Apple II Telecom Manual II: Downloading & Uploading Csa2 FAQs-on-Ground file: F003T2TCOM.TXT The Csa2 (comp.sys.apple2) usenet newsgroup Frequently Asked Questions files are compiled by the Ground Apple II site, 1997, 1998. ftp://ground.isca.uiowa.edu/2/apple2/Faqs http://ground.isca.uiowa.edu/2/apple2/Faqs The Csa2 FAQs may be freely distributed. Notes: This is a pure Text file which has no Font, Color, etc. formatting. For best viewing on-line, set browser Word Wrap to ON or copy to your favorite Text viewer and set Word Wrap. Ex: On PC use WordPad with Options set to "Wrap to Window". To correctly view tables and diagrams on a super-res display, use a mono-spaced Font such as CoPilot or PCMononspaced. ____________________________ 001- How can I read & send email and newsgroup msgs with my A2? 002- With a fast modem, how can the IIe connect to the internet? 003- I'm running the Lynx web browser. Where do I put the URL? 004- How do I download an .SHK file through Lynx? 005- Can I send and receive FAXes using my Apple II? 006- What is a "Binary II" header? 006a Should I add a Binary II header to files I upload? 007- What is a "binscii" file and how are they used? 008- What are .SHK files and how do I use them? 008a Can I create .ZIP files on my Apple II? 009- What are DSK "disk image" files and how do I use them? 010- I have downloaded files in "gz" format? How do I use them? 011- ShrinkIt downloaded as a TXT file. How can I use it? 011a Which programs can change ProDOS filetype? 012- How can I move A2 programs to Quick BASIC on my PC? 013- What is the easiest way to get files from Apple II FTP sites? 014- Are there download files I should process on the PC (or Mac)? 015- How do I upload files? 016- What do the popular file name extensions mean? 017- How do I tell what kind of file this is? From: Brian Hammack 001- How can I read & send email and newsgroup messages with my Apple II? You can use a program by Tom Larson named "2qwk!". Many PC-based BBS's and other servers have hidden among the door programs a "maildoor," which will package all unread messages in a user's chosen news groups and make them available for download as a single compressed file, called a QWK packet. (Hence "2qwk", QWK access for Apple II; get it?!) So, you have a QWK packet sent to your machine, which takes a few seconds to a few minutes depending on how fast the modem is and how many messages there are. Then, you can go off-line and launch 2qwk!. Selecting "Archiver" lets you start the utility of your choice (such as Angel 0.81b, available separately) to unpack the QWK packet and return to 2qwk!. Now, you may select "Messages" to view your news groups, scan messages by author and subject, and, finally, read individual messages. When you find a post that needs a reply, you can decide how much of the message to quote and type-in your words of wisdom. You can also haul in text from disk and, even, pick just the right tagline (snappy words at the very end of many messages seen on-line nowadays). Naturally, 2qwk! allows complete freedom to change a message title along with the group to which it is to be posted and to originate new messages. When you are done reading and replying, you exit the program and it creates a reply file, called a REP packet. The next time you connect, you simply upload the REP to the maildoor. The maildoor will decide what goes where and your messages will enter cyberspace pronto! To use 2qwk! you will need an enhanced Apple IIe, IIc, or IIgs, with at least 128k RAM and drive space to hold the QWK data. The program itself will fit on a 5.25" disk with plenty of room to spare. Of course, the server to which you connect must have a QWK-compatible maildoor. 2qwk! runs under ProDOS 2.x. It comes with QuickFix, a program to patch ProDOS, and other utility programs to handle MSDOS-legal names. ____________________________ From: Richard Der 002- With a fast modem, how can the IIe connect to the internet? Get an Internet Service Provider that has the option of a text based shell account. For email, Proline and METAL BBS's work well too. ---------------------------- 003- I'm on the Internet and running the Lynx web browser. It dosn't look like Netscape Navigator at all. Where do I put in the URL? Type "g" which will bring up a URL dialog. You can then type in the URL and hit return. ---------------------------- 004- How do I download an .SHK file through Lynx? Selecting the link gives an unusable text dump. Just highlight the link, but do not press return. Press "d" instead, which will bring up the download dialog. ____________________________ From: Rubywand 005- Can I send and receive FAXes using my Apple II? If your Apple II is a IIgs, yes. There are two GS FAXing programs: FAXination and PMPFAX. ---------------------------- 006- What is a "Binary II" header? A Binary II header is a small block of code tacked onto some Apple II files. Sometimes, this is referred to as a "binary wrapper". Mainly, the Binary II header contains filetype information. The purpose of Binary II is to allow Apple II users to download files and have them show up with the correct filetype. (Otherwise, a downloaded file tends to show up as a TXT type file.) In order for a Binary II header to be recognized and used to supply the filetype info, the Apple II downloading software must have its "Binary Down" option set to ON. The problem with this is that, at least on a few popular telecom wares (like Spectrum), setting "Binary Down" to ON will turn OFF Resume Transfer, something you probably do not want to do when downloading over phone lines. When you use a PC or Mac to handle downloads and, then, NULL-modem the files to your Apple, it makes sense to leave "Binary Down" ON for the telecom program running on the Apple II. Resume Transfer is not necessary because you have a direct, noise-free connection between two machines. Meanwhile, Binary Down will automatically recognize and strip-off any Binary II header and save the resulting file with the correct filetype. ---------------------------- 006a Should I add a Binary II header to files I upload? In general, no. Binary II is an Apple-only device which, today, is largely unnecessary and can cause problems. Virtually the only valid use for Binary II is to retain filetype information for .SEA self-extracting archives. (An .SEA file with a Binary II header is a .BSE file.) The only file which really needs to be downloadable as a self-extracting archive is GS-ShrinkIt. ---------------------------- 007- What is a "binscii" file and how are they used? The term "binscii" comes from combining "binary" with "ASCII". A file in binscii form has been changed so that it can be transmitted as text to/from net servers and services which do not handle pure binary transfers. Today, practically all servers can handle pure binary transfers; so, binscii is no longer in popular use. However, quite a few old A2 files are still in binscii form and binscii is used for files uploaded to comp.binaries.apple2. To convert binscii'd files to their un-biniscii-ed form, you can use a program named "BINSCII" or, on a GS, the New Desk Accessory named "GSCIIPlus". These programs can, also, create binscii files. Note: Binscii is in no way related to Binary II. Binscii changes the entire file into Text. Binary II is just a small block of bytes tacked onto the front of a file, mainly to identify the file's filetype. ---------------------------- 008- What are .SHK files and how do I use them? .SHK files are the Apple II world's answer to .ZIP files in PC-ville. A .SHK file is a file which contains one or more files which are almost always in compressed form. Usually, they are produced by GS-ShrinkIt (also called "GSHK" or "ShrinkIt-GS") or, on 8-bit Apple II's, by ShrinkIt. Some .SHK files are produced by Macs and are not compatible with A2 ShrinkIt programs. A .SHK file can be unpacked by ShrinkIt even if it shows up on the Apple II with a TXT or BIN filetype. If an .SHK file has a Binary II header, ShrinkIt will automatically remove it and assign the correct filetype. (Of course, this will usually be SHK.) Other kinds of ShrinkIt files include .SEA and .SDK. An Apple II .SEA file is a IIgs executable self-extracting archive-- i.e. you can click it on the GS Finder and it will unShrink. There are also Mac .SEA files and these are not GS-compatible. A ShrinkIt disk archive is usually labeled ".SDK" to show that it is a Shrinked diskette. A disk archive retains everything on the diskette, including files, Catalog/Directory sectors, and DOS if present. .SDK files can be archives of 3.5" or 5.25" diskettes. Most are archives of 5.25" DOS 3.3 diskettes produced by 8-bit ShrinkIt. 8-bit/IIe ShrinkIt can be used to fully unshrink any .SHK file _except_ .SHK files which contain files with GS/OS resource forks and .SEA files. For this reason, 8-bit ShrinkIt should not be used to unshrink .SHK files containing GS programs unless you know none of the contained files has a resource fork. GS-ShrinkIt can handle nearly all kinds of .SHK and .SDK files. It will not handle shrinked 5.25" DOS 3.3 .SDK files created by 8-bit ShrinkIt. For this reason most users automatically use 8-bit ShrinkIt to handle .SDK files of old 5.25" wares. Naturally, you can use the 8-bit and GS ShrinkIt programs to create .SHK files. Since the unshrinking process is very speedy and since size of a compressed .SHK file is, often, around half that of the original files it contains, .SHK files are very handy for archiving your software. Since an .SHK file also preserves filetype information of contained files, .SHK has become the preferred format for uploading and storing Apple II files on the internet. ---------------------------- 008a Can I create .ZIP files on my Apple II? The GS can unZIP .ZIP files via PMPunZip; but, at present, there is no Apple II utility for creating modern .ZIP files. ---------------------------- 009- What are DSK "disk image" files and how do I use them? A "disk image" is a file containing everything on the diskette-- i.e. Catalog tracks, files, DOS (if present) etc.. Usually, they are images of Apple 5.25" game, utility, etc. diskettes. A standard 5.25" disk image file is 143,360 byes in length. DSK files are disk image files used by emulators like AppleWin to run A2 wares on the PC or Mac. Emulators treat DSK files like diskettes. DSK files are also a handy way to archive DOS 3.3 disks on hard disk and to maintain old DOS 3.3 wares on Apple II ftp sites. On Ftp sites, DSK files are usually in a ZIPped form to conserve space. On an Apple II, a DSK file can be converted to actual 5.25" diskette form using DSK2file or (GS-only) ASIMOV. You can, also, use DSK2FILE or ASIMOV to create DSK files from unprotected 5.25" diskettes. In some versions of Copy II+ (up to around version 7.x) the COPY--DISK function can create disk image files and convert them back to diskette. Copy II+ disk image files are not compatible with those created by DSK2FILE and ASIMOV; and, they do not work with emulators. ---------------------------- 010- I have downloaded a bunch of files for the Apple II lately that are in a format called GZ. I understand it is some variation of Zip but I don't have a translator for it on my GS. Does anyone know where I can find one? Files downloaded from Asimov, mod files, and some others are, often, in GZ format and usually have the .gz file name extension (like narfgame.dsk.gz). If you download the files to a PC, you can use the Windows version of PKZip (WinZip) to unzip the file. Usually, once unzipped, an Asimov GZ image file will end up as a 143k DSK file. The file may be moved to your Apple via NULL modem and converted to Apple-readable diskette form using DSK2file or (GS-only) ASIMOV. If you download a GZ file directly to your Apple you can use a program named "GZPK" v2 to convert it from gzip form to a zip format which can be unzipped via PMPUnzip 2.0 or Angel. A GZ file from the Asimov site should end up as a DSK file. ---------------------------- 011- I've downloaded ShrinkIt but it comes in as a TXT file. Since I do not have a way to change filetypes on my, Apple II how do I get ShrinkIt going? You can download a file named "TCHANGE.BIN" and the directions for using it (in a Text file) from Ground's "Useful stuff" folder. TCHANGE.BIN is the original Roger Wagner BASIC Type Changer filetype-changer program which has had a short machine code routine tacked onto the front to make it BRUN-able. As explained in the directions, this circumvents the Catch-22 situation of needing to already have a filetype-changer program. Using Type Changer you can set the filetype for 8-bit ShrinkIt to SYS or of GSHK.SEA (GS-ShrinkIt) to S16 and run the programs. ---------------------------- 011a Which programs can change ProDOS filetype? Some programs which can be used to change filetype include ... Type Changer (BASIC program) FileManager (IIgs NDA) ProSel (ProDOS 8 utilities) PMPunZIP (IIgs application) ---------------------------- 012- How can I move AppleSoft BASIC programs to Quick BASIC on my PC? Transferring Applesoft programs on an Apple II to QBASIC, GW-BASIC, etc. on the PC is mainly a matter of moving a text copy of the program to the PC. (To make a text copy of an Apple II program, you LIST the program to a Text file.) On the PC, you bring the A2 program text into your BASIC editor. BASICs available on a PC are not 100% compatible with Applesoft. Once you can list the Applesoft program on the PC under QBASIC (or whatever), you will, almost certainly, need to modify it. It will be necessary to replace some Applesoft commands with their PC BASIC equivalents. Some commands are very similar but differ slightly in syntax; and you are likely to find that some conventions, such as the numerical value of "True" from boolean tests, are different. The more an Applesoft program is "pure BASIC", the easier it will be to get it working on a PC. Programs which employ lots of PEEKs and POKEs, do monitor CALLs, and access other features specific to the Apple II will be more troublesome. ---------------------------- 013- What is the easiest way to get files from Apple II FTP sites? Modern PC internet browsers, like Netscape 4.x, have 'spoiled' much of the challenge of connecting to ftp sites. For example, entering ftp://ground.isca.uiowa.edu/2/apple2/apple16/Games/ in Netscape's "Netsite" box gets you to Ground's GS games folder ready to download with just a mouse click. (To download Text files, press Shift and Click.) Once files are downloaded, they can be transferred to your Apple II via NULL modem. A slightly different approach is to use a good FTP program, such as WS_FTP. It is easier to download or upload multiple files and speed is usually better. To connect to an FTP site you can run a dial-up program to establish contact with your Internet Service Provider (ISP), start your FTP program, and select the FTP site you want from a list you've created. The list, also called a "profile list", contains ... the site's internet name-- such as "ground.isca.uiowa.edu" the particular folder or directory you want to begin with-- such as "/2/apple2" and the folder on your computer for downloads-- such as "C:\UPDOWN". Other information, such as the kind of connection ( usually "Unix standard") and the password you send to the site-- usually you will log-in as "annanymous"-- are entered more or less automatically when you first create a site's profile entry. When the connection is made, you will see a list of files and folders in the folder you have entered. If you open one of the folders, you will get a new listing of files and folders contained in the selected folder. You can 'navigate' deeper into the archive and reach, say, Ground's /2/apple2/Collections/AOL/Games folder; and you can navigate backward to, say, /2/apple2/Collections and explore some other collection, such as /2/apple2/Collections/1WSW. Practically all programs and compressed disks will be in .SHK or some other "binary" form. "Binary" should be your download/upload mode setting except when downloading (or uploading) Text files. To download or view a Text file, you should click the FTP program's "ASCII" or "Text" mode. In general, when downloading an Apple II .SHK, .ZIP, etc. file, it is best to avoid having any "helper" applications set up to automatically process the file. Your Apple II can take care of un-Shrinking and most other kinds of processing which may be required after the file is transferred from the PC (or Mac). To download one or more files you click-highlight each file you want. Then, you click some button-- such as an arrow symbol pointing to your C:\UPDOWN folder-- to start the download. Usually everything will go smoothly and the files will appear on hard disk in your target folder (e.g. C:\UPDOWN). One good check is to compare file lengths displayed in your target folder with those shown in the FTP site's list. If you do straight downloads with no processing, there should be no differences. ---------------------------- 014- Are there any kinds of files I should process on the PC (or Mac) before transfer to my Apple II? Yes. Many old games and other interesting wares downloaded from "emulator" sites like Asimov (ftp.apple.asimov-net) will arrive as .gz files. These will, almost always, be compressed 5.25" disk image (DSK) files. They should be un-compressed on the PC via WinZIP before being sent to your Apple II. This avoids a messy de-compression process on the Apple and makes the DSK file available on the PC (or Mac) should you wish to use it with AppleWin or some other A2 emulator program. Note: If you are running an FTP program under plain DOS or Windows 3.x, long file names will be truncated to fit PC's old "8 and 3" format. A .gz file may not show up in your C:\UPDOWN (or whatever) directory with the ".gz" suffix. It is still a .gz file and will not be useful as a disk image (DSK) file until it is uncompressed. The usual size of a 5.25" disk image file is about 143kB. Other chores you will want to handle on the PC before sending a file to your Apple II include converting .HTM (HTML) files to text and splitting up very large Text files. Similarly, it will be easier to view, process, and convert most large graphics files on the PC. ---------------------------- 015- I need some help with uploading. I uploaded a large file to apple2.caltech but nobody seems able to download it without ending up with garbage. What's wrong? Uploading files to an FTP site is a fairly simple process-- basically, it's pretty close to the reverse of downloading described above. For example, to upload a group of Apple IIgs files named "NARFGAME" you would ... o On the GS, use GS-ShrinkIt to created a single compressed file containing the NARFGAME files. The new .SHK file could be named "NARFGAME.SHK". o Use Spectrum or some other A2 telecom program to NULL modem NARFGAME.SHK to, say, the PC's C:\UPDOWN folder using Z-modem protocol. o Dial-up your ISP and start your FTP program (e.g. WS_FTP). o Select the desired FTP site's name in your "profiles list" (or, if necessary, create the profile entry) and connect with the FTP site. o Navigate to the FTP site's uploads folder-- usually, it will be named "Uploads" or "Incoming". (Note: you may or may not see any files listed when in a site's Uploads folder. Some FTP sites hide file names in this folder and/or restrict folder access to upload-only.) o Make sure 'transfer mode' is set to "binary". o Highlight "NARFGAME.SHK" in the listing of files in your C:\UPDOWN folder. o Click an arrow button (or whatever) to start the transfer to the FTP site's Uploads folder. With a little experience everything is nearly 'automatic'. However, there are a few common mistakes which can ruin an upload: o Probably, the most common error is failing to make sure "binary" is set (check-marked, etc.) as the transfer mode when a .SHK file or other non-Text file is uploaded. Similarly, Text files are messed up if the user neglects to set "ASCII" mode for his/her Text uploads. o Many Apple II users seem to feel that, because "Binary Up"-- an option which adds a Binary II header-- is available on their telecom program, it should be used for all transfers. It is best to turn OFF any Spectrum (ProTerm, etc.) option which adds a Binary II header. (Also, you should _not_ use GS-ShrinkIt's option to add a Binary II header.) A Binary II header renders a file useless until the header is stripped off; so, for example, any Text file with the header will be un-readable by a PC. If a downloader does not have an A2 telecom program which automatically strips off the header during NULL modem transfers (or if "Binary Down" is turned OFF), the Text file will look like garbage on the Apple II as well. o Too many old-time Apple II users still insist upon doing a binscii conversion of all .SHK files before uploading them. When, as sometimes happens, a binscii'd .SHK file is uploaded as an ".SHK" file, downloaders end up with a ".SHK file which ShrinkIt cannot unshrink". Except for uploads to text-oriented services like comp.binaries.apple2, binscii is not necessary on the modern internet. o Sometimes, a user will NULL modem an Apple Text file to PC using a block transfer protocol (like Z-modem) and, then, upload the file as Text intended to be readable on-line. Such a file will, usually, be a mess when viewed on a PC. o Mac owners sometimes use the Mac version of ShrinkIt to create a ".SHK" archive of Apple II files which is then uploaded to an Apple II FTP site. The result is another 'mystery .SHK file' which Apple II users cannot unshrink. .SHK files uploaded to an Apple II FTP site should be created on an Apple II using an Apple II version of ShrinkIt. In short, most of the common uploading errors are the result of carelessness or of doing something which is unnecessary. A good uploading 'rule of thumb' is "Keep it simple". ---------------------------- 15a What kinds of files should I upload to which sites? I. Ground, A2-Caltech, and most other Apple II ftp sites These sites prefer .SHK files for stuff intended to run or be accessed on an Apple II. For example, a game which includes a program file, text Readme file, and folder of pic files would be Shrink'd into an .SHK file. It is best to Shrink even compressed picture, small binary, and icon files and upload them as .SHK files because everyone is used to dealing with .SHK files and the filetype of the Shrink'd file is preserved. ProDOS diskettes should, usually, be uploaded as a collection of files in a regular .SHK file. This uses less space than a whole-disk archive file. DOS 3.3 diskettes should be uploaded as whole-disk archive .SDK files. (That is, you have an .SHK whole-disk archive but you change its name to end with ".SDK".) Pictures and diagrams you want to be both useable on an Apple II and viewable on-line should be converted to .GIF form (e.g. via Super Convert) and uploaded in this form. If you have several pictures or diagrams you want to be accessible off-line on an Apple II as well as a PC, Mac, etc., you can convert them to .GIF form, place them all in a .ZIP file on your PC, and upload the .ZIP file. All of the above would be uploaded in "Binary" mode. Text which is intended to be readable on-line should be uploaded as plain Text in "ASCII" or "Text" mode. Whenever you upload a game, utility, etc. to an ftp site, it's a good idea to also upload a brief Text file with a description of the uploaded item. For example, after uploading NARFGAME2.SHK (in binary mode), you could upload a brief description in a Text file named NARFGAME.TXT (in Text mode). II. Comp.binaries.apple2 Programs, etc. posted to this newsgroup are normally .SHK files which have been Binscii'd-- i.e. after Shrinking, the file is changed to Text form via a binscii utility. III. Asimov and other Apple II emulator ftp sites Upload files will, generally, be individual DOS 3.3 or ProDOS disk image (.DSK) files created on an Apple II by DSK2FILE or ASIMOV. Upload in binary mode. ____________________________ From: Dan DeMaggio, Nathan Mates, Phil Abro, Rubywand 016- What do the different popular file name extensions, like ".BSC", mean and how do I access the files? File name extensions tell you what sort of file you are dealing with so that you will know which program(s) to use to unpack, unShrink, display, etc. the file. Some extensions indicate a filetype recognized by Apple II ProDOS; but, often, the extension is just for user information or to help some utility recognize the file as one it can deal with. For such files the actual ProDOS filetype is usually TXT, BIN, or SHK. What is it? (What program do I use?) ------------------------------------------------------------ .AAF Apple Archive Format [TEXT] for source code (aaf.unpacker) .ACU NuFX Applelink archive (ShrinkIt*) .ALU usually a multi-file, non-compressed A2 archive (ALU) .APF GS super-res packed graphics format (Platinum Paint, Convert 3200, etc.) .ARC PC Archive (GS-ShrinkIt or DeArc2E or PC Arc program) .BMP Windows Bit-Mapped graphics format (GS Convert 3200; many PC viewers) .BNX NuFX with BLU header. (ShrinkIt*) .BNY BLU archive. (ShrinkIt*) .BQY NuFX with BLU header. (ShrinkIt*) .BSC BinScii file. [TEXT] (BinScii or GScii+) .BSE A GSHK* .SEA file with a Binary II header (ShrinkIt*) .BSQ BinScii'd NuFX file. [TEXT] (BinScii plus ShrinkIt* on the result) .BXY NuFX archive with a Binary II header. (ShrinkIt*) .CPT Compactor Pro archive (Compactor Pro on a Mac only) .EXE A2 Executioner file [TEXT]. (On A2 may only work in DOS 3.3.) .GIF Graphics Interchange Format: Compressed picture (IIGIF for //e; Super Convert, ... on GS; PC, etc.: many viewers and editors) .GZ GZip PC archive format often used for storing A2 emulator disk images (GS GZPK plus PMPUnZIP 2.0 or Angel; PC WinZIP) .HQX Mac BinHex file. [TEXT] (BinHex on Mac or GSCII+) .HTM HTML [TEXT] with embedded Text commands (Web browsers, web editors, etc.) .JPG PC JPEG hi-res, hi-color graphics format (GS JPEG.VIEWER, etc. B/W only or PC, Unix viewers) .LBR a multi-file, non-compressed A2 archive (Librarian) .LHA LHA Archive (PC/Amiga LZH program) .LZH LZH Archive (PC/Amiga LZH program) .PCX PC graphics format (GS Convert 3200; PC many viewers) .PD compressed GS multi-palette graphics file w/o palettes (GS SuperPac) .PNG PC PING hi-res, hi-color graphics format (PC viewer) .PS compressed GS multi-palette graphics file with palettes (GS SuperPac) .QQ BLU archive. (ShrinkIt*) .SDK ShrinkIt disk image, usually NuFX-compressed (ShrinkIt*) .SEA Self-extracting A2 ShrinkIt* or Mac ShrinkIt archive (depending upon kind, run on Apple IIgs or Mac) .SHK usually an A2 NuFX-compressed archive; non-A2-compatible Mac .SHK archives also exist (GS ShrinkIt* / Mac unshrinker utility / PC Nulib-- for non-forked A2 files) .SIT Mac StuffIt archive. (Stuffit on Mac or GS ShrinkIt) GS-ShrinkIt will not decode StuffIt Deluxe files. .TAR Unix Tape Archive (Unix tar with -xvf option, GS EXE tar) .TGZ Gzipped .TAR file .uu Unix uuencode file [TEXT] (//e uudecode, Unix uudecode) .uue Unix uuencode file [TEXT] (//e uudecode, Unix uudecode) .TIFF Graphics format (GS SHR Convert) .TXT [TEXT] An ASCII text file (Text editors, word processors, etc.) .UU Unix uuencode file [TEXT] (A2 uudecode or Unix uudecode) .UUE Unix uuencode file [TEXT] (A2 uudecode or Unix uudecode) .Z Compressed file (GS-ShrinkIt or Unix uncompress) .ZIP PC Zip Archive (GS PMPUnZIP or UNZIP [GS Shell EXE] or PC WinZIP, PKUNZIP, Unix unzip) .ZOO PC Zoo Archive (GS-ShrinkIt??? or PC ZOO program) * Note: GS-ShrinkIt (= GSHK) can handle all ShrinkIt files except .SDK (shrunken disk) files of 5.25" DOS 3.3 disks created by 8-bit ShrinkIt. 8-bit ShrinkIt does not work for GS files having a resource fork or GS .SEA files. ---------------------------- From: Apple's ftp site ... Most files are in one of a few common formats, and many are a combination. .sit StuffIt 1.5.1 archives .hqx BinHex 4.0 file .bin Binary file .image DiskCopy 4.2 image file .txt plain ASCII text file .bsc Apple II BinSCII file .shk Apple II ShrinkIt file Most of the Macintosh files are BinHexed StuffIt files. This means you need to transfer the file, then read the license agreement which is prepended to it (with any text processor), use BinHex or any utility which can read BinHex 4.0 files to decode the BinHex to a StuffIt archive, then use UnStuffIt or the StuffIt Expander (or any other utility) to decompress the .sit file into the final file. In some cases the final file is a .image file. These are exact duplicates of floppy disks (with verified checksums). Use DiskCopy to convert these files into floppy disks for installation. Some Apple System Software is in this format. Most of the Apple II files are either straight text or BinSCII'd ShrinkIt files. This means you need to transfer the file, then use BinSCII to convert the .bsc file to a ShrinkIt file, then use ShrinkIt to create the final file or disk. Note: Apple calls their BinSCII'd .SHK files ".bsc" instead of ".bsq". It is fairly common for uploaders and ftp sites to tag any BinSCII'd file as ".bsc". The rationale is that, once a user un-BinSCII's a file, he or she will find a .SHK, .ZIP, etc. file and know how to continue. ____________________________ From: Dan DeMaggio 017- 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, check the earlier info 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][![/#NuFX_<:c[[[ H`F-fGSCII~[ cRJ0)fNN^P)3'A2p6SF6X#GPd<9#'LC^08N7n\NB7Dd!eMN&eYX0Am=fXp dsPAsp7rh`I'NS0ALAfi2)2ysGEQ$k9CP%L9 ... then you have a NuFX file (note the key words NuFile and NuFX). You should be able to extract the files it contains using ShrinkIt. On the third hand, if you have a text file which resembles: begin 666 nonsense.bny M4W5N3U,s4F5L96%S92 T+C$s\%-$4U0V,"Ds(SsZ(%1U92!/8W0s.2 Q,CHS M...3HT.2!%1%0s,3DY, HT then you have a uuencoded file. On another hand, if you have a text file which begins with (This file must be converted with BinHex 4.0) :$&4)48C28N0&,P009!"6593K8dP8)3%!!!#Ls!!!!!!Qie009#%!!3!!SPKb6'& e!3!!!!!!!!!#!!P8D'8J4QpbBf9P)IN33)(4$N#"d4K!JG%S!!!!!`!'VfJ!"VP then you have a BinHex file. The GSCII+ NDA by Derek Taubert decodes BinHex files on an Apple IIGS. You can also use a variety of macintosh programs to do the decoding. There is also a Unix implementation of BinHex called mcvert. On one more hand, if you have a text file which resembles: CALL-151 E00:38 A5 FF D0 32 D8 20 8E FD AD 30 BF 8D 6A 0E 20 00 BF C7 6D 0E 0D 80 02 E18:D0 1D 20 00 BF C5 69 0E B0 15 AD 81 02 29 0F AA E8 8E 80 02 A9 2F 8D 81 and more lines like that, followed by a bunch of lines that look like: A90885A420732090242039FB2058FCA200BD9220F00620EDFDE8D0F5200CFDA9 008DF2038DF3038DF4036CFCFFE6A4A5A4C96F90CFA9008DFCBFA9018DFDBFA0 A90885A420732090242039FB2058FCA200BD9220F00620EDFDE8D0F5200CFDA9 then you have an Executioner file.