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-=-=-=-=-=-=-
The comp.sys.apple2 Usenet newsgroup Apple II FAQs originate from
the Ground Apple II archive, 1997-2005. Administrator: Steve Nelson
Csa2 FAQs-on-Ground ref: Csa2FLUTILS.txt rev086 May 2005
File Utilities
001- What are "binscii" files and how are they used?
002- What are .SHK files and how do I use them?
003- How do I get ShrinkIt or GS-ShrinkIt going on my Apple II?
004- How do I deal with the $00 type Apple II files I get on my Mac?
005- Can I work with .zip files on my Apple II?
006- What are DSK, NIB, 2MG, HDV,... disk image files & how do I use them?
007- Where can I get ShrinkIt, binscii, DSK2FILE, ASIMOV, etc.?
008- I have downloaded files in "gz" format? How do I use them?
009- Which programs can change ProDOS filetype?
010- What is Copy II Plus and where can I get it?
011- How do I use Copy II Plus to create and convert IMG files?
012- How do I set write protection for an emulator disk image?
013- How can I create a disk image from a ShrinkIt .sdk file?
014- How can I convert a .po image to/from a .dsk or .do image?
015- What do file name extensions mean and how do I access the files?
016- How do I tell what kind of file this is?
017- How can I create new .dsk, .nib, etc. disk images?
018- How can I convert .dsk image <--> .nib image?
019- How can I convert Diskcopy images to diskette or to other formats?
020- How can I move files to/from .dsk and .2MG disk images?
021- How can I unfork forked files on my Apple II?
From: Rubywand
001- What are "binscii" files and how are they used?
The term "binscii" comes from combining "binary" with "ASCII". A file in
binscii form has been changed so that it can be transmitted as text to/from net
servers and services which do not handle pure binary transfers.
Today, practically all servers can handle pure binary transfers; so,
binscii is no longer in popular use. However, quite a few old A2 files are
still in binscii form and binscii is used for files uploaded to
comp.binaries.apple2.
To convert binscii'd files to their un-biniscii'd form, you can use a
program named "BINSCII" or, on a GS, the New Desk Accessory named "GScii".
These programs can, also, create binscii files.
Note: Binscii is in no way related to Binary II. Binscii changes the entire
file into Text. Binary II is just a small block of bytes tacked onto the front
of a file, mainly to identify the file's filetype.
----------------------------
002- What are ShrinkIt (.SHK) files and how do I use them?
ShrinkIt files are the Apple II world's answer to .ZIP files in PC-ville.
An .SHK file is a file which contains one or more files which are almost always
in compressed form. Usually, they are produced by GS-ShrinkIt (also called
"GSHK" or "ShrinkIt-GS") or the Balloon NDA, or by 8-bit ShrinkIt. Some .SHK
files are produced by Macs; these may not always be compatible with A2 ShrinkIt
programs.
An .SHK file can be unshrinked by ShrinkIt even if it shows up on the
Apple II with a TXT or BIN filetype and even if the name does not end with
".SHK" or ".shk". If a ShrinkIt file does not show up as available for
unshrinking, you can toggle an "All files" option to see the file and then
select it. If an .SHK file has a Binary II header, ShrinkIt will automatically
remove it and assign the correct filetype. (Of course, this will usually be
SHK.)
Other kinds of ShrinkIt files include .SEA and .SDK. An Apple II .SEA
file is a IIgs executable self-extracting archive-- i.e. you can click it on
the GS Finder and it will unShrink. There are also Mac .SEA files and these are
not GS-compatible.
A ShrinkIt whole-disk archive is an .SHK file which is usually labeled
".SDK" to show that it is a Shrinked diskette. An .SDK file can archive a 3.5"
diskette (both sides) or 5.25" diskette (one side). Most are archives of 5.25"
DOS 3.3 diskettes produced by 8-bit ShrinkIt.
A whole-disk ShrinkIt archive retains all data bytes on a diskette,
including files, Catalog/Directory sectors, empty tracks, and DOS if present.
An .sdk file of a DOS 3.3 5.25" disk created by 8-bit ShrinkIt also preserves
volume number-- important for some games and utilities which depend upon volume
numbers to identify disks. (5.25" whole-disk archives created by GS-ShrinkIt do
not preserve volume number.)
8-bit/IIe ShrinkIt can be used to fully unshrink any Apple II .SHK file
_except_ .SHK files which contain files with GS/OS resource forks and .SEA
files. For this reason, 8-bit ShrinkIt should not be used to unshrink .SHK file
archives containing GS programs unless you know that none of the contained
files has a resource fork.
GS-ShrinkIt can handle nearly all kinds of Apple II .SHK and .SDK files.
It will not handle shrinked 5.25" DOS 3.3 .SDK files created by 8-bit ShrinkIt.
In fact, most users automatically use 8-bit ShrinkIt to create and unshrink
.SDK files of old 5.25" wares. (Balloon does not currently support whole-disk
archives.)
Naturally, things are somewhat more crowded on 64K Apple II's. On these
machines, the functions are separated. SHRINK creates .SHK files and UNSHRINK
unshrinks them.
On a PC, the utility NuLib (v3.24) lets you view contents and unshrink
most kinds of .SHK files. (There is a handy option to unshrink and convert
Apple II text files to PC text format.) It will not unshrink IIgs files with
resource forks.
Here is a simple one-line batch (text) file program for easily viewing the
contents of .shk files you download to a PC (just double-click on the file
name):
c:\nulib\nulib v %1 |more
The above is for NuLib.exe located in folder c:\nulib . Save the text as
nulibv.bat in c:\nulib and tell Windows to use c:\nulib\nulibv.bat as the
'application to perform action' for doing an Open. (You do this by selecting
View--Options in the My Computer window and editing the file type info for .shk
files.)
NuLib can also convert 5.25" .SDK files into .PO (ProDOS order) disk
images which can be used by Apple II emulators. This works for .SDK files
produced by 8-bit ShrinkIt but not for those produced by GS-ShrinkIt.
The unshrinking process is very speedy and the size of a compressed
ShrinkIt file is, often, around half that of the original files it contains.
This makes .SHK files very handy for archiving your software. And, since a
ShrinkIt file also preserves filetype information of contained files, ShrinkIt
has become the preferred format for uploading and storing Apple II files on the
internet.
----------------------------
003- How do I get ShrinkIt or GS-ShrinkIt going on my Apple II?
Getting GS-ShrinkIt v1.1
If you do not already have Balloon or an earlier version of GS-ShrinkIt,
there are several ways to get GS-ShrinkIt going once a file is downloaded and
transferred to your IIgs. Here are the two easiest ways:
A. The Self-Extracting (.sea) version
A IIgs .sea file is a IIgs application which self-extracts the file
contents when executed from the usual Finder desktop display. Since the file
gshk.sea will, most likely, arrive as a Text type file, you will need to change
the file's filetype to $B3 (S16) before it can be executed.
Several utilities can change ProDOS filetype. If you do not have one, you
can download tchange.bin and follow the directions* in tchange_info.txt to get
it going on your Apple II.
You can find GS-ShrinkIt in an .SEA file (e.g. gshk.sea) and tchange.bin
on several archive sites. (See Q&A 007 below.)
B. The Shrinked Disk (.sdk) version
GSUTILS.sdk is a shrinked whole-disk file which can be unshrinked to 800k
3.5" diskette using 8-bit ShrinkIt (or GS-ShrinkIt). If booted, this diskette
starts a bare-bones System 6.0.1 and launches GS-ShrinkIt.
Besides GS-ShrinkIt, also on the disk (in .SHK files) are the ZLINK
shareware telecom utility and ASIMOV for converting .dsk files. Coolwriter (for
reading Text) is on the disk as a non-shrinked file. All of these can be copied
to hard disk or to other diskettes.
GSUTILS.sdk is available on Ground in the useful.stuff/ folder mentioned
above. The 8-bit ShrinkIt in a self-extracting version can be found in the same
folder.
Getting SHRINK and UNSHRINK (for 64k Apples)
SHRINK and UNSHRINK permit 64k Apple II users to work with .SHK files.
These files are usually maintained in non-shrinked form. You can find them on
several sites. (See Q&A 007 below.)
To get these utilities going on your Apple II, download SHRINK, UNSHRINK,
and SHRINK2PLUS.TXT (e.g. as separeate files or on a .dsk disk image). Once the
files are transferred to your Apple II, follow the directions* in
SHRINK2PLUS.TXT.
- Note: If you download an Apple II file to a PC and transfer to a Mac and get
filetype $00 ("Unknown"), the process described in the directions will not
work when the $00 file is moved to your Apple II. One solution is a Mac utility
to set filetype to $04 (TXT). See ProTYPE info in the next Q&A below.
----------------------------
Getting 8-bit ShrinkIt
From: Beverly Cadieux
The easiest way to get the current (3.4) version of 8-bit ShrinkIt going
is via the self-extracting archive, SHRINK.EXE.
o- Download the file, (transfer to your Apple II if necessary,) and get into
AppleSoft BASIC (run BASIC.SYSTEM and get to the AppleSoft "]" prompt).
o- Be sure to set the ProDOS PREFIX to the location of SHRINK.EXE on your Apple
II. For example, if it is in the main directory of volume HD1, you would enter
PREFIX /HD1
o- Now, enter -SHRINK.EXE (that's a dash, then the file name):
-SHRINK.EXE
Shrinkit will self-extract, along with a documentation file. (ShrinkIt
v3.4 consists of two files. One is a small start file which may be named
"Shrinkit.System", "ShrinkitST.sys", or something similar. The other is the
main program file which must be named "Shrinkit".)
You can find SHRINK.EXE in Ground's useful.stuff/ folder (See Q&A 007
below).
____________________________
From: Randy Shackelford
004- How do I deal with the $00 type Apple II files I get on my Mac?
Some II users like to download Apple II files to a PC and transfer them to
a Mac for eventual transfer to Apple II ProDOS diskettes. Unfortunately, under
most circumstances, PC Exchange writes files onto ProDOS disks as extended
typeless ($00) files which are difficult to work with on the Apple II.
What you need is to get hold of a Mac application named "ProTYPE". You
drag 'n drop the files on ProTYPE, then copy 'em to the floppy. The files will
work then.
____________________________
From: Rubywand
005- Can I work with .zip files on my Apple II?
The GS can unZIP .zip files via PMPunZip by Paul Parkhurst.
----------------------------
From: Supertimer
Tony Marques wrote Angel, the fastest unzipping utility for the Apple II.
It can create .zip files, but only one file per archive.
----------------------------
From: Jim Pendarvis
To zip a file using Angel, highlight the file to zip and press OpenApple-
Z. You'll get a file named ZIPDFILE.ZIP. If you then select another file to
zip, it will overwrite the first one. (Don't forget to set your destination
directory first. That is the hardest thing to remember about using Angel.)
____________________________
From: Rubywand, Orgone Accumulator, Greg E. Nelson, Eric Shepherd, Roger
Johnstone
006- What are DSK, PO, DO, HDV, NIB, and 2MG "disk image" files
and how do I use them?
A "disk image" is typically a file containing every data byte on a
diskette-- i.e. Catalog tracks, files, DOS (if present) etc.. One kind of disk
image, NIB, tries to preserve all disk information (e.g. sector headers, sync
bytes, etc.).
Apple II emulators running on a PC, Mac, etc. treat disk image files like
diskettes. Disk image files are also a handy way to archive Apple II disks on
hard disk and to maintain wares on ftp and other download sites.
DSK's (.dsk, .do, .po and .hdv files)
DSK (usually .dsk) files are disk image files used by popular Apple II
emulators like AppleWin to run A2 wares on the PC or Mac. Usually, they are
images of Apple 5.25" game, utility, etc. diskettes. A standard 5.25" DSK file
is 143,360 bytes in length:
1 side x 35 Tracks/side x 16 Sectors/Trk x 256 Bytes/Sec = 143,360 Bytes.
DSK files of 800k 3.5" disks are much less common.
Data in a DSK disk image file can be arranged in the sector order used by
DOS 3.3 or in the sector order used by ProDOS. The filename suffixes relate
chiefly to how data is arranged in the file:
.dsk- technically, this may be an image which has its data in DOS 3.3 or ProDOS
order. (The emulator program is supposed to check a .dsk file to determine the
ordering used.) It has become standard practice to use the .dsk suffix for
only DOS 3.3 order files.
.do- an image which is in DOS 3.3 order. This suffix is seldom used today. DOS
3.3 order image file names usually end with ".dsk".
.po- an image which is in ProDOS order. If an image is in ProDOS order, its
name should end with ".po" (not ".dsk") to avoid confusion.
.hdv- typically an image 800k (819,200 bytes) or greater in size in ProDOS
order. The image is intended for use as a virtual hard disk by various Apple II
and IIgs emulators (e.g. Apple Oasis). The IIgs program ASIMOV2 can create
.hdv files (select "Raw image"). The file name should end with ".hdv".
Note: data order does not relate to whether a disk image is a DOS 3.3 or ProDOS
disk. In fact, nearly all 5.25" disk image files (of both DOS 3.3 and ProDOS
disks) are in DOS 3.3 order; and, DOS 3.3 order is the default setting for
image creation programs like DSK2FILE and ASIMOV and the transfer/creation
program ADT.
On a PC, NuLib can create disk images from 8-bit ShrinkIt whole-disk
(.sdk) files (but not from .sdk files which were produced by GS-ShrinkIt).
These images will be in ProDOS order. You can convert a .po disk image to a DOS
3.3 order .dsk by using a disk copier like Disk Muncher on an emulator to copy
from the .po image to a .dsk image.
On ftp sites, DSK files are usually in a ZIPped form to conserve space.
For example, on the Asimov site, narfgames.dsk.gz is a DSK file of the
narfgames disk which has been g-zip compressed. Other archive sites may use
standard ZIP compression and the file name might be "narfgame.zip" or
"narfgame_dsk.zip". On a PC, WinZIP will uncompress g-zipped and ZIPped DSK
files.
A DSK file can be converted to actual diskette form on an Apple II using
DSK2FILE or (GS-only) ASIMOV. If a 5.25" .dsk disk image file is transferred
to your Apple II using ADT (or ADTgs for IIgs), it is automatically converted
and written to 5.25" diskette. For more about ADT and ADTgs see Telecom-1.
Most 5.25" DSK (.dsk and .do) files are of a DOS 3.3 or some related DOS
disk. The target diskette should be INITed for DOS 3.3. (or, it can be
formatted using Copy II Plus, etc.) and you should use the default DSK2FILE or
ASIMOV "DOS 3.3 Order" setting. If a disk image file has a .po suffix, use the
DSK2FILE or ASIMOV "ProDOS Order" setting.
Note: In most cases it is okay to use either a DOS 3.3 or ProDOS formatted
diskette as the target (and; the target disk does not need to be empty of any
files). However, ProDOS formatting uses a default Volume Number of 1, which is
different from the DOS 3.3 default of 254. Since ProDOS stuff does not care
about Volume numbering and DOS 3.3 stuff may, the target disk should generally
be one INITed with the default Volume Number-- e.g. INIT HELLO .
Here is a quickie step-by-step guide for getting a 5.25" DSK disk image
file into useable form:
1. Download the file in binary mode from an ftp archive site via ftp:// ...
2. If file length is not 143,360, use WinZIP or equivalent to unZip it.
3. Transfer the DSK file to your GS via Mac diskette or a NULL modem transfer.
One way or another, the file needs to end up on a ProDOS diskette or ProDOS
hard disk volume on the GS.
4. If you are using DSK2FILE, jot down the complete path name of the DSK file
(e.g. /RAM5/NARFGAMES.DSK ) because DSK2FILE will ask you to type it in.
5. Insert the formatted 5.25" target diskette into Drive 1 (Slot 6). This
diskette needs to be 16-sector formatted. Plain DOS 3.3 formatting with the
default Volume number is, generally, best and easiest. (You can boot a DOS 3.3
or Prontodos disk and do an INIT HELLO to format a 5.25" diskette.)
6. Start DSK2FILE or ASIMOV. Normally, you will accept the defaults (5.25", DOS
3.3 order). If you know the DSK is a ProDOS image in ProDOS order-- like the
file name ends with ".PO", select "ProDOS Order". (ProDOS disk images are,
fairly often, in DOS order to make them more universally transferable.)
7. Select the "Image file ---> Diskette" option, follow prompts, and you should
end up with a good diskette. (If everything seemed to go well but the disk does
not work, try repeating the process using the other "Order" option.)
DSK2FILE and ASIMOV can, also, create disk image (.dsk or .po) files.
Similarly, using ADT to transfer a 5.25" disk automatically creates a .dsk disk
image on the PC. The source disk can be for a game, etc. so long as the
diskette is not copy protected.
Note: DOS 3.3 products which depend upon Volume numbering to identify diskettes
will normally not work in disk image form on an Apple II emulator because
Volume number information is embedded in non-data parts of a disk and is not
included in a standard .dsk disk image file.
NIB (.nib)
Some copy protected diskettes can be converted to another kind of disk
image called "NIB". Saltine's Super Transcopy (SST) incorporates bit copy
routines to attempt to produce a nibblized disk image of a 5.25" diskette.
On your Apple II, SST reads the disk bytes from half a disk and stores
that data on a whole normal disk. Then it does the same for the second half.
These two disks can be converted to .dsk disk images and moved to a PC or Mac.
There, the .dsk images are merged into a NIB image using SST running on an
emulator.
If successful, you have a .nib file which can be used like a diskette on
popular Apple II emulators. (For one or two older emulators, .nib files are the
only useable images.)
The standard length of a .nib file is 232,960 bytes-- much larger than a
DSK. However, since .nib files include sector address header and other non-data
'embedded' diskette information, they can be used to image many protected
disks.
Naturally, a .nib file preserves DOS 3.3 volume numbering. This allows
programs which use volume numbers to identify their disks to run on emulators.
Many disks with no copy protection are in .nib form instead of .dsk because the
game, etc. which uses the disks needs to check volume numbering.
2MG (.2mg; sometimes .2img)
Today, more and more IIgs software is being converted to 2MG disk image
format used on XGS and other IIgs emulators. These are .dsk or .nib images with
a prefix (usually 64 bytes) which includes information about size, format,
sector ordering, volume number, locked/unlocked, etc..
2MG files may also have a Comment and/or extra file information added
following the disk image data. The format can accommodate disk images ranging
from 5.25" diskette up through hard disk. For 2MG format details, see
http://apple2.org.za/gswv/a2zine/Docs/DiskImage_2MG_Info.txt .
The usual length of an 800k .2MG image (with no Comment or extra data) is
819,264 bytes*.
You can use ASIMOV2 to convert .2MG files back to diskette form as well as
for creating .2MG files from 800k diskettes. The utility Imgutnew.exe can be
used to convert most available Diskcopy images to 2MG format on PC.
- See ... Size Note: Transferring to 3.5" disk (at bottom of this page)
____________________________
From: Rubywand
007- Where can I get ShrinkIt, Shrink (64k), Unshrink (64k),
GS-ShrinkIt, binscii, GScii, BISCIT, TCHANGE, DSK2FILE, ASIMOV,
PMPunZip, Angel, FileManager, 2qwk!, GZPK, Disk Muncher, Copy II Plus,
NuLib, Balloon, DskIn & DskOut, Saltine's Super Transcopy (SST),
FishWings, UnforkIt, XTRAX, StuffIt Expander, Diskcopy, Clone,
Imgutnew.exe, DiskDup+, ProTYPE, MECC Copy, BlockWarden,
BlockWork, DISK2FDI, CiderPress, ProDOS File Navigator, and FID?
For links, see Csa21MAIN4: Get It- Links to popular software packages.
----------------------------
008- I have downloaded a bunch of files for the Apple II
lately that are in a format called GZ. I understand it
is some variation of Zip but I don't have a translator for
it on my GS. Does anyone know where I can find one?
5.25" disk image files downloaded from Asimov, mod files, and some others
are, often, in GZ g-zipped format and usually have the .gz file name extension
(like narfgame.dsk.gz). If you download the files to a PC, you can use WinZIP
to unzip the file.
Note: Due to the use of an extra period, names of g-zip compressed files--
names such as "narfgame.dsk.gz"-- do not always survive downloading to PC's.
Some setups may remove the ".gz" from the name when saving the file. In order
to be correctly recognized by WinZIP, the file's name should be repaired so
that it ends with ".gz".
Usually, once unzipped, an Asimov GZ image file will end up as a 143,360
byte DSK file with a name ending with ".dsk". The file may be used as a virtual
diskette on an emulator like AppleWin; or, it may be transferred to a real
Apple II via NULL modem and converted to Apple-readable diskette form using
DSK2FILE or (GS-only) ASIMOV. (Or, it may be NULL modem transferred directly to
5.25" diskette via a version of ADT.)
If you download a GZ file directly to your Apple you can use a program
named "GZPK" v2 to convert it from gzip form to a zip format which can be
unzipped via PMPUnzip 2.0 or Angel. A GZ file from the Asimov site should end
up as a DSK file.
----------------------------
From: lachlan_arnott and Byron Desnoyers Winmill
On a Mac, you can use MacGzip to unZIP g-zipped (.gz) DSK files into
uncompressed form. Another choice (for doing the same job as WinZIP on a PC) is
Aladdin's StuffIt Expander and the DropStuff Expander Pack. These utilities
can be found on many Macintosh related ftp sites. (See Q&A 007.)
____________________________
From: Slick
009- Which programs can change ProDOS filetype?
I prefer More Info or Disk Witch, myself. I'll go through a list of stuff
on my hard drive to manipulate filetypes:
DAs:
Alter (NDA)
Conchshell (CDA)
Disk Witch (CDA)
File Manager (NDA)
File Info2 (NDA)
File Info Edit (NDA)
Super Info II (NDA)
Utilities CDA (CDA), not very good
Finder Extras:
More Info
GS/OS Applications
Instant Access
File Passage
ProDOS 8
FAZ II (File Attribute Zap II)
----------------------------
From: Boris Guenter
File-A-Trix by Karl Bunker should do the job. Best of all, the latest (and
last) version 1.1.1 of this program is freeware.
Since I had a few troubles with the latest version, I suggest trying both
versions 1.1 and 1.1.1.
----------------------------
From: Tony Ward
I also prefer File-A-Trix. It performs a wide variety of functions including
copy, move, delete, rename, catalog, make new folder, set file attributes
(lock, unlock, filetype, auxtype), find file, format (floppy only), view text,
Teach and AWP files. Best of all, it's a CDA that works from GS/OS and ProDOS
8, although there are some restrictions under P8 (i.e. no HFS disk access, no
viewing forked Teach files, etc.)
----------------------------
From: Gareth Jones
I use either File-A-Trix, Change-A-File 4.20, or Deliverance (part of the
Salvation Utilities).
----------------------------
From: Rubywand
Some programs which can be used to change filetype are ...
Jeff Hartkoph's File Manager- a GS NDA which lets you change Type, Auxtype,
Date, and Access attributes. It is handy for modifying several files in quick
succession.
Paul Parkhurst's PMPunZip- a GS application which includes an option for
changing Type, Auxtype, and Access attributes. (In the File menu click on
Modify File Attributes.)
Glen Bredon's ProSel (ProDOS 8 utilities)
Roger Wagner's Filetype Changer- a vintage BASIC utility which lets you change
just the Type. A BRUN-able .BIN version is on Ground. (This is good enough for
getting the GS-ShrinkIt .SEA file's filetype set correctly so that it can self-
extract.)
----------------------------
From: Beverly Cadieux
And a biggie - AppleWorks v5.1-> File Activities, Change File Type.
----------------------------
From: Jay Edwards
TimeOut FileMaster does a great job and never argues about it. Best of
all, it likes so many versions of AppleWorks.
____________________________
From: Rubywand
010- What is Copy II Plus and where can I get it?
Copy II Plus is the best general purpose utility for copying disks and
managing files on DOS 3.3 and ProDOS diskettes. Most of the Copy II Plus
functions also work with disk images (e.g. .dsk files) on emulators; however,
COPY DISK and FORMAT are important functions which do not work correctly with
emulators. Good versions which handle both DOS 3.3 and ProDOS files are
versions 7.x - 8.x.
Note: Versions 9.x require at least an enhanced IIe and have a few notable
bugs. Version 9.0's Catalog Sort option can mess up your directory. Neither
version 9.0 nor 9.1 works correctly with the /RAM5 RAM disk. The best added
feature of Version 9.x is being able to compare files.
No version of Copy II Plus will copy files which include a resource part,
usually called a "resource fork". In some cases the copy may seem to be
successful; but, it will be a mess. Only some, relatively new, IIgs files
include a resource fork. No DOS 3.3 files or files intended for access under
ProDOS 8 have resource forks.
The most versatile releases of the utility are, probably, Versions 7.1 and
7.2. They include the capability for creating disk images. The images are not
compatible with popular emulators; but, they are a handy way to archive DOS 3.3
disks on a hard disk.
For places to get Copy II Plus in ShrinkIt shrinked disk and emulator disk
image files, refer to Q&A 007 above.
____________________________
From: tturner, Rubywand, Greg Buchner, Labelas Enoreth
011- How do I use Copy II Plus to create and convert IMG files?
First, to the best of my knowledge, only versions 6.x and 7.x of Copy II
Plus can create a disk image file (called an "IMG" file). The feature was gone
by version 8, for sure.
To create an IMG file you COPY--> DISK to an over-size target volume.
Versions 6 and 7 will create a type "IMG" file instead of complaining about a
"size mismatch" (which is what other versions of Copy II Plus do). It is fairly
common to end the name of the new IMG file with ".img".
Doing the opposite lets you convert an IMG file back to diskette. That is,
you select the COPY --> DISK option and pick the large volume with the IMG file
as Source and a blank unformatted 5.25" diskette in the Slot 6, Drive 1 drive
as Destination. You pick an IMG file on the Source volume and it is transferred
to the diskette.
Copy II Plus IMG files are not compatible with DSK2FILE or ASIMOV and will
not work on emulators such as AppleWin. Also, not all files ending with ".img"
are Copy II Plus disk image files. I have seen ".img" (and ".image") used for
Diskcopy disk image files.
____________________________
From: Rubywand
012- I'm using an Apple II emulator to play games. The game directions
say the boot disk must have a write protect tab. How do I set
write protection for a disk image?
Under Windows on a PC, you can right-click on the file name, select
Properties, and adjust the "Read-only" attribute. Checking "Read-only" turns ON
write protection; unchecking it turns write protection OFF.
----------------------------
From: Jon Bettencourt
On a Mac, you select the file, go up to File --> Get Info..., and click on
"Locked."
____________________________
From: Rubywand
013- How can I create a disk image from a ShrinkIt .sdk file?
NuLib v3.24 can be used to make .po disk images from ShrinkIt 5.25" whole-
disk archives-- e.g. .sdk files.
Note: NuLib v3.24 can create 5.25" disk images only for .sdk files created by
8-bit ShrinkIt (not ones created by GS-ShrinkIt). Since most .sdk files were
created by 8-bit ShrinkIt, there is usually no problem.
For instance, suppose you have downloaded a whole-disk archive (.sdk file)
of a 5.25" disk of modem utilities named "modem1.sdk" and wish to convert it
into a disk image. For this example, it is assumed that you have downloaded
NuLib v3.24 and unZIPed it and, now, have all of your Nulib stuff (nulib.exe,
docs, etc.) in C:\nulib on your PC:
o- After downloading to the PC, check the file name of the .sdk file you want
to convert. The name should have from 1 to 8 characters followed by ".sdk". If
it doesn't, rename the file so that it does. The file modem1.sdk follows the
above rule; so, there is no need to rename it.
o- Move or copy modem1.sdk to the C:\nulib folder.
o- Since you are probably in Windows95 (or later) open an MS-DOS window.
o- In the DOS window, go to the nulib folder ...
C:\WINDOWS>cd\
C:\>cd nulib
o- Enter the xd command to create the disk image from modem1.sdk:
C:\nulib>nulib xd modem1.sdk
You should get a message saying the 'NEW DISK' image is being extracted ending
with "...done".
o- Exit the MS-DOS window-- e.g. click on the "X" in the corner.
o- Open the C:\nulib folder. Probably, your new disk image will be named
"new.dis". Rename the new file to "modem1.po". It should show up with a size of
140k in the usual Windows listing. (If it shows size 0, go to "View" for the
window and click "Refresh".)
If the new modem1.po has some size other than 140k-- like size is shown as 75k,
etc.-- it means that modem1.sdk was probably created by GS-ShrinkIt and can not
be converted to a disk image using NuLib. (You might as well scrap the bad
modem1.po .)
Most likely, though, the conversion will work and modem1.po will be a good disk
image.
----------------------------
014- How can I convert a .po image to/from a .dsk or .do image?
Most emulator programs have no problem using .po, .do, or .dsk disk
images. So, the usual reason for wishing to change ordering is to go from .po
(ProDOS order) to .dsk (typically, DOS 3.3 order) to permit transferring the
image to your Apple II via ADT. In a few cases, it may be useful to go from DOS
3.3 order to ProDOS order, too.
Since a disk copy done on an emulator (like AppleWin) adjusts ordering to
match the target, doing a disk copy from, for example, a .po image to a .dsk
image (in DOS 3.3 order) is a simple way to do a conversion*. A good emulator
choice for Windows users is AppleWin. A good disk copier program is Disk
Muncher-- it is included on the TNILUTIL.DSK available from Ground and GSWV.
An easy way to check ordering of a bootable .po or .do disk image is to
boot it under AppleWin. If it boots correctly, the ordering is as claimed-- .do
= DOS 3.3 order and .po = ProDOS order. For a bootable .dsk image, you can
change the suffix to ".do" or ".po" and boot it to check that it is really in
the order you expect.
- Note: AppleWin, evidently, checks the ordering of a .dsk image used as a
target for copying. It does not check actual ordering of .po or .do images. So,
for example, if the target image has the ".po" suffix, the copy to the image
will be in ProDOS order. Some emulators may work differently.
____________________________
From: David Kopper, Dan DeMaggio, Boris Guenter, Nathan Mates,
Phil Abro, Rubywand, Labelas Enoreth, Tony Turner
015- What do the different popular file name extensions, like ".BSC",
mean; and, how do I access the files?
File name extensions tell you what sort of file you are dealing with so
that you will know which program(s) to use to unpack, unShrink, display, etc.
the file. Many programs which create such files do not automatically add an
extension-- for example, most of the disk images on the Golden Orchard CD are
Diskcopy files with no name extension. Many other programs which create files
suggest a default extension as part of the name-- GS-ShrinkIt generally
suggests ".SHK"-- but, the user can change this and save under any legal name
desired. (One popular change is using ".SDK" for ShrinkIt whole-disk archive
files.)
Some extensions indicate a filetype recognized by Apple II ProDOS; but,
often, the extension is just for user information or to help some utility
recognize the file as one it can deal with. For such files the actual ProDOS
filetype is usually TXT, BIN, or SHK.
What is it? (What program do I use?)
------------------------------------------------------------
.2MG also .2IMG- XGS IIgs disk image file usually 800k or
larger (GS ASIMOV2; PC Imgutnew.exe)
.AAF Apple Archive Format [TEXT] for source code (aaf.unpacker)
.ACU NuFX Applelink archive (ShrinkIt*)
.ALU usually a multi-file, non-compressed A2 archive (ALU)
.APF GS super-res "Apple Preferred" packed graphics format
(Platinum Paint, Convert 3200, etc.)
.ARC PC Archive (GS-ShrinkIt* or DeArc2E or PC Arc program)
.BMP Windows Bit-Mapped graphics format (GS Convert 3200;
many PC viewers)
.BNX NuFX with BLU header. (ShrinkIt*)
.BNY BLU archive. (ShrinkIt*)
.BQY NuFX with BLU header. (ShrinkIt*)
.BSC BinScii file. [TEXT] (BinScii or GScii)
.BSE A GSHK* .SEA file with a Binary II header (ShrinkIt*)
.BSQ BinScii'd NuFX file. [TEXT] (BinScii plus ShrinkIt* on
the result)
.BXY NuFX archive with a Binary II header. (ShrinkIt*)
.CPT Compactor Pro archive (Compactor Pro on a Mac only)
.DIMG Diskcopy disk image file usually produced by a
Mac (GS Clone or Diskcopy; Mac Diskcopy; PC Imgutnew.exe)
.DO a .DSK file specified as having data in "DOS 3.3 Order"
i.e. uses DOS 3.3 sector ordering (A2 DSK2FILE and GS ASIMOV)
.DSK standard emulator disk image-- length is 143360 bytes for
5.25" disk images (A2 DSK2FILE and GS ASIMOV)
.EXE A2 Executioner file [TEXT]. (On A2; some files may EXEC
properly under only DOS 3.3.)
.GIF Graphics Interchange Format: Compressed picture (IIGIF for
//e; Super Convert, ... on GS; PC, etc.: many viewers
and editors)
.GZ GZip PC archive format often used for storing A2 emulator
disk images (GS GZPK v2 plus PMPUnZIP or Angel; PC WinZIP)
.HDV Raw (DSK) ProDOS ordered disk image file 800K or greater in
size; used by emus as a virtual hard disk (ASIMOV2 on IIgs)
.HQX Mac BinHex file. [TEXT] (BinHex on Mac or GScii)
.HTM HTML [TEXT] with embedded Text commands (Web
browsers, web editors, etc.)
.IMAGE Diskcopy images (see .DIMG)
.IMG Type IMG or "user #7" Copy II Plus disk image file (A2
Copy II Plus v6.x or v7.x)
.IMG is sometimes used for Diskcopy images (see .DIMG)
.JPG PC JPEG hi-res, hi-color graphics format (GS JPEG.VIEWER,
etc. B/W only or PC, Unix viewers)
.LBR a multi-file, non-compressed A2 archive (Librarian)
.LHA LHA Archive (PC/Amiga LZH program)
.LZH LZH Archive (PC/Amiga LZH program)
.NIB emulator disk image (typical length: 232960) for protected
5.25" software (A2 Saltine's Super Transcopy)
.PCX PC graphics format (GS Convert 3200; PC many viewers)
.PD compressed GS multi-palette graphics file w/o
palettes (GS SuperPac)
.PNG PC PING hi-res, hi-color graphics format (PC viewer)
.PO a .DSK file specified as having data in "ProDOS Order"
i.e. uses ProDOS sector ordering (A2 DSK2FILE and GS ASIMOV)
.PS compressed GS multi-palette graphics file with
palettes (GS SuperPac)
.QQ BLU archive. (ShrinkIt*)
.SDK ShrinkIt disk image, usually NuFX-compressed (ShrinkIt*)
.SEA Self-extracting A2 ShrinkIt* or Mac ShrinkIt archive
(depending upon kind, run on Apple IIgs or Mac)
.SHK usually an A2 NuFX-compressed archive; non-A2-compatible
Mac .SHK archives also exist (GS ShrinkIt* / Mac unshrinker
utility / PC Nulib-- does not extract GS resource forks)
.SIT Mac StuffIt archive. (Stuffit on Mac or GS ShrinkIt)
GS-ShrinkIt will not decode StuffIt Deluxe files.
.TAR Unix Tape Archive (Unix tar with -xvf option, GS EXE tar)
.TGZ Gzipped .TAR file
.uu Unix uuencode file [TEXT] (//e uudecode, Unix uudecode)
.uue Unix uuencode file [TEXT] (//e uudecode, Unix uudecode)
.TIFF Graphics format (GS SHR Convert)
.TXT [TEXT] An ASCII text file (Text editors,
word processors, etc.)
.UU Unix uuencode file [TEXT] (A2 uudecode or Unix uudecode)
.UUE Unix uuencode file [TEXT] (A2 uudecode or Unix uudecode)
.Z Compressed file (GS-ShrinkIt or Unix uncompress)
.ZIP PC Zip Archive (GS PMPUnZIP or UNZIP [GS Shell EXE]
or PC WinZIP, PKUNZIP, Unix unzip)
.ZOO PC Zoo Archive (GS-ShrinkIt??? or PC ZOO program)
- Note: GS-ShrinkIt (= GSHK) can handle all ShrinkIt files except
.SDK (shrunken disk) files of 5.25" DOS 3.3 disks created by
8-bit ShrinkIt. 8-bit ShrinkIt does not work for GS
files having a resource fork or GS .SEA files.
----------------------------
From: Apple's ftp site ...
Most files are in one of a few common formats, and many are a combination.
.sit StuffIt 1.5.1 archives
.hqx BinHex 4.0 file
.bin Binary file
.image Diskcopy 4.2 image file
.txt plain ASCII text file
.bsc Apple II BinSCII file
.shk Apple II ShrinkIt file
Most of the Macintosh files are BinHexed StuffIt files. This means you
need to transfer the file, then read the license agreement which is prepended
to it (with any text processor), use BinHex or any utility which can read
BinHex 4.0 files to decode the BinHex to a StuffIt archive, then use UnStuffIt
or the StuffIt Expander (or a similar utility) to decompress the .sit file into
the final file.
In some cases the final file is a .image file. These are exact duplicates
of floppy disks (with verified checksums). Use Diskcopy to convert these files
into floppy disks for installation. Some Apple System Software is in this
format.
Most of the Apple II files are either straight text or BinSCII'd ShrinkIt
files. This means you need to transfer the file, then use BinSCII to convert
the .bsc file to a ShrinkIt file, then use ShrinkIt to create the final file or
disk.
Note: Apple calls their BinSCII'd .SHK files ".bsc" instead of ".bsq". It is
fairly common for uploaders and ftp sites to tag any BinSCII'd file as ".bsc".
The rationale is that, once a user un-BinSCII's a file, he or she will find an
.SHK, .ZIP, etc. file and know how to continue.
____________________________
From: David Kopper
016- How do I tell what kind of file this is?
Here is a simple guide to help you identify a file. You should always go by
filename extension first, but not everybody uses those. In Unix, you can use
the 'head' command to look at the first couple of lines of a file. If it turns
out to be a binary file, you may be in for a surprise. You may want to use the
Unix 'file' command to find out if it is a text file or not first. Once you
have identified the file, check the earlier info on filename extensions for how
to deal with it.
If there are lines in the file that look like this (there can be other text
before it--search for 'FiLeStArT'):
FiLeStArTfIlEsTaRt
ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZabcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz0123456789()
GBINSCII AQhmAAAAA8)4MIAI02DA9ARMQEDtAQhmAIVZ
gYITA6u7xADA0MjM3YTNBlDOENkQwYURzITM2UDN5gzNDJUQGVERyEDM1QzM4cjN
CFUOFR0QxAjR0MjM3YTNBlDOENkQwAQRzITM2UDN5gzNDJUQGVERyEDM1QzM4cjN
...
then you've got something encoded by BinSCII. You must decode _all_ the parts
using BinSCII. Then, if the resulting file is in some compressed form, you
would use an appropriate utility to uncompress it. (For example, you would use
8-bit ShrinkIt to uncompress a whole-disk .sdk archive file.)
On the other hand, if you have a binary file which resembles:
NuFilei][![/#NuFX_<:c[[[ H`F-fGSCII~[
cRJ0)fNN^P)3'A2p6SF6X#GPd<9#'LC^08N7n\NB7Dd!eMN&eYX0Am=fXp
dsPAsp7rh`I'NS0ALAfi2)2ysGEQ$k9CP%L9
...
then you have a NuFX file (note the key words NuFile and NuFX). You should be
able to extract the files it contains using ShrinkIt.
On the third hand, if you have a text file which resembles:
begin 666 nonsense.bny
M4W5N3U,s4F5L96%S92 T+C$s\%-$4U0V,"Ds(SsZ(%1U92!/8W0s.2 Q,CHS
M...3HT.2!%1%0s,3DY, HT
then you have a uuencoded file.
On another hand, if you have a text file which begins with
(This file must be converted with BinHex 4.0)
:{body}amp;4)48C28N0&,P009!"6593K8dP8)3%!!!#Ls!!!!!!Qie009#%!!3!!SPKb6'&
e!3!!!!!!!!!#!!P8D'8J4QpbBf9P)IN33)(4$N#"d4K!JG%S!!!!!`!'VfJ!"VP
then you have a BinHex file. The GScii NDA by Derek Taubert decodes BinHex
files on an Apple IIGS. You can also use a variety of macintosh programs to do
the decoding. There is also a Unix implementation of BinHex called mcvert.
On one more hand, if you have a text file which resembles:
CALL-151
E00:38 A5 FF D0 32 D8 20 8E FD AD 30 BF 8D 6A 0E 20
E10:00 BF C7 6D 0E 0D 80 02 D0 1D 20 00 BF C5 69 0E
and more lines like that, followed by a bunch of lines that look like:
A90885A420732090242039FB2058FCA200BD9220F00620EDFDE8D0F5200CFDA9
008DF2038DF3038DF4036CFCFFE6A4A5A4C96F90CFA9008DFCBFA9018DFDBFA0
A90885A420732090242039FB2058FCA200BD9220F00620EDFDE8D0F5200CFDA9
then you have an Executioner file.
___________________________
From: Rubywand
017- How can I create 'blank' .dsk, .nib, etc. disk images?
The simplest way to get a new .dsk or .nib is to copy an existing one and
delete the files. Under Windows, you can just Right-click drag-and-drop a file
in the same folder to get a copy. If you want a DOS 3.3 formatted image, pick a
DOS 3.3 image to copy. If you want a ProDOS formatted image, pick a ProDOS
image to copy. You can use a utility like Copy II Plus v7.4 to delete the
files.
If you want a DOS 3.3 image, it's a good idea to boot DOS 3.3 and INIT
HELLO the new image. This guarantees that the new image is correctly formatted.
Doing an INIT also allows you to pick the version of DOS 3.3 that the new image
will boot-- i.e., it will be the version of the DOS 3.3 (e.g. regular DOS 3.3,
ProtoDOS, EsDOS, ...) which does the INIT. And, the INIT command allows you to
set Volume Number on a .nib (which may be important if the image is supposed to
work with a game, etc. which looks for a particular Volume Number).
DOS 3.3's INIT works fine as a way to format images; but, the routines
used by many utilities are not reliable. In general, you should be wary of
using utilities like Copy II Plus and Apple's ProDOS Utilities to handle
formatting of images on an emulator.
Another way to obtain fresh disk image files is to download 'blank' .dsk
and .nib images from the Apple II archives which offer them.
However you create or obtain a 'blank' disk image of the sort you want,
once you have one, you can save future bother by making multiple copies of it--
e.g. via multiple drag-and-drop copies-- and naming the copies something like
"D33blank1.dsk", "PDblank1.dsk", "D33blank1.nib", etc..
----------------------------
018- How can I convert .dsk image <--> .nib image?
You can use a whole-disk copier such as Disk Muncher to copy from one to
the other. For .nib --> .dsk, the .nib must not be a copy protected image.
For a .dsk --> .nib copy on an emulator using most whole-disk copiers, one
result will be to set the Volume Number of the .nib to the default assigned to
the .dsk. For example, converting a normal .dsk image this way will result in a
.nib with VN set to 254.
If you want to 'convert' from .dsk to .nib without changing the VN of the
.nib, use a copier that transfers just the contents. The old Apple program,
COPYA, will do this if the program is modified to eliminate formatting of the
target disk. Change the Line which does the INIT (usually Line 250) to ...
250 FT= 1
----------------------------
019- How can I convert Diskcopy images to diskette or to other formats?
Diskcopy is a Mac disk image format with names ending in ".dimg", ".img",
".image", or with no suffix. (Sometimes, incorrectly, ".dsk" is used.) The
typical length of a Diskcopy file used for an Apple II 800k image is 838,484
bytes*. On a Mac, you can use the Mac Diskcopy utility to convert diskettes to
images or images to diskettes.
On a IIgs, you can use Clone or Diskcopy to convert a Diskcopy image to
diskette. (It may be necessary to set filetype to $E0 and auxtype to $0005 in
order for the file to be recognized as a Diskcopy image.)
Clone is more user-friendly. Both utilities work fine for converting
Diskcopy images (such as those on the Golden Orchard CD) to 3.5" diskette. If
the Diskcopy file was created under a version greater than 4.2, you will
probably need to do any conversions on a Mac which can run a later version of
Diskcopy.
On a PC, the XGS utility Imgutnew.exe can be used to convert most
available Diskcopy images of Apple II software to 2MG image format. The
Diskcopy image name may need to be changed (spaces removed, etc.) to fit PC DOS
format in order for Imgutnew.exe to work.
- See ... Size Note: Transferring to 3.5" disk (at bottom of this page)
___________________________
From: Charlie Danemark and Andy McFadden
020- How can I move .shk and other kinds of files to/from .dsk
and .2MG disk images?
If you are using Windows 95 ('98, 'Me) you can use FishWings or CiderPress
to import .shk and other kinds of files onto .2MG or .dsk disk images formatted
for ProDOS. You can also export files from disk image to your PC.
___________________________
From: Rubywand
021- How can I unfork forked files on my Apple II?
You can do it 'by hand' using a block editor to change filetype, etc.
information in a directory block; or, you can use UnforkIt. UnforkIt is a BASIC
program by Ivan Drucker which splits a forked file into two files, neither of
which is forked.
___________________________
Size Note: Transferring to 3.5" disk
Although 2MG, Diskcopy, and some other 800k image formats have file sizes
greater than 800k, on a ProDOS diskette they will often occupy a good deal less
space. You will often be able to transfer such files (e.g. via a NULL modem
connection) to an Apple II 800k diskette so long as you employ a protocol which
does not pre-send size information, such as X-modem.