Because many files distributed over the Internet in some sort of compressed archive format and you need a program to uncompress and convert those files into something more useful, StuffIt Expander is the quinessencial helper application.
Because many files distributed over the Internet in some sort of compressed archive format and you need a program to uncompress and convert those files into something more useful, StuffIt Expander is the quinessencial helper application.
In order to facilitate faster more efficient transfers of files, many files on the Internet are compressed into single files. These files are called archives. These archives take up less disk space than the some of the files individually at the expense of being able to directly execute or use these file; the archives must be uncompressed before they can be used.
To facilitate the special format of Macintosh file structures, these archives are usually translated into one of two formats known as BinHex or MacBinary. Both of these formats allow the transfer of files intended for Macintosh computers to be done with ASCII text. Thus, these files, like the compressed files, need to be translated from their ASCII formats to their original Macintosh formats.
In short, many files on the Internet are first compressed into archives and then converted into ASCII files. You must have a program to reverse this process in order to use these files. StuffIt Expander is one such application.
Using StuffIt Expander couldn't be easier. Simply retrieve the archive and install it. Next, configure your WWW browser to automatically launch StuffIt Expander. (This has probably already been done.) Then whenever you select a file whose file name ends in .sit, ,cpt, .bin, .sea, or .hqx StuffIt Expander will "automagically" convert and uncompress the file making it ready for you to use. What is really great is that it is free.
When you have installed an application called DropStuff (more specifically the Stuffit Engine included with DropStuff), StuffIt Expander will convert and uncompress even more file types including: PC ZIP archives (.zip), ARC archives (.arc), AppleLink Packages (.pkg), GNU ZIP files (.zip), Unix compressed files (.Z), and uuencoded files (.uu).
MIME type: application/mac-binhex40
Filename extensions: .hqx
MIME type: application/x-stuffit
Filename extensions: .sit
MIME type: application/x-macbinary
Filename extensions: .bin
If you have installed DropStuff, then these MIME types will work as well.
MIME type: application/x-compressed
Filename extensions: .z, .zip, .gz, or .tgz
Eric last edited this page on September 26, 1995. Please feel free to send comments.