Re: ShrinkIt

[Rubywand <rubywand@swbell.net>]

Robert Walker writes ...
> 
> Sorry I meant ShrinkIt, not StuffIt. How does one use ShrinkIt? Is it used
> on the Mac or the IIgs?

     The current Apple II 8-bit ShrinkIt (ShrinkIt v3.4) requires at least
128k-- so, it needs to run on an enhanced //e, or a //c, IIc+, or IIgs. It can
also run on some Apple II clones and most Apple II emulators.

     8-bit ShrinkIt can unshrink most shrinked files. As already mentioned, it
cannot unshrink IIgs forked files from File archives. (It can unshrink 5.25" or
3.5" Whole-Disk archives which contain forked files because it is just dealing
with a disk copy and does not have to make any decisions relating to individual
file formats.)


     To use it, you would usually boot ProDOS and run the ShrinkIt Start
program (which may be named "Shrinkit.start", etc.). It runs the main ShrinkIt
program.

     If you are on a IIgs with the usual Finder display, you can double-click
on the name of the Start program.

     Once ShrinkIt v3.4 starts, you will get a menu of options. Usually, you
will want to either create a ShrinkIt archive or unshrink an archive you've
downloaded from some place.


     To unshrink an archive (usually a ".shk" or ".sdk" file) you select "Open
Archive". Then, you use the TAB key to get to the disk or partition which has
the shrinked file you want to unshrink. If the file is in a folder, you can
open the folder to see a list which contains the file.

     So, you navigate to a list showing the file and select it.

     If it's a Whole-Disk archive, you will get a list of target disks. Select
the disk you want to unshrink the archive to.

     If it's a File archive, you will get a list of the files in the archive.
Use SPACE to toggle a checkmark by each file you want to unshrink. Press RETURN
to go on. Then, navigate where to place the unshrinked files and press RETURN
to unshrink them.

     Be sure to have a disk or partition ready which has space to hold the
unshrinked files. If the shrinked file is a Whole-Disk archive, the target disk
or RAM disk needs to be the same size as the disk which was shrinked-- usually
either 140k or 800k.


     To shrink stuff you select "New Archive". Then, you decide whether to
create an archive of selected Files or an archive of an entire Disk.

     If you want to include all of the files on a disk, it's often best to just
shrink the whole thing-- make a whole-disk archive-- because it's easier to
deal with when the time comes for unshrinking. (If you want to include IIgs
forked files, you must shrink the disk since 8-bit ShrinkIt cannot handle
individual forked files.)

     ShrinkIt cannot shrink most copy-protected disks or shrink files from such
disks. So, if a disk is an original for some game or a direct copy of the
original, you will probably not be able to work with it using ShrinkIt.
ShrinkIt can shrink some non-DOS 3.3 and non-ProDOS diskettes so long as the
basic format is 35 Tracks and 16 Sectors per Track.

     Whichever kind of archive you decide to create, the process is very
similar to unshrinking. Like, if you want to make an archive of just files, you
navigate to where the files are and select them. You can shrink everything in a
folder plus the folder by selecting a folder.

     One thing that can be confusing is what to do next. When you press RETURN
to end selecting stuff (either a disk or files), the prompt asks: "Name of
Archive to Create?". Before typing in a name, be sure to use TAB, etc. to get
to the disk or partition and folder where you want the archive to be saved.

     The name you type in for the archive file should end with ".SHK"-- like
"TEXTGAMES.SHK"-- if the new ShrinkIt file is a File archive or ".SDK" if the
new ShrinkIt file is a Whole-Disk archive. (".SHK" is okay for both; but, using
".SDK" for Whole-Disk archives makes it easier to tell what sort of archive it
is.)


     GS-ShrinkIt runs on just a IIgs under some version of GS-System. Using it
is similar to using 8-bit ShrinkIt, except that the interface is a bit more
user-friendly.

     GS-ShrinkIt works fine for nearly all kinds of Apple II .shk and .sdk
files. However will not handle shrinked 5.25" DOS 3.3 Whole-Disk archive files
created by 8-bit ShrinkIt.


     For more about ShrinkIt and ShrinkIt files, check the FAQs at ...

ftp://ground.ecn.uiowa.edu/apple2/Faqs/Csa2FLUTILS.txt or 
http://home.swbell.net/rubywand/Csa2FLUTILS.html .



Rubywand