ZipIt version 1.2 introduced a new feature: support for folders. On the IBM, folders as such normally do not exist in zip archives. Directories (as they are called in the DOS world) are implied by pathnames. For instance, a file might be called FOLDER1/FOLDER2/FILE.TXT. This would mean that a file, called FILE.TXT, exists inside a directory called FOLDER2, that in turn is inside a directory called FOLDER1. ZipIt interprets this information as it reads the zip archive, and displays folders as such. To continue our example, if there were only one entry in the zip archive, when you opened the zip archive you would see a single folder, FOLDER1. Double-clicking on that folder would open it, to show you FOLDER2. Double-clicking on that folder would open it, to show you the file. You can extract an entire folder by selecting it and choosing “Extract…” from the Zip menu.
MacBinary has a special meaning when applied to folders. ZipIt needs to store extra information about folders, such as their full names, and their creation dates. To do this, ZipIt places extra information at the end of the zip archive. This information is only stored if MacBinary is turned on for a folder. Although it is still called MacBinary, this information is not in standard MacBinary format, and cannot be read by any program other than ZipIt. MacBinary can be turned on and off for a folder even after the zip archive is saved.
