StuffCM is a contextual menu plugin that works with Aladdin Systems' StuffIt Engine. It can stuff, unstuff, convert, BinHex, segment and join files directly in the Finder through the contextual menu commands. To install StuffCM, drag it and StuffCM Control to your System Folder (they will be routed to their respective folders inside the System Folder) and restart your computer.
To use StuffCM once it's installed, control-click on a file or folder, and choose one of StuffCM's commands from the menu that appears. The menu will list first several commands for the Finder (Open, Get Info, etc.), and at the bottom you will see the commands for StuffCM (Stuff, UnStuff, etc.), as well as any other contextual menu pluigns you may have installed.
The Control Panel
StuffCM Control is a control panel which lets you control how StuffCM works. You can choose which commands will appear in the menu, whether the commands will appear in a submenu, and the settings for the commands themselves, such as whether to delete the original item after processing. You can also set up keys for temporarily toggling these settings (see below). StuffCM Control does not actually need to be in your Control Panels folder to work; all it does is modify the data stored in the StuffCM Preferences file.
The New Way To Do Old Things
StuffCM Control's Stuff panel has a "Use StuffIt 4" option. In order for this feature to work, you must put your old version 4 (or 4.5) StuffIt Engine (and the accompanying StuffIt Engine PowerPlug) in your Extensions folder, renamed as "StuffIt Engine™ 4" (and "StuffIt Engine™ 4 PowerPlug").
The Problems
StuffCM tells the Finder to display the items resulting from any operation. However, due to limitations in the way the Finder operates, if an operation results in multiple files, StuffCM must first reveal the first item and then select all of them. You may have to be patient as the Finder updates its display. Also, selecting the result doesn't work with Convert to .sea/.sit, and there may be little or nothing I can do about that.
The Toggle Buttons
These buttons let you choose modifier keys (command, shift, option, control) to temporarily toggle the checkbox settings in the control panel.
For example: say you sometimes like to encrypt archives when you Stuff them. You can configure StuffCM so that it will encrypt when you hold down the command key. To do this, open StuffCM Control and choose Stuff from the pop-up menu. Make sure the Encrypt option is off, and then go to the Toggle button across from it and choose Command. The button will now display the command key symbol. You can also assign any combination of keys.
Keep in mind that a contextual menu will only appear if you are holding down only the control key. If you want to use a toggle key, press it after the menu appears and hold it until StuffCM begins the operation, releasing the control key (unless it's a toggle key). Be careful about using the control key to toggle, because it can be easy to accidentally activate it.
The Future
Many people have requested the ability to stuff and binhex in one step, or create .sea files in one step. I would like to create a flexible system that might involve AppleScript, but I'm still figuring out how I want to do that. I have no plans to make StuffCM able to create disk images, since this is also outside the scope of what can be done through the StuffIt Engine. And the future of contexutal menu plugins in Mac OS X is cloudy and unclear...
The System Requirements
- Mac OS 8 or later (can't use contextual menus without it, at least not in the Finder)
- PowerPC processor (can't use contextual menu plug-ins without it)
- StuffIt Engine (can't do Stuff without it)
The Shareware
StuffCM is a little thing called shareware - you can download it, keep it, pass it around, show it off at parties, whatever. But if you use it, please pay me $9. Click the Register button in the control panel, or select Register StuffCM from a contextual menu. After you have registered, you will receive a confirmation and a registration code (separately). Once you have entered the code into StuffCM, you will no longer see the Register button or the Register StuffCM command.
StuffIt Engine is also available as shareware, or as part of the StuffIt Deluxe package.
- Added the ability to zip and MacBinary-encode files (if you have StuffIt Engine 5.5)
- Fixed the BinHex creator type field to actually allow input without beeping.
2.5.2
- The Stuff command, instead of the UnStuff command, is now available for text files that the StuffIt Engine identifies as MIME-format files
2.5.1
- Runs on pre-8.5 systems
- Fixed a bug that kept certain registration codes from being accepted
2.5
- Now compatible with StuffIt 5 archives
- Added registration codes
2.1.2
- Fixed the segment "other size" field to accept typing without beeping
2.1.1
- StuffCM Control will run on Mac OS 8.0 and 8.1 systems
- Fixed the cursor handling on the segment size when it's inactive
2.1
- Added the ability to create StuffIt 4 archives
- The Continue Expanding option works properly now
2.0
- Added the Toggle feature
- The StuffCM commands are not available on files in the Trash
- The UnStuff command never converts line breaks in text files. This should help avoid problems with UnStuffing PDF files.
1.2.1
- Uses the real Appearance Manager pop-up menus under Appearance 1.0.1 and later.
- Adjusted the sizes of the buttons so the text isn't cut off if you use Chicago as your system font.
- Recompiled using CCMArea 1.3.2, fixing some contextual menu problems.
- No longer displays error alerts in applications like URL Manager Pro and Internet Explorer.
1.2
- Added the segmenting stuff. I downloaded the latest StuffIt Engine SDK so I don't get link errors anymore.
- Selecting multiple files that result from an operation now works. I had to tell the Finder to "select" them, not "reveal" them.
- There's a French version! Thanks to Benjamin Vincent for the translation.
1.1.1
- Fixed a crash in StuffCM Control that happened when running under Kaleidoscope, plus a little cosmetic glitch that you couldn't see anyway because it crashed.
- Okay, now the about box works. And it works even better than it would have before if it did work. Which it didn't.
1.1
- Added a Conflict Action option for Stuff
- The Encrypt option under Stuff works now
- The Continue Expanding option under UnStuff works now
- The settings from popup menus weren't getting used properly
- Got rid of some excess baggage in the control panel, so the file is now a lot smaller
- The about box works
- It turns out that when a plugin tries to display a standard directory dialog, it crashes, so the "Prompt" option for Conflict Action has been removed. I may come up with an alternate solution in the future. You'll have to re-select your setting.
- The Create Folder menu has been rearranged - Always and Smart were switched. If you had either of those set, you'll have to re-select it.
