If you are reading this, you've already installed it! However, for users of previous versions of StuffIt Expander, we recommend that you rebuild your desktop (hold down the command & option keys during startup) since this version has some new information in it.
Description:
StuffIt Expander is designed to be the simplest, most efficient way to decompress any compressed Macintosh file you may have downloaded from an online information service or bulletin board system. There are thousands of such files available, and they are usually stored in one of several compressed archive formats.
StuffIt Expander extracts files from the three most popular archive-based compression formats found on the Macintosh: StuffIt archives, Compact Pro™ archives and AppleLink™ packages. All non-encrypted archives created by any versions of these products are supported, including files created with the commercial StuffIt Deluxe 3.0 and the shareware StuffIt Lite 3.0.
StuffIt Expander will also decode files which have been encoded by BinHex 4.0 (or a compatible product), such as those commonly found on the Internet. There is no need to strip out any headers from BinHex files before converting, StuffIt Expander will ignore anything that is not valid. Multipart BinHex files, such as those appearing in Internet newsgroup postings (eg. comp.binaries.mac) are also supported.
StuffIt Expander requires System 6.0.4 or later, and System 7 users additionally can enjoy an easy “drag and drop” interface. You can also configure StuffIt Expander to perform periodic checks on the contents of a specified folder (called a "Watch Folder"), and to expand any newly added files that it finds.
StuffIt Expander is 32-bit clean, ‘040 cache and virtual memory compatible, Apple event aware and has an intelligent background processing scheme that makes it perfect for expanding groups of files while others are being downloaded.
Using StuffIt Expander:
System 7 users can have their archives expanded by dragging those icons onto the StuffIt Expander icon. You may also drag a folder or disk icon over StuffIt Expander, and it will expand the contents of the folder or disk.
1. Select the icons of the files to be expanded.
2. Drag them over the StuffIt Expander icon until it highlights.
3. Let go of the mouse/trackball button.
StuffIt Expander will open and you'll see a progress dialog showing how the expansion is going. Each archive gets expanded into a new folder, located in the same folder as the archive. If an archive contains a single file, then that file will not be put into a new folder.
When everything is expanded, StuffIt Expander automatically quits.
System 6 users, or those who prefer a direct way to expand their files, should:
1. Double click on the StuffIt Expander icon.
2. Choose the “Expand…” command from the File menu.
3. Select the file to be expanded.
4. Click the “Expand” button.
A progress dialog will appear, showing you how the expansion is going. Each archive gets expanded into a new folder, located in the same folder as the archive. If an archive contains a single file, then that file will not be put into a new folder.
5. Return to step 2 to expand more files or choose “Quit” from the File menu to exit StuffIt Expander.
Users who wish to set up a "Watch Folder":
1. Double click on the StuffIt Expander icon.
2. Choose “Preferences…” from the File menu.
3. Check the “Use Watch Folders” checkbox to enable the feature.
4. Now click the first “Select…” button and select the folder you want watched.
5. If you want the newly expanded contents from your watch folder to appear in a different folder (the destination), click the second “Select…” button and select a folder for the expanded files.
6. Type the number of minutes you want StuffIt Expander to wait between scans.
7. Click “OK”
8. Leave StuffIt Expander running, and do other things (such as downloading new files).
Special Features:
* If you hold down the Shift key when dropping files on the icon, or when choosing Expand from the menu, StuffIt Expander will give you the opportunity to choose an alternate destination (i.e. another folder or disk) for the expanded items.
* If you hold down the Option key when dropping the files on the icon, or when choosing Expand from the menu, StuffIt Expander will delete the original archives after expanding them. You are not warned, so use this feature carefully.
* If you hold down the Command key when launching the application, the "Check Watch Folder and then Quit" option will be temporarily overridden. This is useful since otherwise you would not be able to change your preferences again.
* If you hold down the Command key when choosing "Expand..." from the File menu, you will be able to select a folder (or entire disk) to expand, instead of a single file.
* StuffIt Expander is able to handle multipart BinHex files, provided that all the parts are coordinated in order into a single file and all intermediate headers are removed.
* Scripters can control StuffIt Expander from other applications. For example, with HyperCard use the “open <document> using "StuffIt Expander"” command. With Frontier, use a “required.OpenDocument('SITx', document)”.
* Users of AppleScript and Frontier can get more sophisticated control over StuffIt Expander via the new "Expand" event. Use the AppleScript Script Editor's "Open Dictionary" command to view the information on the Expand event.
Caveats:
* With the exception of StuffIt 3.0 archives, StuffIt Expander will not expand encrypted or password protected archives.
* StuffIt Expander will not expand any segmented archives, nor will it expand StuffIt archives created using Optimizers.
* In both of the above cases, if you do attempt to expand such an archive, StuffIt Expander will alert you and then continue on with any other archives you may have selected for expansion.
Troubleshooting:
We hope that you won't have any problems with StuffIt Expander, but if you do you can contact Aladdin Systems using any of the following means:
Aladdin Systems, Inc.
165 Westridge Drive
Watsonville, CA 95076 USA
Voice 408-761-6200; Fax 408-761-6206
AppleLink: Aladdin
America Online: Aladdin
Compuserve: 75300,1666
GEnie: AladdinSys
Internet: aladdin@well.sf.ca.us
Version History
1.0 - First public release (03/12/92)
1.0.1 - Update to fix some bugs and add some new features (06/01/92)
* Creation & modification dates on files and folders in Compact Pro
archives are now restored (even Compact Pro doesn't restore folder dates!)
* Folders with custom icons in Compact Pro archives are properly restored
* Problems with "drag & drop" not working have been fixed
* Includes 'aete' resource for compatibility with Apple event scripting systems
* Improved performance & user response in both background & foreground
* Correctly handles expanding files on locked volumes
* Problems with handling large Compact Pro archive comments have been fixed
* and a couple of little tweaks.
3.0 - Major Update (11/15/92)
* Added support for expanding Self-Extracting Archives
* Added support for expansion of entire folders & disks
* Added support for decoding BinHex files, including multi-part ones
* Added support for "Watch Folders"
* Problems with expanding complex Compact Pro archives have been fixed
* Files expanded from StuffIt archives no longer lose their icons.
* Expansion of Compact Pro archives is now faster
3.0.1 - Update to fix some bugs (12/18/92)
* Improved usability of Watch Folders
* Improved the decoding of BinHex files
* Icons of expanded files are now always correct
* Added support for folder expansion for System 6 users
* Now includes a prettier about box!
3.0.2 - Update to fix some bugs & improve speed (6/14/93)
* Expansion of all file types is now 5-15% faster!!
* Added new "Expand" Apple event for more flexibility for scripters
* Watch Folders now work correctly across multiple disks
* BinHex expansion has been made more robust & will better handle headers
* When selecting a folder, you can now create a new folder from the dialog
3.0.3 - Fixed the Drag & Drop bug in 3.0.2 (7/23/93)
3.0.7 - Update to fix some bugs and synchronize version numbers (9/8/93)
* Improved handling of expansion to locked or full disks
* It is now possible to abort expanding a .cpt or .pkg file.
* Archives are no longer deleted unless they are successfully expanded
Legal Stuff:
Although copyrighted, this software is being licensed to you for your use free of charge. However, ownership of and interest in this software shall remain with the author. Use and distribution of this software is governed by the following terms in an effort to reasonably ensure that this software will remain freely available and that no one other than the author will derive a commercial benefit from distributing this software.
LICENSE AGREEMENT
“You,” “your,” and the “user” refers to any person or entity which acquires or uses this software.
“Software” refers to any computer programs identified at the start of this documentation file, together with all codes, techniques, software tools, formats, designs, concepts, methods, ideas, and documentation associated with the computer program(s). The term also includes all copies of any part of the software and documentation.
“Author” refers to the author of this software, Aladdin Systems, Inc.
This software is owned by the author and contains valuable and proprietary information of the author. If you violate any part of this agreement, your right to use this software terminates automatically. In the event of termination of this agreement, you must destroy all copies of this software and derivatives of this software in your possession and cease distributing the same.
This software is being licensed to you as provided by the terms of this agreement.
You may:
1. Use this software on as many computers as you want at any given time.
2. Make as many backup copies of this software as you want.
3. Alter the software in any manner you see fit FOR YOUR OWN PERSONAL USE. Such altered versions should not be distributed. The creation of such derivatives shall not diminish the author's title to this software.
4. Terminate this agreement at any time by destroying all copies of this software and derivatives of this software and cease distributing the same.
You may not:
1. Create any derivative works from this software for distribution.
2. Reverse engineer, disassemble, decompile, or otherwise attempt to discover the logic or source code to this software.
StuffIt Expander™ may be distributed for non-commercial purposes.
It may also be freely distributed via wire or electronic communications (BBS's and online information systems) for the sole purpose of use by their customers.
Contact Aladdin Systems, Inc. at the address within this document if you wish to distribute this software in a compilation or for commercial usage, or if you have any questions about its redistribution.
Disclaimer of warranty:
In using this software, you understand and agree that this software is provided “as is” without warranty of any kind. The entire risk as to the results and performance of using this software lies entirely with you, the user. The author does not make any warranties, either expressed or implied, including but not limited to implied warranties of merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose, with respect to this software.
In no event shall the author be liable for any consequential, incidental, or special damages whatsoever (including without limitation damages for loss of critical data, loss of profits, interruption of business, and the like) arising out of the use or inability to use this software. Because some states do not allow the exclusion or limitation of liability for consequential or incidental damages, the above limitations may not apply to you.
Although the author would appreciate any feedback and bug reports, the author shall not be responsible for correcting any problems which you discover or otherwise help you maintain and use this software. Furthermore, the author may at any time replace, modify, alter, improve, enhance or change this software.
Complete agreement:
This agreement constitutes the entire agreement and supersedes any prior agreements between you and the author concerning this software. This agreement cannot be amended, modified, or waived except in writing.
General:
If any provision of this agreement shall be found to be unenforceable, it shall be deemed severed from the remainder of this agreement.
This agreement shall be construed in accordance with the laws of the State of California. Any arbitration or litigation relating to this agreement shall take place in the State of California. The parties further submit to waive any objections to personal jurisdiction of and venue in any of the following forums: U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, California Superior Court for Santa Cruz County, Santa Cruz County Municipal Court or any other forum in Santa Cruz County, for any litigation arising out of this agreement.
U.S. GOVERNMENT RESTRICTED RIGHTS
This Software is provided with RESTRICTED RIGHTS. Use, duplication, or disclosure by the government is subject to restrictions set forth in subparagraph (c)(1)(ii) of the Rights in Technical Data and Computer Software clause at 48 CFR 252.227-7013, or in subparagraphs (a) through (d) of the Commercial Computer Software Restricted Rights clause at 48 CFR 52.227-19, as applicable. The contractor/manufacturer is Aladdin Systems, Inc. 165 Westridge Drive. Watsonville, CA 95076.
All trademarks are held by their respective owners.