Format-Chart Version 1.3.1
From the Mac-FTP-list (Mar 1, 1998)
I am providing the format decoding/encoding chart from the Mac-FTP-list as
an aid for those who only want to know 'Which program will unmangle/uncompress
this format?' Unlike the Mac-FTP-list this will be updated only as needed.
All the text in the this document must be in a monospaced font such as
Monaco 9pt, Courier 10pt, or PC equivalent so that the columns line up
correctly. Since to be readable on-line this file is in ASCII UNIX it
is recommended that something like TexEdit+ or a web browser be used to
view the file.
Here's a handy chart to keep track which programs unmangle which formats:
unix gzip .uu/ .b64/
Macintosh .cpt .sit .hqx .bin .arc .zip .tar .Z .gz/.z .uue .mime*
Stuffit Expander** D D D D
w/ DSEE 4.0** D X X D D D D D D D
w/ DSEE 4.5** D X X D D D D D D D D
ShrinkWrap*^ D D D D D D D D D D
StuffIt Lite*** D X X X {see note below}
StuffIt Deluxe*** D X X X D D X X D X D
ArcMac X
BinHex 5.0 D X
Compact Pro 1.5.1 X D/N X
MacCompress X
MacGzip D X
MPack 1.5.1 D D X
SunTar 2.1.3 X X X X D
Tar 4.0b X
uucd 2.4.6 X D
YA-Base64 1.2.9 D D D
ZipIt 1.3.8 D D X
Other unix gzip .uu/ .b64/
computers .cpt .sit .hqx .bin .arc .zip .tar .Z .gz/.z .uue .mime*
binhex-pc-13 X
extrac.exe D
macutil (unix)
hexbin D D
macunpack D D D D D
mcvert (unix) X X
MPack D D X
PKZIP X
Stuffit Expander D D D D D D D
for Windows
unsitins.exe D
xferp110 (win) X X X
N = Cannot decompress .sit dlx {Type SITD} files
D = Decode only
X = Encode and decode
.sit refers to both 1.5 and dlx. Otherwise a '/' is used {1.5/dlx}.
.hqx = BinHex4; .bin = MacBinary (BinHex5)
Note: Almost every Mac communications program can decode .bin files.
* .b64/.mime (Base 64) refers to the encoding format used by the
Multipurpose Internet Mail Extension. For more information consult
the MIME FAQ.
** DropStuff with Expander Enhancer is an $30 shareware addon for Stuffit
Expander . The Stuffit
Engine which comes with DSEE is also used by other programs {marked with
a *^}. Current public versions are are 4.0 and 4.5 respectively DSEE
version 4.5 is only available with StuffIt Deluxe 4.5 as of this writing.
*** Stuffit Deluxe 3.5/4.0 translators can be used with Stuffit Lite.
Current versions are 4.5.0 and 3.6.0 respectively as of this writing.
Other formats
.arj
PC format common to European sites. Decompressed by unArjMac, DeArj, and
Stuffit Expander for Windows.
.dd
Disk Doubler {Mac} format. Decompresses by DDExpand and DiskDoubler.
.exe
DOS/Windows executable file (program); also used to create
self-extracting archives. An .exe file used as a self-extracting
archive can usually be decompressed with Stuffit Expander w/ DSEE.
.html (.htm)
WWW document. Used by WWW browsers such as Netscape and lynx.
.image/.img/.ima/
These are all disk image extensions. They represent Mac disk image
(.image/.img), Microsoft Disk Image Utility (.img), and Winimage
(.ima) formats. Most can be decoded and/or mounted via StuffIt
Expander 4.5 or ShrinkWrap 3.0
. For a history
of Shrinkwrap consult the 2.1 site .
Note that .img is also used as an graphic file extension and
needs GraphicConverter to view.
.lzh (related formats - .lha and .lzs)
old PC/Amiga format that is still quite popular in Japan, largely
replaced by .arc and .zip elsewhere; decompressed via the
Stuffit Engine 4.5 and StuffIt Deluxe 4.5, macunpack,
LHA Expander 1.0.3, French KISS 2.2.0 and MacLHA 2.2.1 (which also
allows compression).
.pit
old {~1989} Mac compression format created by PackIt programs, replaced
by .sit. In general, a program that handles .sit files can decompress
.pit files as well.
.pkg
AppleLink package format, replaced by .sit. Decompressed by all present
Mac StuffIt programs.
.rar
A DOS compression format. Decompressed by MacUnRAR.
.sea
A special version of a Mac compression format that decompresses
itself when opened. The most common .sea files are Stuffit,
Compact Pro, and Disk Doubler. On the PC Stuffit Expander for
Windows will expand Stuffit SEA files.
.shar
Unix shell archive. Decoded by Unshar.
.taz
another name for .tar.Z
.tgz
another name for .tar.z and .tar.gz (do not confuse with .tar.Z).
.txt (.abs, .doc)
ASCII text file. There is a slight differance between ASCII text files
of Mac, PCs, and UNIX systems which can cause problems when trying to
read them. Mac ASCII uses carrage returns, UNIX uses line feeds, and
PC uses both.
.z
Early {~1993} suffix for Gzip files. Due to confusion with the UNIX
'compress' suffix {.Z} it was abandoned in favor of the .gz suffix.
.zoo
old {~1989} PC/Amiga format, replaced by .arc. Decompressed by MacZoo
and MacBooz.
CAUTION: While Gzip is aimed at replacing the .Z format, they are _different_
unix compression formats, and the suffixes are NOT inchangable. Many sites
now support on-the-fly translation of these formats; just type in the file
name minus the .Z or .gz suffix.
WARNING: .hqx, .uu, .b64, and .txt files are the ONLY files that can be
downloaded in ASCII mode; all others must be downloaded in BINARY {IMAGE}
mode for the file to decompress properly. This is especially true of
".bin" and "unstuffed" files. Otherwise you will get errors like
"unreadable file" or "file is corrupt" when you try to decompress them.
If you need further information please check out the comp.compression FAQ
or David Lemson's compression chart .
My Mac-FTP-list also contains information on how to use certain files
(
geocities.com/siliconvalley/park) (
geocities.com/siliconvalley)