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Mac Files Too Big? Go StuffIt!
ike its Windows counterpart ZipIt, StuffIt has been around for some quite sometime and is so popular that it's considered an essential Macintosh utility program. Most designers just assume that others have the latest copy of the program installed.

If you're not familiar with StuffIt, it's a useful utility that compresses file sizes so that you can fit more files on a hard drive, server or transport media. Then, when you're ready to use the file, it can be decompressed. There isn't any loss of data and the process is perfectly safe. There are some very, very rare occasions when an archive (a stuffed file) becomes damaged and can't be unstuffed. It's happened to me only twice and I suspect the files were damaged to begin with.

StuffIt is available two versions. There's a free version, called StuffIt Lite, which is available for downloading at various places on the Web including the Aladdin website. This version will expand files that have been compressed in the StuffIt format. Most Macintosh files that are available for downloading on the Internet have been stuffed and saved in a binary hexed format. This free version will open those files.

The second version of the program, StuffIt Deluxe (the for-sale version), comes with quite a few more features. They include:

• The ability to compress files up to 20% smaller than past versions of the software.

• The ability to create self-extracting Zip files that Windows users can open.

• Filters to open a variety of compressed files in different formats including common Windows formats.

• Scripts to automate your compression needs.

• The ability to set to compress your files as self-extracting files. Self-extracting files can be opened without any form of the StuffIt application.

• A set of utilities that allow you to drop files on them to stuff or expand files.

The StuffIt utility is available for $75 but you can often find good rebate deals if you look for them. The utility is available for the Macintosh platform and is published by Aladdin Systems. Visit their website at www.aladdinsys.com for more information or to download the free version of the utility.

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