eilers@stolaf.UUCP (David V. Eilers) (05/02/85)
Posted to net.sources.mac PACKIT and PACKIT Document.
I will be posting Red Ryder 5 to the net very shortly. In an
attempt to simplify the posting of the programs and the 12 or so
documents that should accompany it, I'll be posting this upload
in as a Packit (suffix .pit) file. You will need this program
to unpack the 13 Red Ryder parts from the one(!) file I will be posting.
A Packit file is simply a combination of two or more files still
in binary form. To transfer this packit file over the phone lines
still requires the use of BinHex (or the new Binary) file transfer
methodes. After downloading a file like this, convert it back to an
application with BinHex (or Binary, whichever). You will now have a
packit document on your desktop. Now you have to seperate this file
into individual documnts so that you can use them. To do this you
simply run them trough packit, chosing "Unpack" from the menu. Packit
will then display a dialog box with the name of the document it is
unpacking (the name it had when it was packed) giving you a cances to rename
a document before it is unpackd. Most of the time you will not want to
change the original names and you will just hit the unpack button.
The advantages of using Packit to transfer files is that a program
that has many different part or instrutions can be transmitted together
making things much simpler for all of us. No more "part 5/6" of a file.
If you receive one file, you have it all. You won't have to wonder why
or where that last file you need is and you won't have to look through
net.sources.mac to try and find all the peices you must download.
The only disadvantage is that the files tend to get long. But as
long as files are kept to under 200k and you download to a clean disk,
you will have enough room to run it through binhex and save it to
that same disk to avoid disk swaping. It really shouldn't be a problem.
There is a MacWrite 2.2 document that will explain PACKIT in a little
more detail. Both PACKIT and the document are BinHex (Hqx) files.
Download these and keep an eye peeled for Red Ryder 5.0.
Dave Eilers
ihnp!stolaf!eilers
(507) 663-2577