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WWW Helper Applications

This chapter describes, reviews, and recommends helper applications for your WWW browsers.

Helper applications are programs supplementing the features of your WWW browsers. For example, if you download a QuickTime movie from a remote server, your WWW browser will not be able to run nor display this movie (yet). To overcome this limitation, your WWW browser can automatically run a second application and tell that application to open and load the downloaded file.

Frequently, the types of files that you will download with your WWW browser will include:

  1. Compressed archives containing multiple files
  2. Multimedia files like pictures, sounds, and movies
The sections below review a number of helper applications in terms of there strengths and weaknesses. The quinessencial helper application for your Macintosh is StuffIt Expander. Without this application you will have a difficult time getting any others since StuffIt Expander will be able to uncompress most files you will find on the Internet. After StuffIt Expander you may want SoundApp to play your sound files, JPEGView to display your graphics, and FastPlayer to run your movies. The other helper applications are less critical.

  1. Acrobat Reader
  2. Drop Stuff w/Expander Enhancer
  3. Fast Player
  4. Ghostscript (MacGS Viewer)
  5. GIF Converter
  6. GraphicConverter
  7. JPEGView
  8. MacBinary II+
  9. MacGzip
  10. Sound Machine
  11. SoundApp
  12. Sparkle
  13. Stuffit Expander
  14. Tar for the Macintosh

See Also

  1. Scott D. Nelson, "WWW Viewer Test Page" - This pages helps you test your WWW browser for helper applications. By clicking on the "test" buttons a file will be downloaded to your machine and then your browser will try to open it. If it doesn't open the file, then this page lists helper applications that you can use to "fix" the problem. <URL:http://www-dsed.llnl.gov/documents/WWWtest.html>

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Eric last edited this page on September 26, 1995. Please feel free to send comments.