geoff@pmafire.inel.gov (Geoff Allen) (12/01/90)
[Lots of comments from the last one have been incorporated into this
one. The major changes are in the questions on generating PostScript,
undeletable folders, and FTP for non-internet folks.]
This document answers some frequently asked questions from the
comp.sys.mac newsgroups. These answers generally haven't originated
with me. I've primarily served as an editor, putting together my own
knowledge and some collective net wisdom. If your favorite FAQ isn't
here, write it up (along with an answer) and send it to me for possible
inclusion.
The questions answered in this document are:
Q: How do I print PostScript to a file instead of a laser printer?
Q: I have a folder I can't delete. What should I do?
Q: I took my document to another Mac so I could print it on a
LaserWriter, and the formatting was all messed up. What did I do
wrong?
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?
Q: What does ".hqx" (or ".sit", etc.) mean?
Q: What is FTP?
Q: What are some sites from which I can FTP Macintosh software?
Q: Where's the System software on apple.com?
Q: I'm at a .UUCP site; can I use FTP?
Q: How do I post to comp.binaries.mac?
Q: What is the proper format for submissions to comp.binaries.mac?
Q: Why is my posting to comp.binaries.mac taking so long to show up?
Did it get lost in the mail?
~~~~~~~~~~
Q: How do I print PostScript to a file instead of a laser printer?
A: Make sure that the LaserWriter is chosen in the Chooser DA (even if
you don't have a LaserWriter). Immediately after clicking OK in the
Print dialog box, press and hold the `f' key (`k' if you want the
LaserPrep header information included in the document. You should see a
dialog box telling you that a postscript file is being created. The
file will be named Postscript 0 and you may need to use the Find File
DA (or equivalent) to locate it. You can then send it to a
LaserWriter on a Mac using a program called SendPS. For use on UNIX
systems with other PostScript printers, check out the program macps,
available from sumex and other places.
For a lot more information about generating PostScript on the Mac,
check out the file /info-mac/tips/generating-postscript.txt from
sumex-aim.stanford.edu. (If you don't understand what I just said,
see the question on FTP below.) This file has a lot of useful
information and is definitely worth your time and effort to get.
Q: I have a folder I can't delete. What should I do?
A: This is the infamous ``Folder From Hell'' problem you may see
mentioned from time to time. The problem is usually that the
Finder's count of the number of files in the folder gets messed up.
There are about 5,000,000 suggested ways to get rid of these. One of
them might even work for you. :^)
Things to try include:
First, make sure that there are no invisible or hidden files in
the folder. You can do this with ResEdit, MacTools, DiskTop,
SUM (I assume. I don't have SUM. I'm sure someone who does
will straighten me out), or other utilities.
Assuming that the folder really is empty, try putting a few
files into the folder and then trashing them (make sure the
files are expendable!) . This may reset the file count to 0 if
it was negative.
Boot off of a floppy disk and trash the folder.
Stuff the folder with StuffIt. (At least one person has had
this work.)
If you have DiskTop, try using its remove file/folder command.
Using an editing utility like FEdit or MacSnoop, manually set
the folder's file count to 0. To do this:
Name the folder something unique, like FolderFromHell.
Using the disk editor, search for the ascii string
'FolderFromHell'
After the name should be something like 0000 0001 XXXX.
The XXXX is the folder's file count. Set this to 0000.
(You might want to practice first on a floppy containing
some folders with known file counts, so you're sure how
to find the file count.)
Save back to the disk.
Hit the reset button on your programmer's switch.
If all else fails, back up the disk, reformat it, and
restore it. This should take care of the problem.
[If anyone has any better ideas, let me know, and I'll add them.]
Q: I took my document to another Mac so I could print it on a
LaserWriter, and the formatting was all messed up. What did I do
wrong?
A: The Macintosh uses slightly different formatting for LaserWriters and
ImageWriters. If you are going to print the file on a LaserWriter,
choose the LaserWriter in the Chooser DA (whether you have a
LaserWriter or not) when composing your document. Then the
formatting will be correct for the LaserWriter.
Selecting ``Tall Adjusted'' in the ImageWriter Page Setup dialog
seems to work also. Can anyone positively confirm or deny this?
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.
I'm pretty sure there's an UnStuffIt Deluxe, which is analogous
to UnStuffIt. There may also be an UnStuffIt Classic. Can
someone straighten me out on these two?
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
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.
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.
Q: What does ".hqx" (or ".sit", etc.) mean?
A: Here are some common file suffixes that you are likely to see and
what they mean:
.hqx BinHex format -- use BinHex 4.0, any of the StuffIt
programs, or mcvert (for UNIX).
.sit StuffIt format -- use any of the StuffIt programs or
unsit (for UNIX).
.cpt Compactor format -- use Compactor or Extractor
.sea Compactor-generated self extracting archive.
Double-clicking on this should give you the
uncompressed file.
.pit PackIt format, not used much any more -- use PackIt or any
of the StuffIt programs.
.image DiskCopy images of a floppy disk. This is the format
used for the System software on apple.com. Use the
DiskCopy application to translate these back onto disks.
Q: What is FTP?
A: FTP stands for File Transfer Protocol. It is only available if your
site is on the Internet (check with your site administrator if you
aren't sure). Usually you'll hear that a site has items available for
``anonymous ftp.'' This means that to get something from that site,
you:
1. type 'ftp [site-name]' (e.g. 'ftp sumex-aim.stanford.edu')
[If this doesn't work, it may be that you need to type the
Internet address of the site, rather than its name. For
example, sumex-aim.stanford.edu is 36.44.0.6.]
2. Log in as 'anonymous' and use anything for a password
(convention says to use your login id, e.g. joe@blow.com).
3. go to the specified directory (using cd, etc.)
4. type 'get [filemane]' (e.g. get disinfectant-23.hqx)
You should then have the file. Check your local man page or guru for
more on ftp at your site, since specific implementations may vary
somewhat.
Also, please, only ftp during non-business hours. Ftp is a privilege
granted to you by these sites. Don't beat up on them during working
hours.
Q: What are some sites from which I can FTP Macintosh software?
A: The main sites are:
sumex-aim.stanford.edu [36.44.0.6], which contains a large
collection of public domain and shareware programs.
ftp.apple.com, (coming soon -- until then look for stuff on
apple.com [130.43.2.2] ) which contains many items provided by
Apple (System Software, Technical Notes, etc.),
and
wsmr-simtel20.army.mil [26.2.0.74]
Items at sumex and apple are in BinHex form. Items at simtel20 are
in binary form; be sure to execute the 'binary' or 'image' command
from within the ftp program before getting them.
Q: Where's the System software on apple.com?
A: It's in the directory /pub/dts/sw.license. Not the most intuitive
place, I know. :^)
(By the way, you should download and read the license agreement
before you get the System software. Also be sure you have a copy of
the DiskCopy application found in this directory, so that you can
translate the .image files onto your disks.)
Q: I'm at a .UUCP site; can I use FTP?
A: No. But there are alternatives. Perhaps the most useful is the
listserver at Rice. It mirrors the archive at sumex, but is about a
week behind. You can reach it at:
LISTSERV@ricevm1.rice.edu (or ricevm1.rice.edu!LISTSERV)
The message you send should be of the form:
$MACARCH GET [what-you-want-to-get]
(Note: your message needs to start in column 1, I've indented here
for clarity.)
For example:
$MACARCH GET $MACARCH.CONTENTS
will give you a listing of the contents of the Mac archive.
$MACARCH GET VIRUS/DISINFECTANT-23.HQX
will give you a binhex'ed copy of Disinfectant 2.3
$MACARCH HELP
will give you a help message that may be more confusing than helpful
(at least *I* found it confusing).
There is a limit of 256 Kb/person/day.
The listserver appears to be case insensitive, but the help info and
the listings in MACARCH.CONTENTS give the commands as all uppercase,
so I just use uppercase.
If the file has lines that are over 80 characters long, LISTSERV will
put the file into ``Listserv Punch'' format. To decode this on a
Mac, there was a program on sumex to handle this, but it doesn't seem
to be there any more. If you're using a Unix machine, send me e-mail
and I'll send you an awk script that I wrote to handle the conversion.
Another alternative for folks without FTP access is to use the FTP
server at princeton. Send a message to bitftp@pucc.princeton.edu (or
bitftp@princeton.bitnet if you're mailing from Bitnet). The first
message you send should be the work ``HELP'' (all uppercase), on the
first line starting in the first column. Read that, and then
(hopefully) you'll be ready to send ftp requests to their server. I
personally haven't tried it, but from what I've seen, it looks handy.
Q: How do I post to comp.binaries.mac?
A: Your news software should handle this for you. Posting to the group
should automatically get your message mailed to the moderator.
If this does not happen on your system, you can mail your posting to
the moderator yourself. The moderator of comp.binaries.mac is Roger
Long and his address (for submissions only) is
macintosh@felix.uucp
Q: What is the proper format for submissions to comp.binaries.mac?
A: Submissions should be in BinHex form. If the file is long, it may
need to be split into two or more parts to get through some mail
gateways (<100K per part should work). If you do split your file,
put a line at the end of each part like ``End of part 1'' and a line
at the beginning of each part like ``Beginning of part 2.'' This will
help the moderator to know that everything made it through the mail,
and to put it all back together again.
Use the original StuffIt format for compressing files before sending
them. Not everyone has the newer programs, and StuffIt is still the
lowest common denominator.
Q: Why is my posting to comp.binaries.mac taking so long to show up?
Did it get lost in the mail?
A: Probably not. The group has a sizable backlog of items to post and,
according to the moderator, is limited (administratively) to a volume
of about 2.5Mb/month (which works out to about 84K/day). This means
that only so much can be sent out each day. So your posting is
probably not lost; it's just waiting its turn.
--
Geoff Allen
uunet!pmafire!geoff
geoff@pmafire.inel.gov