Re: Help with Sys 5 for IIGS-- Getting ShrinkIt

[Rubywand <rubywand@swbell.net>]

David Kachel writes ...
> 
 ....

> I also cannot find Shrink II
> anywhere except as an archive shrunk by itself, which obviously I wouldn't
> need if I could unpack it!
 ....

     Yes; it does look like a Catch-22 situation. The main reason ShrinkIt v3.4 is
not maintained as a non-shrinked file is that it would need a Binary II prefix in
order to retain filetype. Users whose telecom software does not handle Binary II
prefixes would need some other utility to strip off the prefix and obtain a
ShrinkIt which would execute.

     A non-shrinked ShrinkIt v3.4 with no Binary II prefix could be downloaded (or
the PC version of NuLib v3.24 or v3.25 could be used to unshrink the
ShrinkIt34.shk file). However, once transferred to your Apple II, it would, most
likely, arrive as a Text type file. Since the file is too large to BLOAD and BSAVE
as a type .sys file, you would need a filetype changer program or a utility for
directly modifying the block containing the file's directory entry.

     Once again, you run into a special situation-- i.e. a user who has a filetype
changer program or a block editor but does not have ShrinkIt.

     Besides which, ShrinkIt v3.4 consists of two .sys files: a small startup
program usually named "ShrinkitST.sys" and the main program which must be named
"Shrinkit" (unless you want to modify ShrinkitST.sys). 
 

(Note: _If_ you already have DSK2FILE or some other A2 utility for converting disk
image files to diskette, you could download ShrinkItsDSK.bin. This is a ProDOS
disk image file which contains various useful utilities including ShrinkIt v3.4.)


     To avoid confusion, it is best to archive files in the simplest way possible.
In the case of ShrinkIt v3.4 this is as a single .shk file.

     A fairly easy way to get ShrinkIt 3.4 going on your Apple II if you do not
already have some version of ShrinkIt is to transfer ShrinkIt34.shk and
Shk34Docs.shk along with UNSHRINK and the SHRINK2PLUS.TXT directions. (UNSHRINK is
an earlier, smaller non-shrinked version of ShrinkIt which just unshrinks files.) 
     Follow the directions in SHRINK2PLUS.TXT to get UNSHRINK going. Use UNSHRINK
to unshrink ShrinkIt34.shk.

     You can find all of this stuff on Apple Cabi.net or on the new Tarnover site:

ftp://tarnover.dyndns.org/Utilities/SHRINKITandGSHK/



Rubywand