File Utilities. .
..
...
File Utilities. ......
001- What are "binscii" files and how are they
used?
002- What are .shk files and how do I use them?
003-
How do I get ShrinkIt or GS-ShrinkIt going on my Apple II?
004- How do I deal with the $00 type Apple II
files I get on my Mac?
005- Can I work with .zip files on my Apple II?
006- What are DSK, NIB, 2MG, HDV,... disk image
files & how do I use them?
007- Where can I get ShrinkIt, binscii, DSK2FILE,
ASIMOV, etc.?
008- I have downloaded files in "gz" format?
How do I use them?
009- Which programs can change ProDOS filetype?
010- What is Copy II Plus and where can I get
it?
011- How do I use Copy II Plus to create and convert
IMG files?
012- How do I set write protection for an emulator
disk image?
013- How can I create a disk image from a ShrinkIt
.sdk file?
014- How can I convert a .po image to/from a .dsk
or .do image?
015- What do file name extensions mean & how
do I access the files?
016- How do I tell what kind of file this is?
017- How can I create new .dsk, .nib, etc. disk
images?
018- How can I convert .dsk image <-->
.nib image?
019- How can I convert Diskcopy images to diskette
or to other formats?
020- How can I move files to/from .dsk and .2MG
disk images?
021- How can I unfork forked files on my Apple
II?
022- How can I mount disk image files directly
under GS System?
001- What are "binscii" files and how are they used?
The term "binscii" comes from combining "binary"
with "ASCII". A file in
binscii form has been changed so that it can be transmitted as text
to/from net
servers and services which do not handle pure binary transfers.
Today, practically all servers can handle pure
binary transfers; so,
binscii is no longer in popular use. However, quite a few old A2 files
are
still in binscii form and binscii is used for files uploaded to
comp.binaries.apple2.
To convert binscii'd files to their un-biniscii'd
form, you can use a
program named "BINSCII" or, on a GS, the New Desk Accessory named
"GScii". These programs can, also, create binscii files.
Note: Binscii is in no way related to Binary II. Binscii changes the
entire
file into Text. Binary II is just a small block of bytes tacked onto
the front
of a file, mainly to identify the file's filetype.
002- What are ShrinkIt (.shk) files and how do I use them?
ShrinkIt files are the Apple II world's answer to
.zip files in PC-ville.
An .shk file is a file which contains one or more files which are almost
always
in compressed form. Usually, they are produced by GS-ShrinkIt (also
called
"GSHK" or "ShrinkIt-GS") or the Balloon NDA, or by 8-bit ShrinkIt.
Some .shk
files are produced by Macs; these may not always be compatible with
A2 ShrinkIt
programs.
An .shk file can be unshrinked by ShrinkIt
even if it shows up on the
Apple II with a TXT or BIN filetype and even if the name does not end
with
".shk" or ".shk". If a ShrinkIt file does not show up as available
for
unshrinking, you can toggle an "All files" option to see the file and
then
select it. If an .shk file has a Binary II header, ShrinkIt will automatically
remove it and assign the correct filetype. (Of course, this will usually
be
SHK.)
Other kinds of ShrinkIt files include .SEA
and .sdk. An Apple II .SEA
file is a IIgs executable self-extracting archive-- i.e. you can click
it on
the GS Finder and it will unShrink. There are also Mac .SEA files and
these are
not GS-compatible.
A ShrinkIt whole-disk archive is an .shk file
which is usually labeled
".sdk" to show that it is a Shrinked diskette. An .sdk file can archive
a 3.5"
diskette (both sides) or 5.25" diskette (one side). Most are archives
of 5.25"
DOS 3.3 diskettes produced by 8-bit ShrinkIt.
A whole-disk ShrinkIt archive retains all data
bytes on a diskette,
including files, Catalog/Directory sectors, empty tracks, and DOS if
present.
An .sdk file of a DOS 3.3 5.25" disk created by 8-bit ShrinkIt also
preserves
volume number-- important for some games and utilities which depend
upon volume
numbers to identify disks. (5.25" whole-disk archives created by GS-ShrinkIt
do
not preseve volume number.)
8-bit/IIe ShrinkIt can be used to fully unshrink
any Apple II .shk file
_except_ .shk files which contain files with GS/OS resource forks and
.SEA
files. For this reason, 8-bit ShrinkIt should not be used to unshrink
.shk file
archives containing GS programs unless you know that none of the contained
files has a resource fork.
GS-ShrinkIt can handle nearly all kinds of
Apple II .shk and .sdk files.
It will not handle shrinked 5.25" DOS 3.3 .sdk files created by 8-bit
ShrinkIt.
In fact, most users automatically use 8-bit ShrinkIt to create and
unshrink
.sdk files of old 5.25" wares. (Balloon does not currently support
whole-disk
archives.)
Naturally, things are somewhat more crowded
on 64K Apple II's. On these
machines, the functions are separated. SHRINK creates .shk files and
UNSHRINK
unshrinks them.
On a PC, the utility NuLib (v3.24) lets you
view contents and unshrink
most kinds of .shk files. (There is a handy option to unshrink and
convert
Apple II text files to PC text format.) It will not unshrink IIgs files
with
resource forks.
Here is a simple one-line batch (text) file
program for easily viewing the
contents of .shk files you download to a PC (just double-click on the
file
name):
c:\nulib\nulib v %1 |more
The above is for Nulib.exe located in folder c:\nulib . Save the text
as
nulibv.bat in c:\nulib and tell Windows to use c:\nulib\nulibv.bat
as the
'application to perform action' for doing an Open. (You do this by
selecting
View--Options in the My Computer window and editing the file type info
for .shk
files.)
NuLib can also convert 5.25" .sdk files into
.po (ProDOS order) disk
images which can be used by Apple II emulators. This works for .sdk
files
produced by 8-bit ShrinkIt but not for those produced by GS-ShrinkIt.
The unshrinking process is very speedy and
the size of a compressed
ShrinkIt file is, often, around half that of the original files it
contains.
This makes .shk files very handy for archiving your software. And,
since a
ShrinkIt file also preserves filetype information of contained files,
ShrinkIt
has become the preferred format for uploading and storing Apple II
files on the
internet.
003- How do I get ShrinkIt
or GS-ShrinkIt going on my Apple II?
Getting GS-ShrinkIt
If you do not already have Balloon or an earlier
version of GS-ShrinkIt, there are
several ways to get GS-ShrinkIt going once a file is downloaded and
transferred to
your IIgs. Here are the two easiest ways:
A. The Self-Extracting (.sea) version
A IIgs .sea file is a IIgs application which
self-extracts the file contents when executed
from the usual Finder desktop display. Since the file gshk.sea will,
most likely, arrive
as a Text type file, you will need to change the file's filetype to
$B3 (S16) before it can
be executed.
Several utilities can change ProDOS filetype.
If you do not have one, you can download
tchange.bin and follow the directions* in tchange_info.txt to
get it going on your Apple II.
You can find GS-ShrinkIt in an .SEA file (e.g.
gshk.sea) and tchange.bin on several
archive sites. See Q&A 007 below.
B. The Shrinked Disk (.sdk) version
GSUTILS.sdk is a shrinked whole-disk file which
can be unshrinked to 800k 3.5"
diskette using 8-bit ShrinkIt (or GS-ShrinkIt). If booted, this
diskette starts a bare-bones
System 6.0.1 and launches GS-ShrinkIt.
Besides GS-ShrinkIt, also on the disk (in .shk
files) are the ZLINK shareware
telecom utility and ASIMOV for converting .dsk files. Coolwriter (for
reading Text) is on
the disk as a non-shrinked file. All of these can be copied to hard
disk or to other diskettes.
GSUTILS.sdk is available in Ground's useful.stuff/
folder. 8-bit ShrinkIt in a
self-extracting version can be found in the same folder. (See
Q&A
007 below.)
Getting SHRINK and UNSHRINK (for 64k Apples)
SHRINK and UNSHRINK permit 64k Apple II users
to work with .shk
files. These files are usually maintained in non-shrinked form. You
can find them
on several sites. (See Q&A 007 below.)
To get these utilities going on your Apple
II, download SHRINK,
UNSHRINK, and SHRINK2PLUS.TXT. Once the files are transferred to your
Apple II, follow the directions* in SHRINK2PLUS.TXT.
*Note: If you download an Apple II file to a PC and transfer to a Mac
and get
filetype $00 ("Unknown"), the process described in the directions
will not work
when the $00 file is moved to your Apple II. One solution is a Mac
utility to set
filetype to $04 (TXT). See ProTYPE info below.
Getting 8-bit ShrinkIt
From: Beverly Cadieux
The easiest way to get the current version
of 8-bit ShrinkIt going is via
the
self-extracting archive, SHRINK.EXE.
o- Download the file, (transfer to your Apple II if necessary, ) and
get into AppleSoft
BASIC (run BASIC.SYSTEM and get to the AppleSoft "]" prompt).
o- Be sure to set the ProDOS PREFIX to the location of SHRINK.EXE on
your
Apple II. For example, if it is in the main directory of volume HD1,
you would enter
PREFIX /HD1
o- Now, enter -SHRINK.EXE (that's a dash, then the file name):
-SHRINK.EXE
Shrinkit will self-extract, along with a documentation
file. (ShrinkIt v3.4 consists of two
files. One is a small start file which may be named "Shrinkit.System",
"ShrinkitST.sys",
or something similar. The other is the main program file which must
be named "Shrinkit".)
You can find SHRINK.EXE in Ground's useful.stuff/ folder. (See Q&A 007 below.)
004- How do I deal with the $00 type Apple II files I get on my Mac?
Some II users like to download Apple II files
to a PC and transfer them to a
Mac for eventual transfer to Apple II ProDOS diskettes. Unfortuantely,
under most
circumstances, PC Exchange writes files onto ProDOS disks as extended
typeless
($00) files which are difficult to work with on the Apple II.
What you need is to get hold of a Mac application
named "ProTYPE". You
drag 'n drop the files on ProTYPE, then copy 'em to the floppy. The
files will work then.
005- Can I work with .zip files on my Apple II?
The GS can unZIP .zip files via PMPunZip by Paul Parkhurst.
From: Supertimer
Tony Marques wrote Angel, the fastest unzipping
utility for the Apple II. It can
create .zip files, but only one file per archive.
From: Jim Pendarvis
To zip a file using Angel, highlight the file
to zip and press OpenApple-Z. You'll get
a file named ZIPDFILE.ZIP. If you then select another file to zip,
it will overwrite the
first one. (Don't forget to set your destination directory first. That
is the hardest thing
to remember about using Angel.)
From: Rubywand, Orgone Accumulator, Greg E. Nelson,
Eric Shepherd,
Roger Johnstone
006- What are DSK, PO, DO, HDV, NIB, and 2MG "disk image" files and
how do I use them?
A "disk image" is typically a file containing
every data byte on a diskette--
i.e. Catalog tracks, files, DOS (if present) etc.. One kind of disk
image, NIB, tries
to preserve all disk information (e.g. sector headers, sync bytes,
etc.).
Apple II emulators running on a PC, Mac, etc.
treat disk image files like diskettes.
Disk image files are also a handy way to archive Apple II disks on
hard disk and to
maintain wares on ftp and other download sites.
DSK's (.dsk, .do, .po, and .hdv files)
DSK (usually .dsk) files are disk image files
used by popular Apple II emulators
like AppleWin to run A2 wares on the PC or Mac. Usually, they are images
of
Apple 5.25" game, utility, etc. diskettes. A standard 5.25" DSK file
is 143,360 bytes
in length:
1 side x 35 Tracks/side x 16 Sectors/Trk x 256 Bytes/Sec = 143,360 Bytes.
DSK files of 800k 3.5" disks (819,200 bytes) are much less common.
Data in a DSK disk image file can be arranged
in the sector order used by DOS 3.3
or in the sector order used by ProDOS. The filename suffixes relate
chiefly to how data
is arranged in the file:
.dsk- technically, this may be an image which has its data in
DOS 3.3 or ProDOS order.
(The emulator program is supposed to check a .dsk file to determine
the ordering used.)
It has become standard practice to use the .dsk suffix for only
DOS 3.3 order files.
.do- an image which is in DOS 3.3 order. This suffix is seldom
used today. DOS 3.3
order image file names usually end with ".dsk".
.po- an image which is in ProDOS order. If an image is in ProDOS
order, its name
should end with ".po" (not ".dsk") to avoid confusion.
.hdv- typically an image 800k (819,200 bytes) or greater in size
in ProDOS order. An
HDV image is intended for use as a virtual hard disk by various Apple
II and IIgs
emulators (e.g. Apple Oasis). The IIgs program ASIMOV2 can create
.hdv files
(select "Raw image"). The file name should end with ".hdv".
Note: data order does not relate to whether a disk image is a DOS
3.3 or ProDOS
disk. In fact, nearly all 5.25" disk image files (of both DOS 3.3
and ProDOS disks) are
in DOS 3.3 order; and, DOS 3.3 order is the default setting for
image creation programs
like DSK2FILE and ASIMOV and the transfer/creation
program
ADT.
On a PC, NuLib can create disk images from
8-bit ShrinkIt whole-disk (.sdk) files (but
not from .sdk files which were produced by GS-ShrinkIt). These
images will be in ProDOS
order. You can convert a .po disk image to a
DOS 3.3 order .dsk by using a disk copier
like Disk Muncher on an emulator to copy from
the .po image to a .dsk image.
On ftp sites, DSK files are usually in a ZIPped
form to conserve space. On the Asimov
site, narfgames.dsk.gz is a DSK disk image of the narfgames disk which
has been g-zip
compressed. Other archive sites may use standard ZIP compression and
the file name
might be "narfgame.zip" or "narfgame_dsk.zip". On a PC, WinZIP will
uncompress
g-zipped and ZIPped DSK files.
A DSK file can be converted to actual diskette
form on an Apple II using DSK2FILE
or (GS-only) ASIMOV. If a 5.25" .dsk disk image file is
transferred to your Apple II
using ADT (or ADTgs for IIgs), it is automatically converted
and written to 5.25" diskette.
For more about ADT and ADTgs see Telecom-1.
Most 5.25" DSK (.dsk and .do) files are of
a DOS 3.3 or some related DOS disk.
The target diskette should be INITed for DOS
3.3. (or, it can be formatted using
Copy II Plus, etc.) and you should use the default DSK2FILE
or ASIMOV
"DOS 3.3 Order" setting. If a disk image file has a .po suffix, use
the DSK2FILE or
ASIMOV "ProDOS Order" setting.
Note: In most cases it is okay to use either a DOS 3.3 or ProDOS
formatted diskette
as the target (and; the target disk does not need to be empty).
However, ProDOS
formatting uses a default Volume Number of 1, which is different
from the
DOS 3.3 default of 254. Since ProDOS stuff does not care about Volume
numbering
and DOS 3.3 stuff may, the target disk should generally be one INITed
by DOS 3.3
with the default Volume Number-- e.g. use INIT HELLO to format
the target disk.
Here is a quickie step-by-step guide for getting
a 5.25" DSK disk image
file into useable form:
1. Download the file in binary mode from an ftp archive site via ftp:// ...
2. If file length is not 143,360, use WinZIP or equivalent to unZip it.
3. Transfer the DSK file to your GS via Mac diskette or a NULL modem
transfer.
One way or another, the file needs to end up on a ProDOS diskette or
ProDOS
hard disk volume on the GS.
4. If you are using DSK2FILE, jot down the complete path name
of the DSK
file (e.g. /RAM5/NARFGAMES.DSK ) because DSK2FILE will ask you
to type it in.
5. Insert the formatted 5.25" target diskette into Drive 1 (Slot
6). This diskette
needs to be 16-sector formatted. Plain DOS 3.3 formatting with the
default
Volume number is, generally, best and easiest. (You can boot a DOS
3.3 or
Prontodos disk and do an INIT HELLO to format a 5.25" diskette.)
6. Start DSK2FILE or ASIMOV. Normally, you will accept
the defaults (5.25",
DOS 3.3 order). If you know the DSK is a ProDOS image in ProDOS order--
like
the file name ends with ".po", select "ProDOS Order". (ProDOS disk
images are,
fairly often, in DOS order to make them more universally transferable.)
7. Select the "Image file ---> Diskette" option, follow prompts, and
you should
end up with a good diskette. (If everything seemed to go well but the
disk does not
work, try repeating the process using the other "Order" option.)
As mentioned earlier, DSK2FILE
and ASIMOV can create 5.25" DSK disk image
files. The Apple2/PC transfer utility ADT is another way to
create 5.25" images. Using
ADT to transfer a 5.25" disk to PC automatically creates a .dsk
disk image on the PC.
Practically any 5.25" Appel II diskette can
be converted into a DSK disk image
file so long as it is in standard 16-sector, 35-track format and is
not copy protected.
Note: A few DOS 3.3 products depend upon Volume numbering to identify
diskettes.
These will normally not work in DSK disk image form on an Apple
II emulator because
Volume number information is embedded in non-data
parts of a disk and is not included
in a standard DSK disk image file.
NIB (.nib)
Some copy protected diskettes can be converted
to another kind of disk image
called "NIB". Saltine's Super Transcopy incorporates bit copy
routines to attempt
to produce a nibblized disk image of a 5.25" diskette.
On your Apple II, SST reads the disk bytes
from half a disk and stores that data
on a whole normal disk. Then it does the same for the second half.
These two disks
can be converted to .dsk disk images and moved to a PC or Mac. There,
the .dsk
images are merged into a NIB image using SST running on an emulator.
If successful, you have a .nib file which can
be used like a diskette on popular
Apple II emulators. (For one or two older emulators, .nib files are
the only useable
images.)
The standard length of a .nib file is 232,960
bytes-- much larger than a DSK.
However, since .nib files include sector address header and other non-data
'embedded' diskette information, they can be used to image many protected
disks.
Naturally, a .nib file
preserves DOS 3.3 volume numbering. This allows programs
which use volume numbers to identify their disks to run on emulators.
Many disks with
no copy protection are in .nib form instead of .dsk because the game,
etc. which uses
the disks needs to check volume numbering.
2MG (.2mg; sometimes .2img)
Today, more and more IIgs software is being
converted to 2MG disk image format
used on XGS and other IIgs emulators. These are .dsk or .nib
images with a prefix
(usually 64 bytes) which includes information about size, format, sector
ordering,
volume number, locked/unlocked, etc..
2MG files may also have a Comment and/or extra
file information added following
the disk image data. The format can accommodate disk images ranging
from 5.25"
diskette up through hard disk. For 2MG format details, see 2MG_info
on GSWV.
The usual length of an 800k .2MG image (with
no Comment or extra data) is
819,264 bytes*.
You can use ASIMOV2 to convert .2MG
files back to diskette form as well as for
creating .2MG files from 800k diskettes. The XGS PC disk image utility
Imgutnew.exe
can be used to convert most available Diskcopy images to 2MG format
on PC.
*See Size Note: Transferring to 3.5" disk
007- Where can I get ShrinkIt, Shrink (64k), Unshrink (64k),
GS-ShrinkIt, binscii, GScii, BISCIT, TCHANGE,
DSK2FILE, ASIMOV,
PMPunZip, Angel, FileManager, 2qwk!, GZPK,
Disk Muncher, Copy II Plus,
NuLib, Balloon, DskIn & DskOut, Saltine's
Super Transcopy (SST),
FishWings, UnforkIt, XTRAX, StuffIt Expander,
Diskcopy, Clone,
Imgutnew.exe, DiskDup+, ProTYPE, MECC Copy,
BlockWarden, BlockWork,
ProDOSifier, DISK2FDI, CiderPress, ProDOS
File Navigator, MUG!, FID,
Apple Commander, and MountIt?
You can download ...
ShrinkIt v3.4 or later ("8-bit ShrinkIt")
Ground:
/useful.stuff/ as binscii file and
self-extracting archive
ftp://ftp.apple.asimov.net/pub/apple_II/images/utility/misc/
See PDShrinkIts disk below
Shrink (v2.1) for 64k Apple II's
ftp://ftp.apple.asimov.net/pub/apple_II/images/utility/disk_utils/
See PDShrinkIts disk below
Unshrink (v2.1) for 64k Apple II's
ftp://ftp.apple.asimov.net/pub/apple_II/images/utility/disk_utils/
See PDShrinkIts disk below
GS-ShrinkIt ("ShrinkIt-GS", "GSHK")
Ground: /useful.stuff/ as .sea, .sdk, and binscii
http://apple2.org.za/gswv/a2zine/Utils/
on 5.25" .dsk disk image GSHK_dsk.zip
See GSUTILS disk below
BINscii
See PDShrinkIts disk below
GScii NDA
Ground:
/apple16/System/Ndas/
BISCIT ("BSC-It")
Ground:
/useful.stuff/
TCHANGE
Ground:
/useful.stuff/
http://apple2.org.za/gswv/a2zine/Utils/
See PDShrinkIts disk below
DSK2FILE (v4.x or later for enhanced IIe or later Apple II;
version 3 or earlier for 64k Apple II's)
http://www.geocities.com/oneelkruns/
current (v5.8f)
Ground:
/Emulators/ v5.5 and v5.6
Ground:
/apple8/Utils/ v2.1
http://apple2.org.za/gswv/a2zine/Utils/
v5.8f
ASIMOV
Ground:
/upl2000/Jun/ v2.0
Ground:
/Emulators/ v1.3 and 2.0
http://www.ninjaforce.com/html/products.html
v2.0
http://apple2.org.za/gswv/a2zine/Utils/
v1.3
and 2.0
See GSUTILS disk below
PMPunZip
Ground:
/apple16/Com/Utils/
http://apple2.org.za/gswv/a2zine/Utils/
Angel
Ground:
/apple8/Pgms/ as .shk
FileManager NDA
Ground:
/apple16/System/Ndas/
2qwk!
Ground:
/apple8/Com/
GZPK
Ground:
/apple8/Com/
http://apple2.org.za/gswv/a2zine/Utils/
Disk Muncher
See TNILUTIL disk below
Copy II Plus (DOS & ProDOS versions on disk images)
ftp://ftp.apple.asimov.net/pub/apple_II/images/utility/disk_utils/
Ground:
/useful.stuff/Disks/
http://apple2.org.za/gswv/a2zine/Utils/
on disk images (see below)
NuLib
http://www.nulib.com/
newest NuLib (NuLib2)
ftp://ftp.apple.asimov.net/pub/apple_II/utility/
v3.24
ftp://apple2.tffenterprises.com/pub/apple2/ARCHIVERS/
v3.24 as ibmnulib.zip
http://apple2.org.za/gswv/a2zine/Utils/
v3.24
Balloon v2.0 NDA
contact A2Central.com http://www.a2central.com/
DskIn & DskOut
ftp://ftp.apple.asimov.net/pub/apple_II/utility/
as .zip
ftp://ftp.wonderland.stramiello.net/pub/apple2/asimov/utility/
as .zip
http://apple2.org.za/gswv/a2zine/Utils/
as .zip
Saltine's Super Transcopy (SST)
ftp://ftp.apple.asimov.net/pub/apple_II/images/utility/disk_utils/
http://apple2.org.za/gswv/a2zine/Utils/
FishWings (PC file view/management util for disk images)
http://www3.bboard.com/charlied/fishwings.htm
UnforkIt
Ground:
/upl2000/Jun/
http://apple2.org.za/gswv/a2zine/Utils/
ftp://apple2.tffenterprises.com/pub/apple2/utils/
XTRAX (utility for generating self-extracting archives for 8-bit Apple
II's)
http://www.umich.edu/~archive/apple2/8bit/comm/
Aladdin StuffIt Expander for Macs
http://www.aladdinsys.com/expander/
Diskcopy (GS diskcopy-to-disk) as DiskcopyToDisk.zip
http://apple2.org.za/gswv/a2zine/Utils/
Clone (GS diskcopy-to-disk) on Golden Orchard CD
from Shareware Solutions II ...
http://users.foxvalley.net/~joko
Imgutnew.exe (PC diskcopy-to-2mg convert)
http://www.inwards.com/xgs/xgs_faq.html
(click "Image Utility")
http://apple2.org.za/gswv/a2zine/Utils/
as DiskcopyTo2mg.zip
DiskDup+ v2.9.2 (copier for Macs)
http://www.garberstreet.com/
http://apple2.org.za/gswv/a2zine/Utils/
ProTYPE for Macs
Ground:
/Mac/
MECC Copy
Ground:
/apple8/Utils/
http://apple2.org.za/gswv/a2zine/Utils/
BlockWarden (ProDOS block editor from ProSel)
See PDShrinkIts disk below
BlockWork (ProDOS block editor)
Ground:
/apple8/Utils/
ProDOSifier (manage ProDOS files on a Mac)
http://apple2.org.za/gswv/a2zine/Utils/
DISK2FDI (copy Apple II disks on a PC)
http://www.oldskool.org/disk2fdi
CiderPress (manage ShrinkIt files and disk images on a PC)
http://www.faddensoft.com/
ProDOS File Navigator (launcher and file manager)
Ground:
/apple8/Utils/
MUG! (read MS-DOS on a IIgs)
http://apple2.org.za/gswv/a2zine/Utils/
FID ("File Developer" for .dsk images of DOS 3.3 disks)
http://www.stjarnhimlen.se/apple2/
Apple Commander (manage disk images under Windows, Linux, Macros)
http://sourceforge.net/users/matthewsj
MountIt (GS PIF which allows direct access to many disk images)
http://www.brutal-deluxe.fr/
You can also obtain several of the above in
collections on a ShrinkIt .sdk
whole-disk file, emulator .dsk disk image, and/or emulator .nib disk
image:
TNILUTIL (.sdk, .dsk) bootable DOS 3.3
DOS 3.3 version of Copy II Plus
Disk Muncher fast copier
Beagle's Program Writer
Joystick checker/adjuster
Graphics viewer
plus a few other programs
PDUTIL (.sdk, .dsk, .nib) bootable ProDOS v1.9
ProDOS/DOS version of Copy II Plus utilities
Beagle's Program Writer
Block Warden block editor
Graphics viewer
plus a few other programs
PDSHRINKITS (.sdk, .dsk) bootable ProDOS v1.9
8-bit ShrinkIt v3.4
8-bit Shrink v2.1 for 64k
8-bit Unshrink v2.1 for 64k
Type Changer
BINSCII w. docs
plus a few other programs
PDTCOM (.sdk, .dsk) bootable ProDOS v1.9
DSK2FILE (v5.5)
UU decode w. docs
Comm System 8 telecom utility
plus a few other programs
Ground:
/useful.stuff/Disks/
http://apple2.org.za/gswv/a2zine/Utils/
GSUTILS (.sdk) 800k disk boots a bare-bones System 6.0.1
and starts GS-ShrinkIt.
ZLINK (.shk) telecom utility
ASIMOV (.shk) for converting .dsk files.
Coolwriter for reading/editing Text)
Ground:
/useful.stuff/
http://apple2.org.za/gswv/a2zine/Utils/
008- I have downloaded a bunch of files for the
Apple II
lately that are in a format called GZ.
I understand it
is some variation of Zip but I don't have
a translator for
it on my GS. Does anyone know where I can
find one?
5.25" disk image files downloaded from Asimov,
mod files, and some others are
often in GZ g-zipped format and usually have the .gz file name extension--
you have
a file name like "narfgame.dsk.gz". If
you download the files to a PC, you can use
WinZIP to unzip the file.
Note: Due to the use of an extra period, names of g-zip compressed
files-- names
such as "narfgame.dsk.gz"-- do not always survive downloading to
PC's. Some
setups may remove the ".gz" from the name when saving the file.
In order to be
correctly recognized by WinZIP, the file's name should be repaired
so that it
ends with ".gz".
Usually, once unzipped, an Asimov GZ image
file will end up as a 143,360 byte
DSK file with a name ending with ".dsk". The file may be used as a
virtual diskette on
an emulator like AppleWin; or, it may be transferred to a real Apple
II via NULL
modem and converted to Apple-readable diskette form using DSK2FILE
or
(GS-only) ASIMOV. (Or, it may be NULL modem transferred directly to
5.25"
diskette via a version of ADT.)
If you download a GZ file directly to your
Apple II you can use a program
named "GZPK" v2 to convert it from gzip form to a zip format which
can be
unzipped via PMPUnzip 2.0 or Angel.
From: lachlan_arnott and Byron Desnoyers Winmill
On a Mac, you can use MacGzip to unZIP
g-zipped (.gz) DSK files into
uncompressed form. Another choice (for doing the same job as WinZIP
on a PC)
is Aladdin's StuffIt Expander and the DropStuff Expander Pack.
These utilities
can be found on many Macintosh related ftp sites. (See
Q&A
007.)
009- Which programs can change ProDOS filetype?
I prefer More Info or Disk Witch, myself. I'll
go through a list of stuff
on my hard drive to manipulate filetypes:
Desk Accessory Files
Alter (NDA)
Conchshell (CDA)
Disk Witch (CDA)
File Manager (NDA)
File Info2 (NDA)
File Info Edit (NDA)
Super Info II (NDA)
Utilities CDA (CDA), not very good
Finder Extras
More Info
GS/OS Applications
Instant Access
File Passage
ProDOS 8
FAZ II (File Attribute Zap II)
From: Boris Guenter
File-A-Trix by Karl Bunker should do the
job. Best of all, the latest (and
last) version 1.1.1 of this program is freeware.
Since I had a few troubles with the latest version, I suggest trying
both versions
1.1 and 1.1.1.
From: Tony Ward
I also prefer File-A-Trix. It performs
a wide variety of functions including
copy, move, delete, rename, catalog, make new folder, set file attributes
(lock, unlock, filetype, auxtype), find file, format (floppy only),
view text,
Teach and AWP files. Best of all, it's a CDA that works from GS/OS
and ProDOS
8, although there are some restrictions under P8 (ie. no HFS disk access,
no
viewing forked Teach files, etc.)
From: Gareth Jones
I use either File-A-Trix, Change-A-File
4.20, or Deliverance (part of the
Salvation Utilities).
From: Rubywand
Some programs which can be used to change filetype are ...
Jeff Hartkoph's File Manager- a GS NDA
which lets you change Type, Auxtype,
Date, and Access attributes. It is handy for modifying several files
in quick
succession.
Paul Parkhurst's PMPunZip- a GS application
which includes an option for
changing Type, Auxtype, and Access attributes. (In the File menu click
on
Modify File Attributes.)
Glen Bredon's ProSel (ProDOS 8 utilities)
Roger Wagner's Filetype Changer- a vintage
BASIC utility which lets you change
just the Type. A BRUN-able .BIN version is on Ground. (This is good
enough for
getting the GS-ShrinkIt .SEA file's filetype set correctly so that
it can
self-extract.)
From: Beverly Cadieux
And a biggie - AppleWorks v5.1-> File Activities, Change File Type.
From: Jay Edwards
TimeOut FileMaster
does a great job and never argues about it. Best of all, it
likes so many versions of AppleWorks.
010- What is Copy II Plus and where can I get it?
Copy II Plus is the best general purpose utility
for copying disks and
managing files on DOS 3.3 and ProDOS diskettes. Most of the Copy II
Plus
functions also work with disk images (e.g. .dsk files) on emulators;
however,
COPY DISK and FORMAT are important functions
which do not work correctly
with emulators. Good versions which handle
both DOS 3.3 and ProDOS files
are 7.x - 8.x.
Note: Versions 9.x require at least an enhanced IIe and have a few notable
bugs.
Version 9.0's Catalog Sort option can mess up your directory. Neither
version 9.0
nor 9.1 works correctly with the /RAM5 RAM disk. The best added
capability of
Version 9.x is being able to compare files.
No version of Copy II Plus will copy files
which include a resource part, usually
called a "resource fork". In some cases the copy may seem to be successful;
but, it
will be a mess. Only some, relatively new, IIgs files include a resource
fork. No
DOS 3.3 files or files intended for access under ProDOS 8 have resource
forks.
The most versatile releases of the utility
are, probably, Versions 7.1 and 7.2.
They include the capability for creating disk images. The images are
not compatible
with popular emulators; but, they are a handy way to archive DOS 3.3
disks on a
hard disk.
For places to get Copy II Plus in ShrinkIt
shrinked disk and emulator disk image
files, refer to Q&A 007 above.
From: tturner, Rubywand, Greg Buchner, Labelas Enoreth
011- How do I use Copy II Plus to create and convert IMG files?
First, to the best of my knowledge, only versions
6.x and 7.x of Copy II Plus
can create a disk image file (called an "IMG" file). The feature
was gone by
version 8, for sure.
To create an IMG file you COPY-->
DISK to an over-size target volume.
Versions 6 and 7 will create a type "IMG" file instead of complaining
about a
"size mismatch" (which is what other versions of Copy II Plus do).
It is fairly
common to end the name of the new IMG file with ".img".
Doing the opposite lets you convert an IMG
file back to diskette. That is,
you select the COPY --> DISK option and pick the large volume
with the IMG file
as Source and a blank unformatted 5.25" diskette in the Slot 6, Drive
1 drive
as Destination. You pick an IMG file on the Source volume and it is
transferred
to the diskette.
Copy II Plus IMG files are not compatible with
DSK2FILE or ASIMOV and
will not work on emulators such as AppleWin. Also, not all files ending
with ".img"
are Copy II Plus disk image files. I have seen ".img" (and ".image")
used for
Diskcopy disk image files.
012- I'm using an Apple II emulator to play games. The game directions
say the boot disk must have a write protect
tab. How do I set write
protection for a disk image?
Under Windows on a PC, you can right-click
on the file name, select Properties, and
adjust the "Read-only" attribute. Checking "Read-only" turns ON write
protection;
unchecking it turns write protection OFF.
From: Jon Bettencourt
On a Mac, you select the file, go up to File --> Get Info..., and click on "Locked."
013- How can I create a disk image from a ShrinkIt .sdk file?
NuLib v3.24 can be used to make .po disk images
from ShrinkIt 5.25" whole-disk
archives-- e.g. .sdk files.
Note: NuLib v3.24 can create 5.25" disk images only for .sdk files created
by 8-bit
ShrinkIt (not ones created by GS-ShrinkIt). Since most .sdk files
were created by
8-bit ShrinkIt, there is usually no problem.
For instance, suppose you have downloaded a
whole-disk archive (.sdk file) of a
5.25" disk of modem utilities named "modem1.sdk" and wish to convert
it into a disk
image. For this example, it is assumed that you have downloaded NuLib
v3.24 and
unZIPed it and, now, have all of your Nulib stuff (nulib.exe, docs,
etc.) in C:\nulib on
your PC:
o- After downloading to the PC,
check the file name of the .sdk file you want to
convert. The name should have from 1 to 8 characters followed by ".sdk".
If it doesn't,
rename the file so that it does. The file modem1.sdk follows the above
rule; so, there
is no need to rename it.
o- Move or copy modem1.sdk to the C:\nulib folder.
o- Since you are probably in Windows95 (or later) open an MS-DOS window.
o- In the DOS window, go to the nulib folder ...
C:\WINDOWS>cd\
C:\>cd nulib
o- Enter the xd command to create the disk image from modem1.sdk:
C:\nulib>nulib xd modem1.sdk
You should get a message saying the 'NEW DISK' image is being extracted
ending
with "...done".
o- Exit the MS-DOS window-- e.g. click on the "X" in the corner.
o- Open the C:\nulib folder. Probably,
your new disk image will be named "new.dis".
Rename the new file to "modem1.po". It should show up with a size of
140k in the
usual Windows listing. (If it shows size 0, go to "View" for the window
and
click "Refresh".)
If the new modem1.po has some size other than 140k-- like size is shown
as
75k, etc.-- it means that modem1.sdk was probably created by GS-ShrinkIt
and can
not be converted to a disk image using NuLib. (You might as well scrap
the bad
modem1.po .)
Most likely, though, the conversion will work and modem1.po will be a good disk image.
014- How can I convert a .po image to/from a .dsk or .do image?
Most emulator programs have no problem using
.po, .do, or .dsk disk images.
So, the usual reason for wishing to change ordering is to go from .po
(ProDOS order)
to .dsk (typically, DOS 3.3 order) to permit transferring the
image to your Apple II
via ADT. In a few cases, it may be useful to go from DOS 3.3 order
to ProDOS
order, too.
Since a disk copy done on an emulator (like
AppleWin) adjusts ordering to
match the target, doing a disk copy from, for example, a .po image
to a .dsk
image (in DOS 3.3 order) is a simple way to do a conversion*. A good
emulator
choice for Windows users is AppleWin. A good disk copier program is
Disk Muncher.
Disk Muncher is included on the TNILUTIL.DSK available from Ground
and GSWV.
An easy way to check ordering of a bootable
.po or .do disk image is to boot
it under AppleWin. If it boots correctly, the ordering is as claimed--
.do = DOS 3.3
order and .po = ProDOS order. For a bootable .dsk image, you can change
the suffix
to ".do" or ".po" and boot it to check that it is really in the order
you expect.
*Note: AppleWin, evidently, checks the ordering of a .dsk image used
as a
target for copying. It does not check actual ordering of .po or
.do images. So,
for example, if the target image has the ".po" suffix, the copy
to the image
will be in ProDOS order. Some emulators may work differently.
From: David Kopper, Dan DeMaggio, Boris Guenter, Nathan
Mates,
Phil Abro, Rubywand, Labelas Enoreth, Tony
Turner
015- What do the different popular file name extensions, like ".BSC",
mean; and, how do I access the files?
File name extensions tell you what sort of
file you are dealing with so
that you will know which program(s) to use to unpack, unShrink, display,
etc.
the file. Many programs which create such files do not automatically
add an
extension-- for example, most of the disk images on the Golden Orchard
CD are
Diskcopy files with no name extension. Many other programs which create
files
suggest a default extension as part of the name-- GS-ShrinkIt generally
suggests ".SHK"-- but, the user can change this and save under any
legal name
desired. (One popular change is using ".SDK" for ShrinkIt whole-disk
archive
files.)
Some extensions indicate a filetype recognized
by Apple II ProDOS; but,
often, the extension is just for user information or to help some utility
recognize the file as one it can deal with. For such files the actual
ProDOS
filetype is usually TXT, BIN, or SHK.
What is it? (What
program do I use?)
------------------------------------------------------------
.2MG also .2IMG- XGS IIgs
disk image file usually 800k or
larger (GS ASIMOV2; PC Imgutnew.exe)
.AAF
Apple Archive Format [TEXT] for source code (aaf.unpacker)
.ACU NuFX Applelink archive
(ShrinkIt*)
.ALU usually a multi-file,
non-compressed A2 archive (ALU)
.APF GS super-res "Apple
Preferred" packed graphics format
(Platinum Paint, Convert 3200, etc.)
.ARC PC Archive (GS-ShrinkIt*
or DeArc2E or PC Arc program)
.BMP Windows Bit-Mapped
graphics format (GS Convert 3200;
many PC viewers)
.BNX NuFX with BLU header.
(ShrinkIt*)
.BNY BLU archive. (ShrinkIt*)
.BQY NuFX with BLU header.
(ShrinkIt*)
.BSC BinScii file. [TEXT]
(BinScii or GScii)
.BSE A GSHK* .SEA file
with a Binary II header (ShrinkIt*)
.BSQ BinScii'd NuFX file.
[TEXT] (BinScii plus ShrinkIt* on
the result)
.BXY NuFX archive with
a Binary II header. (ShrinkIt*)
.CPT Compactor Pro archive
(Compactor Pro on a Mac only)
.DIMG Diskcopy disk image file
usually produced by a
Mac (GS Clone or Diskcopy; Mac Diskcopy; PC Imgutnew.exe)
.DO a .DSK file specified
as having data in "DOS 3.3 Order"
i.e. uses DOS 3.3 sector ordering (A2 DSK2FILE and GS ASIMOV)
.DSK standard emulator
disk image-- length is 143360 bytes for
5.25" disk images (A2 DSK2FILE and GS ASIMOV)
.EXE A2 Executioner file
[TEXT]. (On A2; some files may EXEC
properly under only DOS 3.3.)
.GIF Graphics Interchange
Format: Compressed picture (IIGIF for
//e; Super Convert, ... on GS; PC, etc.: many viewers
and editors)
.GZ GZip PC archive
format often used for storing A2 emulator
disk images (GS GZPK v2 plus PMPUnZIP or Angel; PC WinZIP)
.HDV Raw (DSK) ProDOS ordered
disk image file 800K or greater in
size; used by emus as a virtual hard disk (ASIMOV2 on IIgs)
.HQX Mac BinHex file. [TEXT]
(BinHex on Mac or GScii)
.HTM HTML [TEXT] with embedded
Text commands (Web
browsers, web editors, etc.)
.IMAGE DiskCopy images (see .DIMG)
.IMG Type IMG or "user
#7" Copy II Plus disk image file (A2
Copy II Plus v6.x or v7.x)
.IMG is sometimes used for Diskcopy images (see .DIMG)
.JPG PC JPEG hi-res, hi-color
graphics format (GS JPEG.VIEWER,
etc. B/W only or PC, Unix viewers)
.LBR a multi-file, non-compressed
A2 archive (Librarian)
.LHA LHA Archive (PC/Amiga
LZH program)
.LZH LZH Archive (PC/Amiga
LZH program)
.NIB emulator disk image
(typical length: 232960) for protected
5.25" software (A2 Saltine's Super Transcopy)
.PCX PC graphics format
(GS Convert 3200; PC many viewers)
.PD compressed GS
multi-palette graphics file w/o
palettes (GS SuperPac)
.PNG PC PING hi-res, hi-color
graphics format (PC viewer)
.PO a .DSK file specified
as having data in "ProDOS Order"
i.e. uses ProDOS sector ordering (A2 DSK2FILE and GS ASIMOV)
.PS compressed GS
multi-palette graphics file with
palettes (GS SuperPac)
.QQ BLU archive.
(ShrinkIt*)
.SDK ShrinkIt disk image,
usually NuFX-compressed (ShrinkIt*)
.SEA Self-extracting A2
ShrinkIt* or Mac ShrinkIt archive
(depending upon kind, run on Apple IIgs or Mac)
.SHK usually an A2 NuFX-compressed
archive; non-A2-compatible
Mac .SHK archives also exist (GS ShrinkIt* / Mac unshrinker
utility / PC Nulib-- does not extract GS resource forks)
.SIT Mac StuffIt archive.
(Stuffit on Mac or GS ShrinkIt)
GS-ShrinkIt will not decode StuffIt Deluxe files.
.TAR Unix Tape Archive
(Unix tar with -xvf option, GS EXE tar)
.TGZ Gzipped .TAR file
.TIFF Graphics format (GS SHR
Convert)
.TXT [TEXT] An ASCII text
file (Text editors,
word processors, etc.)
.UU Unix uuencode
file [TEXT] (A2 uudecode or Unix uudecode)
.UUE Unix uuencode file
[TEXT] (A2 uudecode or Unix uudecode)
.Z Compressed
file (GS-ShrinkIt or Unix uncompress)
.ZIP PC Zip Archive (GS
PMPUnZIP or UNZIP [GS Shell EXE]
or PC WinZIP, PKUNZIP, Unix unzip)
.ZOO PC Zoo Archive (GS-ShrinkIt???
or PC ZOO program)
* Note: GS-ShrinkIt (= GSHK) can handle all ShrinkIt files except
.SDK (shrunken disk)
files of 5.25" DOS 3.3 disks created by
8-bit ShrinkIt. 8-bit
ShrinkIt does not work for GS
files having a resource
fork or GS .SEA files.
From: Apple's ftp site ...
Most files are in one of a few common formats, and many are a combination.
.sit StuffIt 1.5.1
archives
.hqx BinHex 4.0 file
.bin Binary file
.image DiskCopy 4.2 image file
.txt plain ASCII
text file
.bsc Apple II BinSCII
file
.shk Apple II ShrinkIt
file
Most of the Macintosh files are BinHexed StuffIt
files. This means you
need to transfer the file, then read the license agreement which is
prepended
to it (with any text processor), use BinHex or any utility which can
read
BinHex 4.0 files to decode the BinHex to a StuffIt archive, then use
UnStuffIt
or the StuffIt Expander (or a similar utility) to decompress the .sit
file into
the final file.
In some cases the final file is a .image file.
These are exact duplicates
of floppy disks (with verified checksums). Use DiskCopy to convert
these files
into floppy disks for installation. Some Apple System Software is in
this
format.
Most of the Apple II files are either straight
text or BinSCII'd ShrinkIt
files. This means you need to transfer the file, then use BinSCII to
convert
the .bsc file to a ShrinkIt file, then use ShrinkIt to create the final
file or
disk.
Note: Apple calls their BinSCII'd .SHK files ".bsc" instead of ".bsq".
It is
fairly common for uploaders and ftp sites to tag any BinSCII'd file
as ".bsc".
The rationale is that, once a user un-BinSCII's a file, he or she will
find an
.SHK, .ZIP, etc. file and know how to continue.
016- How do I tell what kind of file this is?
Here is a simple guide to help you identify a file. You should always
go by
filename extension first, but not everybody uses those. In Unix, you
can use
the 'head' command to look at the first couple of lines of a file.
If it turns
out to be a binary file, you may be in for a surprise. You may want
to use the
Unix 'file' command to find out if it is a text file or not first.
Once you
have identified the file, check the earlier info on filename extensions
for how
to deal with it.
If there are lines in the file that look like this (there can be other
text
before it--search for 'FiLeStArT'):
FiLeStArTfIlEsTaRt
ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZabcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz0123456789()
GBINSCII AQhmAAAAA8)4MIAI02DA9ARMQEDtAQhmAIVZ
gYITA6u7xADA0MjM3YTNBlDOENkQwYURzITM2UDN5gzNDJUQGVERyEDM1QzM4cjN
CFUOFR0QxAjR0MjM3YTNBlDOENkQwAQRzITM2UDN5gzNDJUQGVERyEDM1QzM4cjN
...
then you've got something encoded by BinSCII. You must decode _all_
the parts
using BinSCII. Then, if the resulting file is in some compressed form,
you would use an
appropriate utility to uncompress it. (For example, you would use 8-bit
ShrinkIt to
uncompress a whole-disk .sdk archive file.)
On the other hand, if you have a binary file which resembles:
NuFilei][