To access binaries in the Info-Mac archive at sumex-aim, use your
machine's ftp program.  Type "ftp sumex-aim.stanford.edu".  Use the
account name "anonymous" (lower-case) and enter any password. Then
"cd info-mac" to enter our directory. You should be able to transfer
binaries with a statement like "get app/silly-paint.hqx".

NOTE:  Almost all files (even binaries) in the Info-Mac archive are in textf
format, even though they may not be human-readable. Hence, a FTP transfer using
a text-only option, often called ASCII, should work in all common cases.

In order to provide a reasonable level of performance and avoid causing
Internet overload, there is a 35-user limit for anonymous ftp into
sumex-aim during working hours, which we define as 8AM to 5PM Pacific
time, Monday through Friday. When sumex is busy, use one of the many
mirror archives around the world (see misc for a list of other archive
sites, including sumex mirrors.)

Here are some simple commands to move you around the directory structure.
This example assumes that you started in the /info-mac directory.
	cd app         # move into the app directory
	ls             # list the files there
        get planet.hqx # transfer a file to your computer
        cd ..          # move back up to the parent directory
        cd help        # and so on...

Most Info-Mac files are stored in BinHex 4.0 format.  We have adopted the
common practice of labeling such files with .hqx extensions.  To take these
files and use them on your Macintosh, you must first run them through
a program which will convert them from .hqx format into a regular Macintosh
file. On Unix systems, you can use the mcvert program, stored as
/unix/mcvert.shar. You can also do the conversion on your Macintosh by
using any of a number of utilities, including BinHex 4.0, StuffIt, or
Compact Pro. We recommend using Compact Pro because it is slightly more
convenient and reliable than the other tools. Note: do NOT use BinHex 5.0
as it is incompatible, for some very brain-damaged reasons.

Note that some of our files are large and have been split into smaller pieces
so that they can be more easily mailed.  You must join them together before
running BinHex or StuffIt. Hqx files can be edited as normal text; therefore,
you can use any word processor or append command on your host to stitch the
pieces together. There are some files in the /util directory to do this step
for you (unity and united). Most such files are old, as we no longer split
new submissions.

Many of our files also have been compressed to save space. You'll know that
they have been when the file name after converting to Macintosh format ends
with a .sit, .cpt, .sea, or .pit extension. Here is a table to help you
with the reconstruction:

Extension	Created By	Recommended unpacker	Notes

.pit		PackIt II	StuffIt			obsolete format
.sit		StuffIt		Compact Pro/StuffIt	has type SIT!
		StuffIt Deluxe	Stuffit Expander	has type SITD
.cpt		Compact Pro	Compact Pro
.sea		various		itself (double-click on it to unpack)


In summary, there are generally five steps to pulling .hqx files from our
archives:
	1. Transfer them to your computer with FTP.
	2. Transfer them to your Macintosh somehow.
        3. If necessary, put separate pieces together.
	4. Run a de-binhexing utility to convert the .hqx files into either
           real Macintosh files or compressed Macintosh files.
	5. If they are compressed, use the appropriate decompression
           program to decompress them.
People using Unix may be able to skip steps 3 and 4 by using the program
mcvert on their Unix system before transferring the program to their Macintosh.

If you don't already have BinHex 4.0, it would be easiest to get it from a
friend or user group. Or, if you know how to do an 8-bit binary download, you
can FTP it from us as /util/binhex4.bin. Unfortunately, a little bit of
pulling yourself up by the bootstraps is required.

Please note that we cannot test software for reliability on all Macintosh
configurations. As the software in this archive is generally non-commercial,
it may be less reliable and more prone to crashes than you are used to.

We highly recommend that you maintain an active backup procedure to protect
yourself even in the event of a system crash that results in the loss of
some of your data. Download and use all software in this archive at your own
risk.

The Info-Mac Moderators
info-mac-request@sumex-aim.stanford.edu