a sender made a user error or their email program made a mistake.

The solution is to write your correspondent, tell them you could not receive their message properly, and ask them to send again. Tell them that if they are forwarding something they should save the attachment(s) first on their end, create a fresh message to you, and then add the attachment(s) they received. If there were multiple attachments in the original message, tell your correspondent to send you one fresh message per attachment. If the message is not forwarded, make sure your correspondent sends only one attachment per message. For example, if someone has several pictures to send you, have them send the pictures on at a time - one picture per message. Also make sure your correspondent is using a 'Plain Text' message format when they send their attachment.

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Q: I right clicked and Decode Shell Extension tells me a file was successfully decoded. But when I double click on the MIM file I get an "Open with" message telling me to click the program to use to open the MIM file.
A: Don't double click on the original raw message. You have to locate and click on the file(s) that were created when Decode Shell Extension decoded the original raw message. By default Decode Shell Extension creates these in the same folder as the original message. Press F5 to refresh Windows Explorer and update the file list. The file(s) should be there.

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Q: The attachment decoded OK but when I answered "Yes" to Decode Shell Extension's "Would you like to open it?" prompt it gave me a funny message about "Open with... Click the program to use..". Why won't Decode Shell Extension open the file?
A: Write your correspondent back and ask them what program you need to have installed on your computer in order to open what it is they sent to you. 

Decode Shell Extension only decodes the email message. That you can decode an attachment and save the file(s) to your hard disk is one thing. In order to actually open/view/work with that file it is necessary you also have a compatible program installed on your computer that can handle that file. The Decode Shell Extension "Would you like to open it?" prompt relies on the Windows "file association" for your computer. The "Would you like to open it?" prompt does the same thing as if you double clicked on the saved attachment from Windows Explorer. If you get a funny "Open with... Click the program to use.." response that means your computer is not set up to handle the file that was sent to you.

For example, if your correspondent sends you a Corel Quattro Pro spreadsheet, you won't be able to deal with that file if you don't have any software installed on your computer that can open a Corel Quattro Pro spreadsheet.

It is possible that, in fact, you do have something installed but your Windows installation does not automatically recognize the particular file that was sent to you. Take this up with your correspondent.

Also, Win 95/98/NT comes with an accessory called "Quick View". If you installed Quick View you will see a choice for this in your Windows Explorer right click menu. Try viewing the file with Quick View.

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Q: When I click on a file I get a message telling me "Cannot find America.exe".
A: Technically, what happened is that a program was installed on your computer at some point that modified the "file association" for the file type you are trying to deal with.  "America.exe", whatever that is, is now apparently gone from your computer but the disturbance to the file associations remains. 

It has also been reported that the absence of "America.exe" interferes with  downloading files off internet. For example, we have received support questions from users who write to say that when they try to download a file their browser responds that it "cannot find America.exe".

Other users have noted that when they try to open a zip file they get the "Cannot find America.exe" message.

The exact source and purpose of "America.exe" is unclear. For the record -- It is definitely not a Funduc Software program.

There is no single solution that we are aware of for the 'America.exe' issue.

One solution has helped some users is to re-install your zip utility. Our Directory Toolkit is a zip/archive manager. This corrects the file associations with zip archives and gets "amercia.exe" out of the picture.

Another solution is to write your correspondent and ask him/her what program you need to have on your computer in order to deal with what they sent to you. It is possible you already have the necessary program installed.

If you clicked on a .gif or .jpg file and got the "Cannot find America.exe" message, try opening the file with your web browser. All modern web browsers can view these image files.

Also, Win 95/98/NT comes with an accessory called "Quick View". If you installed Quick View you will see a choice for this in your Windows Explorer right click menu. Try viewing the file with Quick View.

If you double click on a .mim file and get the "Cannot find America.exe" message then your mistake was double clicking on the .mim file. Don't double click on .mim files. If you have Decode Shell Extension installed, right click with the mouse and select Decode instead. 

Also see your Windows 95/98/NT operating system help for additional instructions and background information concerning "file types", "file associations", and "file extensions".

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Q. My email program can't decode a multiple attachment message I received. I have a standard POP3 mail account. Can you help?
A. Is the message coming to you in "html" or "rich text" format? Our own experiments indicate that "html text" or "rich text" format messages sent by one email program may not be understood properly when received by another email program. For example, Microsoft's Outlook Express does a fine job handling multi-attachment html text messages sent by someone using Outlook Express. But the receiver may have trouble handling the message if they're using another brand of html text-capable email program. Our decoding software may or may not be of help here. We suggest that you are having ongoing problem with a particular sender, ask them to use "plain text" messages. If that doesn't help, try having them send only one attached file per message.

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Q. I can't decode a message from my friend who has WebTV.
A: Decode Shell Extension may or may not work. Review the other information in this FAQ and/or take it up w/ the WebTV folks.

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Q. Can you fix & decode my attachment for me if I send it to you?
A. Do not send us your problem attachment without asking first. We will try to help but please understand that we cannot provide ongoing support for a freeware product. For ongoing support you need to purchase Explorer Extensions or Directory Toolkit. As a registered user, if you have ongoing problems with a particular sender we would help you fix the initial problem rather than continually debug problem attachments.

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Q. Why is the decoded file named NONAME.DAT and how do I open it?
A. If the program that encoded it did not specify the original file name, Decode will still decode it but will use that default name. When decoding, you can click the Change Name button and use the correct name and extension. If you're not sure what name and extension to use, write the person who sent it to you and ask them.

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Q. The decoded file is corrupt. Why? I pasted the message text into Word, then saved it to a file and tried to decode it.
A. Word and other editors may add extraneous characters to the file and corrupt the attachment. Instead, use the File/Save menu from your Email program to save the message to a text file.

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Q: I received some Word documents and I think they decoded OK but when I try to open the files I set a "WINWORD cannot locate file" type of message.
A: Are you using the Decode Shell Extension 'open file' function? If so, do not let Decode Shell Extension launch Word (e.g., click on 'no' when Decode Shell Extension asks 'Would you like to open it'). Instead, open Word separately, use the Word File Open menu to navigate to the file, and open it from within Word. As we have seen with other softwares, under some conditions, some versions of Word have problems with automatic launching and opening of files.

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Q: What types of encoding are supported?
A: Decode Shell Extension supports Base64(MIME), yEnc, BinHex (Mac format), quoted-printable, plain text, XXENCODED, and User (table) encoded files. Support for yEnc is new to version 4.6.

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Q: How can I encode a file and send it to someone else?
A: Decode Shell Extension only decodes files. You'll need either Directory Toolkit if you want to create an encoded file.

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Q: Please tell me more about encoding & decoding.
A: Encoding refers to a general process in which files are "translated" into a form containing only pure text / ASCII printable characters. Encoding schemes were developed to allow binary files such as graphic images, programs, or ZIP archives to be sent across computer networks that support only pure text messages. Internet Email & Usenet newsgroup messages, for example, only permit pure text to be sent.

Encoded files are sent as "attachments". In most cases, they are '"attached" to a message that includes some conversational text plus the encoded file(s).

Sending a binary file via Email is a two step process - the message sender first sends an encoded attachment and person receiving the message then decodes the attachment back into original form. Many email programs handle the encoding/decoding process automatically. Other mailers, such as the email component of the AOL software, require the message receiver to decode the mail using an external program when the message consists of more than one attachment.

For more reading, try a search from your favorite internet search engine for 'RFC 821' and/or see the links below. Note that some of the links below very old so results may vary:

http://www.faqs.org/faqs/mail/mime-faq/
http://www.mindspring.com/~mgrand/mime.html
RFC 521 - MIME (Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions) (Google search link)

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