Help! My File Has Been Zipped
(or Stuffed)!
As you explore the World Wide Web you will undoubtably run across files you will want to download, that is move from the web server to your computer. The file may be a program like a calculator or it could be a template for Inspiration. Many of these files are stored in some kind of compressed format which cannot be read directly by the software on your computer. To use these files, you will need a program that uncompresses the file and restores it to its original format.
So why do people put these files in compressed format in the first place? One reason is that a compressed file is smaller and thus takes less room on the server and takes less time to send to you. Another may be that the compressed file is actually several files combined into one. It's easier to download one file rather than many different files.
There are many different formats used to compress files but the two that you are most likely to encounter are the ZIP format (most commonly used in Windows) and the StuffIt format (most commonly used on Macs). Incidently, the ZIP format has nothing to do with the Zip drive you might have in your computer.
Many different programs can create these compressed files but most people are interested in a program that can uncompress the file. Probably the best program for this is Aladdin Expander, a free program that works with your browser. Expander will uncompress files in both the ZIP and StuffIt formats, as well as many other formats you may find.
How do you get Expander? Well, you may already have it. All Macintosh computers and some Windows computers come with Expander already installed and it is installed automatically on both platforms when you install Netscape Communicator.
If you don't have Expander, you can download it from the Aladdin web site free of charge. When you install the program, it configures your browser so that when you download a file in the ZIP or StuffIt format, Expander automatically uncompresses it.
And that's it! Now uncompressing files downloaded from the Web should be no problem. Of course, whether you can use the uncompressed files is another story.
