Read the PictoGuide first! If you have trouble opening the PictoGuide, refer to the “Troubleshooting/Known Issues” section below.
This document contains instructions which will aid your understanding of DropStuff w/ Expander Enhancer as well as information covering known issues and special topics.
Note: For StuffIt Deluxe 4.0 and DropStuff 4.0 users (as well as users of earlier versions) this will install an unregistered DropStuff with Expander Enhancer version 4.5, including an unregistered StuffIt Engine 4.5. This is not a free upgrade. Please see the “Register Your Shareware” section below for information on upgrade pricing.
Description
DropStuff w/ Expander Enhancer consists of three components, the program DropStuff™, the StuffIt Engine™, and the StuffIt Engine™ PowerPlug. The StuffIt Engine™ and the StuffIt Engine™ PowerPlug comprise what we call “Expander Enhancer”. It is the StuffIt Engine and the StuffIt Engine™ PowerPlug that actually does the stuffing when you drag items onto DropStuff. These also enhance StuffIt Expander. That's why we call it the Expander Enhancer! Note: This is not a free upgrade. Please see the section “DropStuff is Shareware” for information on registering your shareware.
StuffIt Expander is a separate product designed to expand common compression and encoding file formats. If you are not using StuffIt Expander we recommend that you get a copy today.
DropStuff w/ Expander Enhancer is designed to meet four needs:
(1) Create StuffIt archives quickly and efficiently.
Using DropStuff you can create StuffIt archives by simply dragging & dropping your files and folders onto the DropStuff icon. DropStuff compresses a copy of the information into a StuffIt archive and puts the archive in the same location that you dragged from, using the name of the file or folder as the name of the archive.
(2) To enhance StuffIt Expander, so it can expand more formats.
If you have our program StuffIt Expander also installed, the StuffIt Engine and the StuffIt Engine PowerPlug give it the ability to expand just about any file format you might encounter. These includes formats from Macintosh, Unix, and IBM-PCs and compatibles machines like Mime/Base64, gzip (.gz), TAR (.tar), Unix Compress (.Z), UUcode (.uu), and ZIP (.zip), including encrypted zip files. StuffIt Expander will also be able to expand StuffIt SpaceSaver files and join StuffIt segmented files.
(3) Accelerate DropStuff and StuffIt Expander on a Power Macintosh.
The StuffIt Engine accelerates the operations of DropStuff and StuffIt Expander if you are running on a machine that has a PowerPC CPU. For example, you can expand a StuffIt archive up to 5 times more quickly on a 6100/60 than on a IIci.
(4) Enhance third-party products that use the StuffIt Engine.
There are many programs, written by other companies, that will take advantage of the StuffIt Engine if it is present. Once you have installed DropStuff w/ Expander Enhancer, these products can stuff and expand files. For a partial listing of these companies and their programs (there are more every week!), see the “Vendors who support StuffIt” document located in the “Read Us First!” folder.
Installation
Hopefully, you’re reading this document after the complete software package was installed. If not, you should obtain the “DropStuff w/EE Installer” and reinstall the software. Refer to the “What was installed (and where)” document for details on where the software was installed.
Installation Clean Up
The following items are recommended to ensure that you have full use of DropStuff w/ Expander Enhancer 4.5. You should follow these steps after you have performed a successful installation of DropStuff w/ Expander Ehancer 4.5.
1. Remove any old copies of DropStuff.
2. If you do not have StuffIt Expander 4.5, download it from our web site:
http://www.aladdinsys.com
3. Once you have installed StuffIt Expander 4.5, remove any old copies of StuffIt Expander.
Requirements
DropStuff w/ Expander Enhancer is a System 7 or OS 8 application. DropStuff w/ Expander Enhancer is Apple event aware, 32-bit clean, ‘040 cache and virtual memory compatible.
What is an archive, anyway?
An archive is a single file which acts like a container, holding one or more files or folders. Usually the files in an archive are compressed, so they take up less room on a diskette or hard drive, and take less time to transmit over networks and modems. Unless the archive is “self-extracting” (.sea), you need a separate utility to access the files in an archive. StuffIt Expander is a utility which lets you decompress the contents of archives.
Using DropStuff
Files, folders, or disks can be stuffed by dragging their icons onto the DropStuff icon.
1. In the Finder, select one or more icons that you want stuffed.
2. Drag them over the DropStuff icon until it is highlighted.
3. Let go of the mouse/trackball/trackpad button. DropStuff will compress the item(s) you selected. DropStuff will automatically quit, when it finishes stuffing.
If you prefer to manually stuff your files or want to compress items from multiple locations:
1. Double click the DropStuff icon.
2. Choose “Stuff...” from the File menu.
3. Click the “Add” button to move the selected item from the directory list on the left to the items list on the right.
4. Click the “Stuff” button in the lower right corner to stuff the items shown in the item list into an archive.
Here are some details of the Stuff dialog:
• The directory list on the left of this dialog is similar to the Open dialog that allows you to select files, folders, and disks. The pop-up menu above the list indicates the folder in which the items reside.
• Checking the “Delete item when finished” check box deletes the selected item from the disk after it has been stuffed into the current archive. Use this feature carefully.
• The “Remove” button removes the selected item from the item list and places it back in the directory list. This means the item will not be subsequently stuffed into the current archive.
• The “Items to Stuff” list contains the items that will be stuffed into the archive when the “Stuff” button is clicked.
• Checking the “Encrypt with password” check box encrypts all items in the item list when the “Stuff” button is clicked. Make sure to remember your password! You will need it to unstuff any encrypted items in the archive. Also, passwords are case sensitive. Aladdin Systems can not help you if you forget your password.
To create a self-extracting archive that any Mac OS user can unstuff, even without a StuffIt product:
1. Double click the DropStuff icon.
2. Choose “Preferences...” from the File menu.
3. Click the “Make self-extracting” checkbox (so the box is checked).
4. Click "OK".
Now proceed to stuff files, using either the manual or drag & drop techniques. All new archives you create will be self-extracting until you deselect the “Make self-extracting” checkbox in the DropStuff “Preferences...” dialog.
DropStuff is not able to create segmented archives and is therefore not able to create multi-disk self-extracting archives. If you need to segment very large archives to fit onto floppy disks, try using StuffIt Lite (a shareware product available online) or, better still, try StuffIt Deluxe (our commercially available “Complete Compression Solution”). If you’re a registered user of DropStuff w/ Expander Enhancer, you can get StuffIt Deluxe at a special price. Contact Aladdin for details (408/761-6200) or see the order form located the Read Us First! folder.
Special Topics for DropStuff
DropStuff Shortcuts
While dragging and dropping a file onto DropStuff...
• Holding down the control key will delete the original after stuffing is finished. You are not warned, so use this feature carefully.
• Holding down the option key brings up the one-time preferences dialog. Any preferences you set in the preferences dialog will be used for the current stuffing operation only.
• If you drop a StuffIt archive on DropStuff with BinHex encoding turned on, the archive will just be BinHexed (as opposed to being re-stuffed and BinHexed).
Scripting
Scripters can control DropStuff from other applications. For example, with HyperCard use the “open <document> using “DropStuff” command. With Frontier, use “required.OpenDocument(‘DStf’, document)”. Users of Apple Script and UserLand Frontier can control StuffIt Expander via the “Expand” event. Use the Apple Script Script Editor’s “Open Dictionary” command to view the information on the Expand event.
Troubleshooting/Known Issues
• There is a problem when expanding certain files. Once expanded, these files will not open properly. There is a setting in StuffIt Expander 4.5 (available separately) that can be changed in order to 'fix' the problem. In StuffIt Expander, change the Cross-Platform preference "Convert text files to Macintosh format:" to "Never." The files should now expand without error.
• The PictoGuide can be opened by SimpleText, some versions of TeachText, and any application that can open PICT documents. If you have trouble opening the PictoGuide, your version of TeachText may be not be recent enough. The PictoGuide will print correctly on some printers, but not others. If the page breaks of the printed PictoGuide seem inaccurate, turn *off* “Larger Print Area” in the Options dialog of “Page Setup...” and try reprinting. Certain Hewlett-Packard printers may not allow you to turn this option off; in this case, the printed PictoGuide will contain all the complete information, but the page breaks will be off.
• If DropStuff does not highlight when dragging a file onto it, try rebuilding your desktop by restarting your computer while holding down the Option and Command keys until a dialog appears. Click “OK” when asked if you want to rebuild your desktop.
• If DropStuff’s preferences are set to “Make self-extracting” and “Encrypt with Password”, when you drag a StuffIt archive onto DropStuff it will turn the archive into a Self-Extracting Archive (.sea) but will not encrypt the .sea.
DropStuff is Shareware
DropStuff w/ Expander Enhancer is shareware. You may use it and pay nothing for up to 15 days. After 15 days, you must register your shareware by sending Aladdin Systems a $30 registration fee. If you are upgrading from a previous version of DropStuff you can register for $15. You can always give away the “DropStuff w/EE Installer”. Register your shareware by E-mail, fax, mail, or phone. We accept Visa, MasterCard, American Express, Discover, checks, and money orders. U.S. funds only.
Registration entitles you to technical support and to hear about special offers from Aladdin Systems. We encourage you to give the DropStuff w/ Expander Enhancer installer to every Macintosh user you know. Please be sure to give them the installer and not the individual parts that are installed.
THANK YOU FOR SUPPORTING SHAREWARE!
Upgrading from a Previous Version
DropStuff with Expander Enhancer 4.5 is a paid upgrade. If you have a registered copy that is earlier than version 4.5, it will be replaced with an unregistered version. The upgrade price for registration is $15. You will see a registration dialog each time you utilize DropStuff with Expander Enhancer until you register your new version.
What is Shareware?
Shareware is software distributed via the Internet, local bulletin board systems (BBS), commercial online services, user groups, and between friends. You are allowed to use shareware for a trial period before you pay for it, but you must pay for it after that time.
Shareware exists because people (like you) continue to pay on this honor system. As a user of shareware, you benefit because you get to try the software to see if you like it before you pay. Some developers also give you added benefits when you pay for your shareware (like special deals on other products, and free technical support). We do.
Please share this software with every Mac user you know! But, PLEASE, give away the installers only, not the individual files. In other words, share the “DropStuff w/ Expander Enhancer Installer” with your friends so that they get the complete software package. -THANKS!
Visit our Online Technical Support
You can receive information immediately on any of our products by visiting our Web site or using our automatic e-mail system. For links to the Product Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) and information on getting an auto-response email via our Infobot, go to our Web site at:
http://www.aladdinsys.com/support/index.html
How to Contact Us
If you would like information about our other award-winning products (like StuffIt Deluxe™, FlashBack™, Private File™, Spring Cleaning™, CyberFinder™, ShrinkWrap™, or InstallerMaker™), just ask us. For the quickest way to learn more about Aladdin’s products, visit our Web site listed below.
Mail:
Aladdin Systems, Inc.
165 Westridge Drive
Watsonville CA 95076
USA
Phone: (408) 761-6200
Fax: (408) 761-6206
WWW: http://www.aladdinsys.com
FTP: ftp://ftp.aladdinsys.com
Internet Mail: service@aladdinsys.com (Customer Service & Sales)
