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- 2001.10.04
Description: Using StuffIt compression software Difficulty level: Intermediate System version: Depends on what StuffIt version you
have Required: StuffIt Deluxe (6.5 if possible)
StuffIt Deluxe is the most comprehensive compression solution
for the Mac. It is not just an application that compresses files;
it handles everything that a user needs to do for file exchange or
compression. StuffIt Deluxe 6.5 is the best version to have, since
some of the features discussed, such as StuffIt Express Personal
Edition, only ship with the latest version. This article covers
using Stuffit Deluxe on your Macintosh; the next article will cover
Internet related features.
The Application
The StuffIt Deluxe application is, in this writer's opinion, the
best tool to use in the whole suite. While the True Finder
Intregration module, which we will discuss soon, has its perks, the
application itself is more flexible in handling files and
archives.
Before you start, go to the Edit menu and select Preferences.
Customize the settings to your liking and save them. The
Preferences window is pretty straightforward. You should not find
it difficult to understand.
Create a new archive by clicking on the New Archive button in
the toolbar, or go to the File menu and hit New. Name the file, and
make sure that the filename ends with .sit. This is very
important, because the Finder integration modules, if installed,
will automatically decompress files when the .sit extension goes
away, and Windows computers require extensions to open the files
you send them.
If you set your settings to password-protect your files with
encryption - do this if you regularly compress files that need
access protection - you will get this window:
You have three options:
Enter a password if you have security needs
Click on Generate Random (not recommended if you want to
memorize it)
Click on No Password
Whether you put a password in or not, you are ready to compress.
You can click on the Stuff button in the toolbar or select Stuff in
the Archive menu and choose the right file from the dialog box. You
can also go to the Finder and compress the files by dragging them
to the archive window.
Drag files here and they will be compressed.
By going to the toolbar or the Archive menu, you can access lots
of features. You can create folders inside the archive. You will
find the Edit Comment feature, which allows you to type a little
something that you or the file recipient can read. It can be useful
to add a note or a reminder to the archive. You can also add a
return receipt request, which is useful when you send files and
want to know when your archives were opened by recipients. On the
other hand, people who use an earlier version of StuffIt Expander
(that does not support the feature) will not be able to send the
receipt when opening the archive. Note that people can ignore
return receipt requests even if their software is compatible with
it.
The toolbar in the StuffIt Deluxe application.
Still in the Archive menu, you can make the archive
self-extracting. This is the best compression option if you don't
know what decompression software (or version) your recipient uses.
The self-extracting archive will open itself and decompress files
by itself without the need to have StuffIt software installed. Use
it whenever you are in doubt about archive compatibility. At the
bottom of the Translate menu you will find the necessary features
to create the same kind of self-extracting file for Windows
computers.
If you need to verify an archive's file integrity, it can be
done by selecting Verify in the File menu, and choosing the file to
examine. If all is well, you will get this alert:
In the Deluxe application, you can translate, encode, and decode
files from the Translate menu. Depending on what format you have to
deal with, select the right option, and then choose the file to
handle.
Note: If you encode files, it is important to compress
them first, except for ZIP formats that represent compression on
different computer platforms.
Finder Integration
If you believe that launching the StuffIt Deluxe application for
each of your moves is tedious, there are simpler options to execute
your operations. To get Finder integration at your fingertips, you
have to make sure to install the True Finder Integration module
when installing StuffIt Deluxe.
The first feature is the StuffIt Browser. It allows you to open
StuffIt archives with nothing but a double-click. When you open an
archive this way, it opens just like a folder and allows you, with
drag and drop moves, to stuff, unstuff, and remove files.
It opens like a folder.
Another feature of Finder integration allows you to change a
file or an archive by changing its name. The Archive Via Rename
feature is quite simple: change the name, and StuffIt Deluxe will
detect your keystrokes to execute changes. For example, take a
normal file named "Document" and rename it to document.sit. StuffIt
Deluxe will automatically compress it into a StuffIt archive.
Remove the .sit extension, and StuffIt Deluxe will decompress the
file. The same applies to folders. Do this for any compression or
encoding format (.zip and many others), and it will work.
The other major function offered by the True
Finder Integration is the Magic Menu. A veteran feature of StuffIt
Deluxe, this menu is present in the Finder (and as a contextual
menu when you control-click on a file) for you to access StuffIt
Deluxe's features without launching the application. All you have
to do is select the file(s) to handle and pull down the Magic Menu
to perform actions. You can customize the menu's preferences by
pulling it down and selecting Preferences. Pay attention to the
StuffIt CM preferences module. It allows you to decide which
options are available when you use a contextual menu on a file. If
you never do Unix or Windows compression, you may want to uncheck
anything but Macintosh-friendly formats.
Drag and Drop Applications
These applications (StuffIt Expander, DropZip, etc.) cover the
actions that you want to perform with your files, but they are not
as friendly as the application or True Finder Integration. If all
you want to do is to drop a file on an icon to get something done,
however, the drag and drop apps are just fine.
Next week, we will cover the features that are related to file
exchange on the Internet.
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The other major function offered by the True
Finder Integration is the Magic Menu. A veteran feature of StuffIt
Deluxe, this menu is present in the Finder (and as a contextual
menu when you control-click on a file) for you to access StuffIt
Deluxe's features without launching the application. All you have
to do is select the file(s) to handle and pull down the Magic Menu
to perform actions. You can customize the menu's preferences by
pulling it down and selecting Preferences. Pay attention to the
StuffIt CM preferences module. It allows you to decide which
options are available when you use a contextual menu on a file. If
you never do Unix or Windows compression, you may want to uncheck
anything but Macintosh-friendly formats.
