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Apple II FAQs File Utilities
The comp.sys.apple2 Usenet newsgroup Apple II FAQs originate from
the Ground Apple II archive, 1997-2000. Administrator: Steve Nelson
Csa2 FAQs-on-Ground ref: Csa2FLUTILS.txt rev024 1 March 2000
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 create .ZIP files on my Apple II?
006- What are DSK, 2MG, ... disk image files and 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 write protect an emulator disk image?
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 preseve 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. One is Ground at
ftp://ground.ecn.uiowa.edu/2/apple2/useful.stuff/.
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. If you need 8-bit ShrinkIt, the self-extracting version can be found
on the Texas II Appleworks site (see below) or in Ground's useful.stuff/
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 at
http://24.96.48.134:8088/Cabi_Archives/Utilities/SHRINKITandGSHK/.
To get these utilities going on your Apple II, download SHRINK,
UNSHRINK, and SHRINK2PLUS.TXT. 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 on the Texas II Appleworks site at
http://members.aol.com/A2MG/dl.html and in Ground's useful.stuff/ folder.
____________________________
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. Unfortuantely,
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.
You can find ProTYPE on Ground at ftp://ground.ecn.uiowa.edu/apple2/Mac/
.
____________________________
From: Rubywand
005- Can I create .ZIP files on my Apple II?
The GS can unZIP .ZIP files via PMPunZip; but, at present, there is no
Apple II utility for creating modern .ZIP files.
----------------------------
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: Rubywand
006- What are DSK, PO, DO, NIB and 2MG "disk image" files and
how do I use them?
A "disk image" is a file containing every data byte on a diskette-- i.e.
Catalog tracks, files, DOS (if present) 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.
There are several disk image formats. 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.
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. On a PC, WinZIP will unZIP
g-zipped DSK files into uncompressed form.
Once you have a true (uncompressed) DSK file it can be converted to
actual diskette form on an Apple II. You can use DSK2FILE or (GS-only)
ASIMOV. If a 5.25" .dsk disk image file is transferred to your Apple II using
ADT (or ADTgs on a IIgs), it is automatically converted and written to 5.25"
diskette.
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.
Some copy protected diskettes can be converted to another kind of disk
image called "NIB" using Saltine's Super Transcopy. SST incorporates Copy II
Plus routines to attempt to produce a nibblized disk image of a 5.25"
diskette. If successful, you have a .nib file which can be used like a
diskette on some popular Apple II emulators. The standard length of a .nib
file is 232,960 bytes.
Today, more and more IIgs software is being converted to 2MG disk image
format used on XGS IIgs emulators. You can use DSK2FILE v5.5 to convert .2mg
files back to diskette form as well as for creating .2mg files from 800k
diskettes.
----------------------------
From: lachlan_arnott
On a Mac, you can use MacGzip to unZIP g-zipped (.gz) DSK files into
uncompressed form.
____________________________
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, Copy II Plus,
NuLib, Balloon, DskIn & DskOut, Saltine's Super Transcopy (SST),
and ProTYPE?
You can download
ShrinkIt v3.4 or later ("8-bit ShrinkIt") at ...
ftp://ground.ecn.uiowa.edu/2/apple2/useful.stuff/ as binscii file
and self-extracting archive
http://24.96.48.134:8088/Cabi_Archives/Utilities/SHRINKITandGSHK/
http://members.aol.com/A2MG/dl.html as self-extracting archive
Shrink (v2.1) for 64k Apple II's at ...
http://24.96.48.134:8088/Cabi_Archives/Utilities/SHRINKITandGSHK/
http://www.grin.net/~cturley/USA2WUG/Utilities/ in .zip
Unshrink (v2.1) for 64k Apple II's at ...
http://24.96.48.134:8088/Cabi_Archives/Utilities/SHRINKITandGSHK/
http://www.grin.net/~cturley/USA2WUG/Utilities/ in .zip
GS-ShrinkIt ("ShrinkIt-GS", "GSHK") at ...
ftp://ground.ecn.uiowa.edu/2/apple2/useful.stuff/ as .sea, .sdk,
and binscii
http://24.96.48.134:8088/Cabi_Archives/Utilities/SHRINKITandGSHK/
as .sea
GScii NDA at ...
ftp://ground.ecn.uiowa.edu/2/apple2/apple16/System/Ndas/
BISCIT ("BSC-It") at ...
ftp://ground.ecn.uiowa.edu/2/apple2/useful.stuff/
http://24.96.48.134:8088/Cabi_Archives/Utilities/
TCHANGE at ...
ftp://ground.ecn.uiowa.edu/2/apple2/useful.stuff/
http://24.96.48.134:8088/Cabi_Archives/Utilities/
DSK2FILE (v4.x or later for a 128k //e or later Apple II;
version 3 or earlier for 64k Apple II's) at ...
http://24.96.48.134:8088/Cabi_Archives/Utilities/DSK2FILE/
v3, v4.3, v5.5, v5.6
ftp://tarnover.dyndns.org/cabi/Utilities/DSK2FILE/
v3, v4.3, v5.5, v5.6
http://www.geocities.com/oneelkruns/index.html
current version (e.g. v5.6)
ftp://ground.ecn.uiowa.edu/apple2/Emulators/ v5.5 and v5.6
ftp://ground.ecn.uiowa.edu/2/apple2/apple8/Utils/ v2.1
ftp://ftp.apple.asimov.net/pub/apple_II/utility/
early version as EXEC-able Text file
ASIMOV at ...
ftp://ftp.apple.asimov.net/pub/apple_II/images/utility/disk_utils/
ftp://ground.ecn.uiowa.edu/apple2/Emulators/
http://24.96.48.134:8088/Cabi_Archives/Utilities/
PMPunZip at ...
ftp://ground.ecn.uiowa.edu/2/apple2/apple16/Com/Utils/
http://24.96.48.134:8088/Cabi_Archives/Utilities/
Angel at ...
ftp://ground.ecn.uiowa.edu/apple2/apple8/Pgms/ as .shk
ftp://ftp.uni-kl.de/pub/apple2/archivers/ as .bsq
FileManager NDA at ...
ftp://ground.ecn.uiowa.edu/2/apple2/apple16/System/Ndas/
2qwk! at ...
ftp://ground.ecn.uiowa.edu/2/apple2/apple8/Com/
GZPK at ...
ftp://ground.ecn.uiowa.edu/2/apple2/apple8/Com/
Copy II Plus (various versions) at ...
http://24.96.48.134:8088/Cabi_Archives/Utilities/
as ShrinkIt .sdk files
ftp://tarnover.dyndns.org/cabi/Utilities/ as ShrinkIt .sdk files
ftp://ftp.apple.asimov.net/pub/apple_II/images/utility/disk_utils/
as ShrinkIt & disk images
Nulib at ...
http://24.96.48.134:8088/Cabi_Archives/Utilities/ v3.24 in .zip
ftp://apple2.caltech.edu/pub/apple2/ARCHIVERS/ v3.24
as ibmnulib.zip
http://www.grin.net/~cturley/USA2WUG/Utilities/ v3.24 in .zip
Balloon v2.0 at ...
http://24.96.48.134:8088/Cabi_Archives/Utilities/
ftp://tarnover.dyndns.org/cabi/Utilities/
DskIn & DskOut at ...
http://24.96.48.134:8088/Cabi_Archives/Utilities/ as .zip file
ftp://ftp.apple.asimov.net/pub/apple_II/utility/ as .zip files
http://www.grin.net/~cturley/USA2WUG/Utilities/ as .zip file
Saltine's Super Transcopy (SST) at ...
ftp://ftp.apple.asimov.net/pub/apple_II/utility/ as sst.zip
ProTYPE for Macs at ...
ftp://ground.ecn.uiowa.edu/apple2/Mac/
You can also obtain several of the above in collections on a ShrinkIt
.sdk whole-disk file, emulator .dsk disk image, and/or emulator .nib disk
image:
TNILUTIL (.sdk, .dsk, .nib) bootable DOS 3.3
DOS 3.3 version of Copy II Plus Disk Muncher fast copier
Beagle's Program Writer Joystick checker/adjuster
Graphics viewer plus a few other programs
PDUTIL (.sdk, .dsk, .nib) bootable ProDOS v1.9
ProDOS/DOS Copy II Plus utilities Beagle's Program Writer
Block Warden block editor Graphics viewer
plus a few other programs
PDSHRINKITS (.sdk, .dsk) bootable ProDOS v1.9
8-bit ShrinkIt v3.4 (128k) 8-bit Shrink v2.1 for 64k
8-bit Unshrink v2.1 for 64k Type Changer
BINSCII w. docs plus a few other programs
PDTCOM (.sdk, .dsk) bootable ProDOS v1.9
DSK2FILE (v5.5) UU decode w. docs
Comm System 8 telecom utility plus a few other programs
ftp://ground.ecn.uiowa.edu/apple2/useful.stuff/Disks/
ftp://tarnover.dyndns.org/cabi/Utilities/
and ... Applications/Telcom/
http://24.96.48.134:8088/Cabi_Archives/Utilities/
and ... Applications/Telcom/
----------------------------
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?
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 the Windows
version of PKZip (WinZIP) to unzip the file.
Usually, once unzipped, an Asimov GZ image file will end up as a 143,360
byte DSK file. The file may be moved to your Apple via NULL modem and
converted to Apple-readable diskette form using DSK2FILE or (GS-only) ASIMOV.
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: Byron Desnoyers Winmill
On a Macintosh, the same job (as WinZIP on a PC) can be accomplished
with the StuffIt Expander and the DropStuff Expander Pack. These can be
found on most Macintosh related ftp sites, including Link Everything Online
at http://www.leo.org/pub/comp/os/macintosh/leo/compressconvert/index.html
____________________________
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 have made both version
1.1 and 1.1.1 available in the gs/utils/files folder on ftp.uni-kl.de
Try them both and find out which version works best for you.
----------------------------
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 (ie. 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: 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. Good versions which handle
both DOS 3.3 and ProDOS files are 7.x - 8.x.
Note: Versions 9.x require at least a 128k Enhanced //e 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.
You can download Copy II Plus in a ShrinkIt shrinked disk (.sdk) file
from the Apple Cabi.net archive at
http://24.96.48.134:8088/Cabi_Archives/Utilities/.
You can also find the DOS 3.3 and ProDOS versions on Ground in .sdk and
.dsk files at ftp://ground.ecn.uiowa.edu/apple2/useful.stuff/Disks/ .
Asimov maintains more versions of Copy II Plus. Mostly, these are in
Zipped disk image (.dsk.gz) form at
ftp://ftp.apple.asimov.net/pub/apple_II/images/utility/disk_utils/. On a PC,
use WinZip to get a pure .dsk file. To use the .dsk file on an Apple II,
transfer it and use DSK2FILE to convert the .dsk file to a diskette.
____________________________
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 write
protect a disk image?
You set the .dsk (.po, .nib, etc.) file's attributes so that the file is
Read Only. Under Windows on a PC, you can right-click on the file name,
select Properties, and checkmark "Read-only".
----------------------------
From: Jon Bettencourt
On a Mac, you select the file, go up to File --> Get Info..., and click
on "Locked."