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NuPak IIgs Version 2.0 [ February 25, 1990 ] Documentation
File: Revision Three

NuPak IIgs(tm) is an innovative creation in packing utilities.
 Nupak IIgs offers the ability to pack and unpack not only
ShrinkIT(tm) type files, but files in several other formats as
well. However, the biggest advantage of Nupak IIgs is the
ability to pack files with resource forks. With the onset of
GS/OS(tm) 3.0, files containing both resource and data forks
will become more prominent. Programs utilizing this format are
following a format found in most Macintosh programs. Such
programs already exist on the IIgs--most notably the CDEV
files found on the IIgs System Disk and this program. Until
now, there has not been a way to pack files with resource
forks. One had to pack a whole disk in order to send any file
with a resource fork--that is, until NuPak IIgs.  Now you will
be able to pack single files and send them like any other
file.

NuPak IIgs is a full fledge 16-bit packing and unpacking
program, running under GS/OS, that follows the human interface
guidelines. It therefore offers an easy to use substitute for
the myriad of archival programs for the Apple II series (as
well as for other computers). Although, the main focus of
NuPak is on NuFX(tm) archives such as those created by
ShrinkIT.

Another ability that makes NuPak unprecidented, is the promise
of accessing on other operating systems when FSTs become
available. It currently supports AppleShare(tm) network file
servers. However, what sets NuPak off from the rest is its
ability to unpack Macintosh files compressed with StuffIT(tm),
the most widely used Macintosh archival program. This can be
done without waiting for Apple's FSTs.

Comments, suggestions, enhancements, and/or bug reports can be
sent to the author on America Online(tm), on Internet, or via
US mail.  See the end of this file for additional information.


Notes Version 2.0 _________________

This is it folks, version 2.0!  I decided to jump the major
version number because I've added along awaited
feature...StuffIT support!  This program can now handle
Macintosh "StuffIT" archives, with either a 32-byte header
(from downloading the archives from America Online) or a
128-byte Macbinary header (used on BBSs).

Another major development is speed.  Version 2.0 has had its
decompression routines totally reworked and enhanced.  The old
slowness of version 1.x is no more.

I have changed the user interface in a few places to be more
friendly.  The most major change is at points where the user
is prompted to enter a device name.  All such dialogs have
been replaced with a standard dialog window allowing the
selection of a device from a displayed list of available
devices.  This prevents the user from having to memorize the
exact names of devices.

I have also added the "View Help File" option.  This option
brings up a help window containing the quick-help list
describing the menu options in minor detail.

Version 2.0 also supports User Preferences and the creation of
Binary II files, a very useful option for users of services
such as CompuServe and GEnie which want Binary II headers on
uploaded files.

Ghost of Features Present _________________________

Here is a listing of what Version 2.0 can do:

o Extract files from NuFX, Binary  II, ACU, BXY, and StuffIT
archives. o Uncompress records in the above archive formats if
they are packed with         Huffman, Dynamic LZW, or RLE
compression. o Add files to an archive in uncompressed format
to NuFX archives, including      resource forked files. o
Unpack whole disks from a ShrinkIT archive. o Add Binary II
headers to files for uploading to information services such as
   America Online, GEnie(tm), and CompuServe(tm). o Standard
disk operations (delete, rename, format, and erase). o Save
User Preferences such as compression mode and default pathname
for   extraction

Ghost of Features Yet to Come _____________________________

The following features are planned for versions in the near
future:

o Actually compress files while adding, using Huffman or
Dynamic LZW. o Add messages while adding files to NuFX
archives. o Display messages that are in NuFX archives. o Add
whole disks to NuFX archives. o Work with even more archive
types (Arc, Zip, Zoo, etc...). o A mini-editor for composing
quick text messages.

Please do drop me a letter on America Online, on Internet, or
by US Mail, especially if you find bugs.  I wish to
incorporate features YOU want, so I have to be informed.  I
also can't test the program in every possible machine
configuration or situation, so there may be rare bugs that
have yet to crop up.


Getting Started _______________

This program needs System Disk 5.0.2 or higher to run
correctly.  If you don't have the necessary system disks, try
to download them from America Online or goto your local user
group to obtain them. You might also want to see your local
dealer and obtain a copy.  Most dealers should let you copy
it, or you can buy the three-disk set with manuals for around
$40.

Start by copying the program to where you want it.  It will
run on any GS/OS-compatible device, including 3.5" and 5.25"
drives, hard drives, and AppleShare file server volumes.  You
absolutely *MUST* use the Finder or another GS-based copy
program, since the program does have a resource fork and
cannot be copied by a ProDOS 8 program.

Please note that the NuPak IIGS program cannot be "locked" or
write-protected in any way. This is because NuPak writes back
to itself to save the user preferences.  If you forget and
accidently lock or protect the file, NuPak IIGS will kindly
tell you this and exit back to your program launcher.


Quick Help List _______________

After running the program from the Finder(tm) or another
program selector, the NuPak IIgs desktop will pop up and the
File, Edit, Archive Options, and Special menus will appear.

Note that currently unavailable options are marked with "[ N/A
]".



"About NuPak IIGS" will bring up a series of dialogs showing
some info about who contributed to this program, as well as
version number you are using.

"View Helpfile" opens a window in which you can view the
miniature help file.  If the help window is already open, this
option brings it to the front.

(these are followed by any NDAs you have installed.)



"New" will create a new NuFX archive, allowing you to select
its filename and location before it is created.  Any current
archives are not closed.

"Open" will allow you to select a file, which is then opened
as an archive.  NuPak will automatically figure out what type
of archive it is.  If it can't figure out what the file format
is, it will tell you so.  Any current archives are not closed.

"Save" and "Save As" aren't used and are for future use.

"Close" will close the currently active window, be it an NDA,
archive window, or whatever.  If it is an archive window, the
archive file is closed and any data buffered in memory is
flushed to disk.

"Delete" allows you to select a file, which is then deleted. 
You are asked to confirm before the file is actually
destroyed.

"Rename" will let you rename a file you select.  You can
change the entire path of the file, even move it between
directories!  The only restriction is that you cannot move it
across volumes.  You select the file and can then edit its
full pathname.  The option is abortable.

"Format" lets you format a disk.  NuPak will display a list of
devices from which you select the device to format.  You also
enter the volume name to use in formatting the disk.  NuPak
then tells GS/OS to format the disk.

"Erase" is just like Format, except it simply writes a new
volume directory to the disk without reformatting it.

"Page Setup" and "Print" do nothing.

"Quit" will quit back to the program selector.



"Select All" will automatically highlight all files in the
currently open archive with.  If there is no archive open, or
if the currently highlighted window is not an archive (ie, an
NDA is in use), nothing will happen.



"Extract Records" will extract whatever records you have
hilighted in the archive window.  You are prompted first for a
disk or directory to extract to.

"Add Records" allows you to add files to *NuFX* archives.  You
select the file or files to add, and then select message
information.  The files are then added to the current open
archive, using the compression method selected under User
Preferences.

"Delete Records" is not functional as of yet and therefore
dimmed.  In the future it may be possible to delete records
within a NuFX archive.

"Rename Records" is not functional as of yet and therefore
dimmed.  In the future it may be possible to rename records
within a NuFX archive.



"Set Preferences" will allow you to configure NuPak for your
own personal tastes.  You can select compression method (for
use when adding to archives) and the default pathname for use
in extracting.  These options are saved and will be set each
time you run NuPak IIgs.  Note that the only compression
method currently available is "uncompressed", and all other
compression options are dimmed and cannot be selected.

"Make Binary II file" will allow you to make a Binary II file
from a specified file.  You specify the source file and a
destination filename, and a Binary II archive is created using
the specified destination filename and containing the selected
source file.

"Make AppleSingle File" will allow you to take a selected file
(of any type) and make it into an AppleSingle format file [
N/A ].

"Make AppleDouble File" is the same as above, but produces its
output in AppleDouble format [ N/A ].

Now that you have a brief knowledge of the menu options, let's
talk about some other basic operations.


Working with Archives _____________________

After you select an archive with "Open" (or make a new one
with "New"), a window will appear on the screen.  The title is
the filename and is followed by the type of archive, such as
"MyArchive (NuFX)".  You can have more than one archive open
at once also.  If you have multiple archives opened, simply
click in the window of an archive to select it as the current
archive.  The current archive always has its window hilighted.
 Note that there doesn't have to be a current archive; an NDA
can be the currently active window instead of an archive
window.

Inside the window is a general information line right below
the title. It shows the creation and modification dates of the
archive, and the number of files in the archive.  If the
archive doesn't supply one of the dates, that field is dashed
out.  The other is a list control showing all the files in the
archive and some information on each one.  Generally it will
show filename, filetype, auxtype, date when it was archived,
size of the file, compression method, and how much it is
compressed in percent.  A scrollbar in the window allows you
to scroll if there are more than 12 files.

The listing operates like this: if you click on a name, you
select it and deselect all others.  Dragging the mouse drags
the selection bar.  If you reach the top or bottom, the
listing scrolls automatically. There are, however, two keys
that modify the way you select items.  Holding SHIFT down will
select a "range" of records.  For instance, if you clicked the
first file, then held down shift and clicked a file 7 lines
down, all files in between those, including the ends, are
selected.  So you would select seven records with only two
clicks.  And if you hold down OPEN-APPLE, clicking on a record
will select that record but other records will NOT be
deselected.  The best way to learn this is to try it first
hand by opening a big archive if you have one.

Once you select your files, you then select what to do with
them.  Currently the only thing you can do is "Extract" files
from the archive (Open-Apple-E on the keyboard), although in
the future you may be able to rename or delete files within
the archive.  After selecting extract, if any of the records
to extract are files, you are asked to select a destination
pathname (If you have a default pathname set up in the
Preferences [see "Misc Options" section], this will be the
initial location pointed to in the window).  Choose the volume
using the Disk button.  This can be any writeable device, be
it a floppy, hard disk, or file server volume.  Next, use the
Open and Close buttons to move into the desired subdirectory
on the volume.  Note that double-clicking a directory also
opens a it.  After selecting the destination pathame, you can
either click the "Cancel" button to abort extraction, or click
the "Extract" button to continue.

When extracting disk records from an archive, NuPak displays a
window from which you select the destination device for the
disk record.  The window contains three controls.  The first
two are buttons, the default button (selected by clicking it
or hitting RETURN) is "Continue".  The second is "Cancel",
which must be clicked to be selected.  The third control is a
list of devices from which you select a destination device. 
Up to five names are displayed at once; if there are more than
five, you can scroll the listing to display the extra devices 
NuPak automatically makes sure you extract onto a device of
the proper type to hold the disk record.  If the device cannot
accept the record, you are given another chance to select a
device.

The program begins the extraction process and a status dialog
is placed on the screen which will show the filename being
extracted and the status using three "thermometers".  The top
thermometer is labeled "Data Fork", and fills up red as the
data fork of a file (or a disk) is written out.  The middle
thermometer is labeled "Resource Fork" and fills up with the
color blue as the resource fork of a file is extracted.  Many
files do not have resource forks, and disks never do, so you
probably will not see it fill very often. The final
thermometer is labeled "Message" and it will fill up with the
color yellow as each message is loaded into memory for you to
look at.  Finally, there is a "Cancel" button you can click
which will abort extraction, but only between records (you
cannot currently abort in the middle of extracting a single
file or disk).

Several things can interrupt extraction.  Errors that abort
extraction include GS/OS errors (such as volume full or I/O
error), unknown thread types in NuFX archives, and Out of
Memory errors. If a compression method is encountered that
NuPak can't handle, it will ask you what to do.  You can
either continue and extract the file to disk (so that you may
use another program to decompress it), or skip that file.  If
a file being extracted already exists, you are given the
option to skip that file, extract to a different filename
(N/A), or delete the old file.  And if messages are
encountered in a NuFX archive, you are asked at each message
if you want to view it, save it to disk, or both.  Note that
any records that NuPak never attempted to extract (if you
abort or if an error aborts the extraction) are not deselected
when the extraction process ends.

There are two messages that can be displayed during or after
extraction of a record.  The first message can appear anytime
during uncompression, it is a "Data Damaged" message.  This
means that the data is seriously damaged and Nupak cannot
continue uncompressing reliably.  This error will abort the
extraction process.  The second error occurs at the end of
extracting a record.  It tells you that the "CRC of the data
does not match".  NuFX archives have several checks for
damages, called CRCs.  NuPak always calculates CRCs on its own
and makes sure they match those stored in the archive.  If
they don't match, then the data is damaged.  This error is not
serious enough to abort extraction, and NuPak will continue to
the next record.  Text files or pictures may be intact enough
to warrant keeping, but a program file will very likely not
run correctly.

When all records have been extracted, you will see an
"Operation Completed" message.  You can click the Continue
button or just press Return, and you will be returned to the
"normal mode" of the program, ready to open new archives, add,
or whatever you wish.


Adding to an Archive ____________________

NuPak IIGS also offers the ability to add files to NuFX
archives.  In the future it will also be possible to compress
files as they are added, as well as add whole disk to an
archive.

Adding is functionally similar to extracting.  After opening
the NuFX archive to add to, select "Add" (or OA-A from the
keyboard).  You will be presented with a dialog where you can
select files to add.  The Disk, Open, and Close buttons
function normally.  To select files to add, use the mouse
button and the SHIFT and OPEN-APPLE keys as outlined in the
previous sections.  When finished selecting, click Accept to
continue or Cancel to abort.

After selecting your files to add, you are next asked to
select any message types to add.  Since this is not yet
completed, just click "Do It" to continue.

From here on the adding process is just like extracting.  The
status window has three thermometers that fill up as the files
are added, and errors behave the same way as in extraction.


StuffIT Support _______________

Version 2.0 of this program offers support for StuffIT
archives, which is pretty much the standard for the Macintosh,
on BBSs and on America Online.

NuPak IIgs can handle StuffIT archives in two formats.  The
first is the archive with a 32-byte header.  This format is
used when downloading the archives from America Online using
the Apple II (or IIGS) version of the program.  The other is
the archive with a 128-byte Macbinary header.  You will find
archives this way on local BBSs and on other information
services.  Please note, however, that the format of the
archive is transparent to you; the program senses
automatically and adjusts itself.

Extracting from StuffIT files is very much like normal
extraction procedures with a few minor changes:

o Filenames are converted to ProDOS format IF NEEDED.  Which
means if an HFS FST becomes available, you can unpack right to
an HFS disk with no filename translation. o Directories in an
archive don't list the contents of the folder, only the folder
itself.  The folder's size will be the size of all its
contents.  Extracting the directory extracts everthing inside
as well. o Filetypes are translated if necessary into ProDOS
filetypes.  As of this writing, the following HFS filetypes
are converted:

"TEXT" becomes "TXT" "APPL" becomes "S16" "CDEV" becomes "CDV"
"SIT!" becomes "LBR", subtype $0000 "PIT!" becomes "LBR",
subtype $0000

All other filetypes are extracted as "BIN" files.

o At this time the date IS NOT PRESERVED during extraction. 
When I get info on the date format on the Mac I'll fix this.

If you experience any problems with unStuffing, PLEASE TELL
ME!  This has never been done on an Apple IIgs (or any other
Apple II) before, and I'm not an expert on Stuffit archives.

Miscellanous Options ____________________

Format/Erase:

These two options allow you to format or erase a disk. 
Formatting physically reformats a device, while erasing simply
erases the main directory and makes the disk look fresh, but
doesn't physically reformat (meaning the data is actually
still on the disk).  Both options work the same way.  NuPak
will display a window (almost exactly like the window when
extracting a disk from an archive) with four controls in it. 
The first two are "Continue" and "Cancel" buttons.  They are
pretty self explanatory, but you should know that hitting
RETURN selects "Continue" by default.  You still have a second
chance to cancel after that though, so don't get excited if
you mess up.

The third control is a list of all available devices on your
system, from which you select the device to format/erase. 
Only five names are displayed at once; additional names can be
reached by scrolling the listing with the scrollbar.  If there
are five or less names, the scrollbar is inactive and doesn't
function.

The fourth and final control is an editing line directly below
the device name listing.  Here, you enter the name to use when
formatting or erasing the selected disk.  Click in this box
brings up the cursor, as will hitting any key except RETURN
(which of course selects "Continue").  The default name here
is ":Untitled", just like in the GS Finder.

Once you have selected a device and entered a volume name, hit
RETURN or click "Continue" to go to the GS/OS format menu.  I
won't explain the GS/OS menu, as it's the same thing as what
comes up in the Finder when you select Format or Erase.  You
can also Cancel from here if you change your mind.

Delete/Rename:

Theses two options allow you to delete or rename any file. 
For delete, you are prompted to select the file to delete from
a list of files.  Clicking "Open" or hitting RETURN will
continue.  You are then asked to confirm the deletion.  Here,
hitting RETURN will select "Cancel".  If you wish to continue,
click the "Delete" button.  The file will be deleted if
possible.

The rename option works similarly.  After selecting the file
to rename, you are prompted to enter the new name for the
file.  The default pathname is the current pathname.  Note
that you can actually rename a file to a different directory
ON THE SAME DISK ONLY, as well as just rename the file itself.
 To rename a file to a different directory, leave the filename
itself alone, and just edit the appropriate directory name(s)s
in the displayed pathname.  After you enter the new name,
click "Rename" to continue, or press RETURN or click "Cancel"
to cancel the option and leave the file alone.

Preferences:

This option (under the Special menu) allows you to set certain
defaults which are set every time you run NuPak IIGS.  This
option displays a dialog, from which you can select
compression mode and a default pathname.

To select the compression mode, click on the appropriate
"radio button" to select that option.  Only one option can be
selected at once...selecting a mode deselects all other
automatically.

The default pathname is simple to edit.  Just type in the full
GS/OS pathname of where you will most often put extracted
files.  Leaving this name blank tells NuPak to not bother with
a default pathname.  What NuPak does with the default is set
the path to your default pathname right before putting up the
"Select Pathname" extraction dialog, so that you can just hit
"Extract" right away and get going, or select another path. 
NuPak does not skip the selection so that you can still select
a path other than the default pathname.

For saving your preferences, you have three options.  Hitting
RETURN or clicking "Cancel" aborts the changes you have made
and leaves the preferences alone.  Clicking "Make Changes
Temporary" will change the preferences, but the changes will
not be saved back to disk.  Use this, for instance, to
temporarily use a new default path or a different compression
mode.  And finally, if you select "Make Changes Permanent",
NuPak will not only change the preferences, but will save them
back to disk WHEN YOU QUIT THE PROGRAM.  If you Ctrl-Reset and
reboot out of NuPak without quitting, your preferences are not
saved, so be careful!

Make Binary II File:

The final option is Make a Binary II file.  Many information
services require uploaded files to be in Binary II format.

First, you are prompted for a source file to make the Binary
II file with.  Select the file from the list and click "Open"
to continue or "Cancel" to abort.  Second, you are prompted
for the filename to use in creating the Binary II file. 
Select an appropriate directory, type in a filename, and click
"Save" to continue or "Cancel" to abort.

NuPak will now make your Binary II file.  What happens is the
output file is created and a Binary II header written to it. 
Then the source file is copied byte-for-byte into the output
file, creating your Binary II file.  As this process
continues, you can watch the progress in a window like that
used during extraction.  A thermometer will fill red as the
process continues.

NOTE: You may have heard of "BXY" files.  Some services prefer
this format of file.  A BXY file is simply a Binary II file
containing a NuFX archive.  To make a BXY file, simply create
a Binary II file using a NuFX archive.  You can either do this
to an existing archive, or create a new one within NuPak, add
files to it, save it, and then convert it to BXY.


Conclusion __________

Now you have mastered NuPak IIgs and you should be ready to
use the program the next time you wish to pack or unpack an
archive.  Keep an eye out for future revisions as they are
just around the corner. You may have also noticed new options,
yet to be integrated into the program, in the menus. We are
adding in these options continuously, with more important
options being written first.

It is hoped that NuPak IIgs will bring you hours of packing or
unpacking enjoyment.  Archive away!!


Where to get ahold of us ________________________

You can reach Frontier Technologies in two ways:

America Online: Frontier T

US Mail       : Frontier Technologies P.O. Box 165 Grosse Ile,
MI  48138-2009

The author of NuPak IIGS can be reached in either the above
ways or at the following additional electronic mail addresses:

America Online: Joshua T6

Internet      : joshuat2@nucleus.mi.org
_____________________________________________________________________________

NuPak IIgs is a trademark of Frontier Technologies, ShrinkIT
and NuFX are a trademark of Paper Bag Productions, GS/OS,
AppleShare, and Macintosh are trademarks of Apple Computer
Incorporated, America Online, ACU and AppleLink are a
trademark of Quantum Computer Services, Stuffit was developed
by Raymond Lau.