Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!uunet!pmafire!geoff
From: geoff@pmafire.inel.gov (Geoff Allen)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac.misc
Subject: Re: How can I get BinHex 4.0 ?
Message-ID: <1991Mar14.191050.4679@pmafire.inel.gov>
Date: 14 Mar 91 19:10:50 GMT
References: <1991Mar13.204739.2704@oakhill.sps.mot.com>
Sender: geoff@pmafire.inel.gov (Geoff Allen)
Organization: WINCO Computer Engineering, INEL, Idaho
Lines: 81

Direct reply bounced, uunet didn't know how to get there from here,
so....

>Does anyone out there know how I can get BinHex 4.0?

From Answers to Frequently Asked Questions, posted monthly to
comp.sys.mac.announce, and which should still be available, since it
uses an Expires: header:

Q: What do I do with the files on comp.binaries.mac (or *.hqx files that
   I FTP'd)?

Q: Where can I get BinHex 4.0?

A: These two questions are related, so they will be answered together.

   I know that the file you've got says,

	(This file must be converted with BinHex 4.0)

   but the truth is that you most likely don't need BinHex 4.0.  What
   you really need is StuffIt or UnStuffit (or the Deluxe or Classic
   versions of either).  Here's why:

   StuffIt will encode and decode files into BinHex format.  The large
   majority of files you'll see are Stuffed, in addition to being
   BinHexed, so you will need StuffIt (or the free UnStuffIt) anyway. 

   (The differences between the programs are:

	StuffIt is the original shareware compression program which has
	become the standard.

	UnStuffIt is a free program which only unstuffs files.

	StuffIt Deluxe is the commercial version of StuffIt.

	StuffIt Classic is the latest shareware version of StuffIt.

	There's also an UnStuffIt Deluxe, which is analogous to
	UnStuffIt.  There may also be an UnStuffIt Classic.

	The ``Un'' versions of StuffIt *don't* convert BinHex files, so
	for translating net stuff, I'd recommend getting StuffIt or you
	can get one of the BinHex conversion programs mentioned in the
	next question. 

   Adding to the confusion caused by all the versions of StuffIt out
   there is the existence of new compression programs which are starting
   to gain popularity.  One that you'll probably hear about is Compact
   Pro (formerly Compactor), which is a shareware contender to the
   StuffIt throne.  See the next question for what some common filename
   extensions mean. 

   Anyway, back to the original topic... :^)

   Once you get the files to your Macintosh, join all the pieces into
   one file using your word processor (be sure to edit out everything
   that doesn't look like gibberish).  The first and last character of
   all the gibberish stuff (the actual BinHex encoding) should be a
   colon (":").  Save this file in ``text only'' format.  Then run one
   of the StuffIt programs and use the ``Decode BinHex File'' option on
   the ``Other'' menu.  This should give you a StuffIt file (or regular
   file, if the original was not Stuffed).  You can then unstuff the
   file using (Un)Stuffit. 

   Compact Pro can also decode BinHex.  You have to delete everything
   before ``(This file...'' info to use it, though (you don't need to
   with StuffIt). 

   Another alternative, for those using Unix, is to get the program
   mcvert (available as a shar file from sumex and other places). 
   Mcvert will convert your BinHex files to MacBinary before you
   download them.  It also saves you the trouble of joining the files
   (you simply specify them as command arguments -- no editing is
   necessary), and is much faster than converting the files on the Mac. 
   The MacBinary file will also be smaller, which saves transmission
   time to your Mac.

Geoff Allen
geoff@pmafire.inel.gov