UnUU is (an other) tiny Macintosh utility that deals UU coded chunks sent to news groups. It knows how to rebuild the original file and also decode UU files. It can give produced files a file type and a creator depending on the file names suffix. It can even open those produced files.
UnUU requires System 7 or better.
UnUU is a fat binary that works fine & fast on any Mac (hope so ;-).
Full text
To send binary files in the News (could it be pictures, programs…) you have to put them in plain vanilla ASCII as News servers only deal with 7bit ASCII.
The most common way to do so is to use UU code. But then, some users systems can't make it with big files. To them, a 20k file can be a big file ! So they've got to cut them in small tiny pieces sent one by one to the news. Who that is interested in your file has to make your puzzle and then decode the file.
But there is no real standard way to cut the files. Some number them, some don't. Some use checksums, other don't.
Of course, you can use your favorite text processor to deal with that. It's a hard work, you (at least I) make mistakes, you spend time, and you're doing what your computer should do for you.
UnUU is here to do all that for you.
I've tried to make UnUU as general as possible, but you've got to help ! It won't try to guess the order of the chunks given. It will deal with them it the order it receives them. The name of the files will help you in most cases. Opening them in a text processor will tell you in most cases if you are lost.
This is the way I advise to work with UnUU.
How to use UnUU
There are two ways of using UnUU. The first one is the "normal" use. The second one is for specific cases, when the first way won't work.
• put all the chunks in the same folder using icon (or small icon) presentation,
• select the chunks one by one (by clicking on the first file and shift clicking on the next files) in the order you want UnUU to deal with them,
• drag and drop them on UnUU,
• the UU archive(s) is (are) decoded (if that option is selected). The file(s) produced is (are) typed according to its (their) suffix. The file(s) is (are) launched by the Finder (if that option is selected).
ATTENTION ! If you use a list-presentation, the order used when selecting the file is ignored. The one used for the list is used in any case then. If you want to use an alphabetical order, using a presentation by name will be an useful option.
You can send several jobs in a single drag and drop. Just order the files correctly.
UnUU is not memory greedy. You can lower the memory given to it. The limit is that UnUU as to be able to load the whole chunk in memory. If you dealing with very big chunks, UnUU will ask for more memory.
Processed files are send to the trash. If there is a problem you'll be glad to find them there.
If you're not sure of the order used to process the file, you can either send them one by one and/or use the debug feature that lists the file names.
Second way to use UnUU : Smart decoding.
If you press the option key while UnUU opens the files, it analyses them and memorizes references to the chunks it finds (up to a hundred). Then when you select the "Close files" command of the "File" menu, UnUU tries to put the pieces together correctly, reordering them appropriately (?). In fact, it tries to locate a "Subject:" line before the chunk. To order the chunks, it sorts them alphabetically after the "Subject:" field if it exists and if the "Sort after the “Subject:” field" setting is set, otherwise after the name of the file and the order in that file. Ordering the chunks after the "Subject:" field works very well if the files come from the news…
When closing the files, UnUU processes only the pieces it finds possibly correctly ordered. For instance, if two chunks corresponding to the beginning of an archive without it's end are found one after the other, then the first one is not processed. The second one is only if the next chunks make a correct following and ending to it.
A file containing chunks is moved to the trash or in the "Done" folder only after the last chunk it contains is processed.
Preferences
I haven't the time to make a complete preference dialog box, but the first six settings can be changed through the preference menu inside the application.
Thus if you want to customize UnUU's behavior, you'll have to use ResEdit. I've made a template to make it real easy. Just open the 'UnUU' resource of ID 1. Put a "1" for the feature you want, a "0" for the ones you don't.
• sort after "Subject:" field (Subject flag),
• automatic UU decoding (Décode flag),
• trash chunks after processing a file (Trash flag),
• open the file produced (Open flag),
• see UnUU's activity (Debug flag),
• quit UnUU when the jobs is done if it was launched with a drag and drop (Quit flag),
Those first six settings can be changed with the "Preference" menu from the UnUU itself. Don't forget to save them if you want to…
For every suffix you choose :
• a file type,
• a creator ('GKON' for GraphicConverter (my favorite graphic shareware), '8BIM' for Photoshop, 'JVWR' for JPEGView…),
• wether to remove the suffix from the file name.
Legal Stuffs
UnUU is a PostcardWare. If you use it, send me a postcard by snail mail.
If you're a shareware author, maybe you'll want to give me a license for your software ?
If UnUU doesn't make the job, if you don't like it, trash it. If you think there is a bug, keep the file that cause you the problem and tell me about it by email.
There is no warranty of any kind, etc. Disinfectant 3.6 doesn't detect any virus so there shouldn't be any.
You can distribute UnUU provided you don't modify it in any way and that you keep this notice and the History file with it. Do not put it on any CD that is sold except those that accompany magazines. It can be put on Info-mac's CD.
UnUU has been used for months on several machines. Yet I can't tell more but that I don't know about any problem with or caused by UnUU. If you happen to know about an incompatibility, just let me know. I'll see what I can do.
