[comp.sys.mac.misc] How can I get BinHex 4.0 ?

whooper@oakhill.sps.mot.com (William Hooper) (03/14/91)

Does anyone out there know how I can get BinHex 4.0?  I cannot ftp
programs from remote sites.  I would like to be able to take advantage
of the programs posted to the net, but do not know where to find
this program.  I assume it is shareware because I have not seen it
for sale anywhere.  Anyway, if anyone could send me a non-BinHexed
version of BinHex, it would be highly appreciated.

Thanks in Advance
--Bill Hooper

geoff@pmafire.inel.gov (Geoff Allen) (03/15/91)

Direct reply bounced, uunet didn't know how to get there from here,
so....

>Does anyone out there know how I can get BinHex 4.0?

From Answers to Frequently Asked Questions, posted monthly to
comp.sys.mac.announce, and which should still be available, since it
uses an Expires: header:

Q: What do I do with the files on comp.binaries.mac (or *.hqx files that
   I FTP'd)?

Q: Where can I get BinHex 4.0?

A: These two questions are related, so they will be answered together.

   I know that the file you've got says,

	(This file must be converted with BinHex 4.0)

   but the truth is that you most likely don't need BinHex 4.0.  What
   you really need is StuffIt or UnStuffit (or the Deluxe or Classic
   versions of either).  Here's why:

   StuffIt will encode and decode files into BinHex format.  The large
   majority of files you'll see are Stuffed, in addition to being
   BinHexed, so you will need StuffIt (or the free UnStuffIt) anyway. 

   (The differences between the programs are:

	StuffIt is the original shareware compression program which has
	become the standard.

	UnStuffIt is a free program which only unstuffs files.

	StuffIt Deluxe is the commercial version of StuffIt.

	StuffIt Classic is the latest shareware version of StuffIt.

	There's also an UnStuffIt Deluxe, which is analogous to
	UnStuffIt.  There may also be an UnStuffIt Classic.

	The ``Un'' versions of StuffIt *don't* convert BinHex files, so
	for translating net stuff, I'd recommend getting StuffIt or you
	can get one of the BinHex conversion programs mentioned in the
	next question. 

   Adding to the confusion caused by all the versions of StuffIt out
   there is the existence of new compression programs which are starting
   to gain popularity.  One that you'll probably hear about is Compact
   Pro (formerly Compactor), which is a shareware contender to the
   StuffIt throne.  See the next question for what some common filename
   extensions mean. 

   Anyway, back to the original topic... :^)

   Once you get the files to your Macintosh, join all the pieces into
   one file using your word processor (be sure to edit out everything
   that doesn't look like gibberish).  The first and last character of
   all the gibberish stuff (the actual BinHex encoding) should be a
   colon (":").  Save this file in ``text only'' format.  Then run one
   of the StuffIt programs and use the ``Decode BinHex File'' option on
   the ``Other'' menu.  This should give you a StuffIt file (or regular
   file, if the original was not Stuffed).  You can then unstuff the
   file using (Un)Stuffit. 

   Compact Pro can also decode BinHex.  You have to delete everything
   before ``(This file...'' info to use it, though (you don't need to
   with StuffIt). 

   Another alternative, for those using Unix, is to get the program
   mcvert (available as a shar file from sumex and other places). 
   Mcvert will convert your BinHex files to MacBinary before you
   download them.  It also saves you the trouble of joining the files
   (you simply specify them as command arguments -- no editing is
   necessary), and is much faster than converting the files on the Mac. 
   The MacBinary file will also be smaller, which saves transmission
   time to your Mac.

Geoff Allen
geoff@pmafire.inel.gov

geoff@pmafire.inel.gov (Geoff Allen) (03/16/91)

I wrote:
>>Does anyone out there know how I can get BinHex 4.0?
>
>From Answers to Frequently Asked Questions, posted monthly to
>comp.sys.mac.announce, and which should still be available, since it
>uses an Expires: header:

[rest of answer deleted]

It was pointed out to me in e-mail that this doesn't answer the
question, ``How can I get a copy of BinHex which doesn't require
BinHex?'' -- an interesting Catch-22 indeed.

Options to try (see previous post for details about the various programs
which can decode binhex):

	If you're on a Unix box, try mcvert.

	Try getting getting StuffIt or Compact Pro (or BinHex if they have
	it) from a local users group.

	Check with another Mac user local to you who may have one of the
	programs which can decode BinHex.

	Download one of the programs from CompuServe, Genie, etc., where
	they aren't BinHexed.

	Buy a disk from Educorp or BMUG or whatever that includes one of
	the programs.

	Try to talk one of the archive sites into making a binary (i.e.
	non-BinHexed) copy of BinHex (or StuffIt or Compact Pro)
	available for ftp.  You wouldn't be able to get this by mail
	unless it were uuencoded, which doesn't do you much good unless
	you're on a Unix box, and in which case you could use mcvert,
	but at least ftp allows a few people to be able to get it.
	(The convincing is left as an exercise for the reader. :^) )

Hope this may help anyone out there who's in this pickle.

-- 
Geoff Allen          \  A fanatic is one who can't change his
uunet!pmafire!geoff   \  mind and won't change the subject.
geoff@pmafire.inel.gov \		-- Winston Churchill