﻿ Difference between revisions of "CSA2 Part 3" - wiki.apple2.org

Difference between revisions of "CSA2 Part 3"

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--- Begin part 3 of 4
--- Begin part 3 of 4
= How do I get files off the net? 8/26/96 =
= Section 5: How do I get files off the net? =
Quick summary: 1: Make sure you know how to download files from ftp sites 2: Make sure you have a Binscii decoder 3: Make sure you have a Shrinkit unpacker 4: Unpack with the programs
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== Where can I get Apple II software and info on the net? 3/2/97 ==
== Where can I get Apple II software and info on the net? ==
If you're looking for an OS (operating system) for your Apple II, there's pretty much no way to download it and write it to an Apple II disk without an Apple II handy. However, there are other ways of getting it; see section 7.2 of this FAQ.
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Filetypes and dealing with files of various types
Filetypes and dealing with files of various types
= A quick note about ProDOS filetypes =
= Section 6: A quick note about ProDOS filetypes =
ProDOS keeps some information about a file's type. Files can be text (TXT), binary (BIN), executable (SYS), fonts (FON), etc. Most other file systems do not have a place to store this information, so it may get 'lost' when you upload the file. Similarly, when you download a file, you may not know the file type. Most comm programs will use some default. For NuFX archives, this is not a big deal, since you can still unpack an archive if the filetype is wrong (and the archive protects the filetype of the files inside the archive). For other files, you may need to change the file's type. One utility that comes well recommended is File Attribute Zapper II.

Revision as of 08:02, 18 September 2007

From: tdiaz-a(in_a_circle)-apple2-dotsero-org (Tony Diaz) Newsgroups: comp.sys.apple2,comp.answers,news.answers Approved: news-answers-request@MIT.EDU Followup-To: comp.sys.apple2 Subject: comp.sys.apple2 Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) Part 3/4

Archive-name: apple2/faq/part3 Posting-Frequency: monthly Last-modified: August 21 2007 Version: 5.1.38 URL: http://apple2.info/wiki/index.php?title=CSA2_FAQ





--- Begin part 3 of 4

Section 5: How do I get files off the net?


And, in more detail, starting with a word of explanation:

[There used to be details about older Apple II packing programs in the FAQ, but as they're pretty much never used anymore, the info on them has been relegated to the 'obsolete' section of the comp.sys.apple2 FAQ at http://www.visi.com/~nathan/a2/faq/csa2.old.html]

What are Binscii & Shrinkit, and why do I need them?

Shrinkit was written by Andy Nicholas to be able to take multiple files or disks and compress them into one file. This allows a authors to distribute programs, documentation, and anything else as one complete file. It is analogous to (but NOT the same as) Stuff-It or [PK]ZIP for Macs and IBMs. Shrinkit comes in many different forms, as is noted in the section on downloading it.

Binscii is a method of turning Apple II files into pieces that can be safely transmitted by the internet, such as usenet and email, and restored to the Apple II file later. It is used for two major reasons: 1) Since it splits files up into manageable pieces, it lets huge files be transmitted without fear of being cut short. 2) Since it translates files to strictly printable characters, mediums that cannot safely send binary files (i.e. files put through Shrinkit) such as email and usenet can send binscii'd files.

Binscii is similar to the unix 'uuencode' encoding, but it is not identical, and far superior. It allows Apple II filetype information to be restored when the file is unpacked. Secondly, binscii is usually not concerned about email or news headers (it ignores them when unpacking), and also can unpack the various pieces of a binscii'd file in any order, and the original file will be be intact as long as all the pieces were unpacked. Finally, you do not have to rejoin all the binscii pieces into one file before unpacking.

Why these two programs are so necessary in downloading is the following: pretty much all Apple II programs are first compressed with Shrinkit, and if they are to be sent via email or to comp.binaries.apple2, the shrunk file is then binscii'd. To unpack, you will need to first un-binscii the file, if appropriate, and then un-Shrink it.

Ok, fine. What do Binscii and Shrinkit files look like?

If you are given a file, first look at the end of the filename. If it ends in ".BSC" or ".BSQ" (no quotes, and upper/lower case doesn't matter), you most likely have a binscii file. Shrinkit files tend to end in ".SHK", but ".BXY" is also used.

If that isn't helpful, or you have a file without a name, then take a look at the first few lines of content. After any optional news or email header, a binscii file should look like this:


The first two lines are constant throughout all binscii files; the third contains the filename ('SOMEFILE.SHK' here) and then the encoded file.

On the other hand, a .SHK file cannot have any news or email header, and has only about 6 characters at the start (not all viewable on a normal screen, especially non-Apple IIs) that identify it. Thus, trying to look at the first few lines is pointless.

Finally, you can always try to unpack the file, as the binscii and Shrinkit programs will notify you if the file is not in the format they can unpack. As files are always binscii'd last, you should thus try and unbinscii an unknown file first, then try to unshrink it.

Enough technical discussions, now on to the specifics of where and how to get binscii and shrinkit running on your system.



[A quick note about URL notation: For those of you with full net access, you can run a web browser (like Lynx if you are dialed in from your Apple), which will understand URLs directly. Otherwise, ignore the 'http:' ones and see the next section on how to use the FTP ones.)

Hint: ftp://apple2.caltech.edu/pub/apple2

Hostname = 'apple2.caltech.edu' Directory = pub/apple2'

Major FTP sites and mirrors:

And for information, here's some of the major resources:

http://www.hypermall.com/History What is the history of the various models in the Apple II series?

http://www.gno.org/~gno/FAQ.html comp.sys.apple2.gno FAQ [For the GNO/ME multitasking environment for the Apple IIGS]

http://www.visi.com/~nathan/a2/faq/pinouts.html Pinouts for many different Apple II connectors

http://www.visi.com/~nathan/a2/faq/snd.mus.html Apple IIGS sound and music capabilities.

http://www.visi.com/~nathan/a2/faq/sys6files.html Reference of GS/OS System 6's filestructure, with notes as to which files are required, etc.

http://www.visi.com/~nathan/a2/faq/asoft.html Flopticals and Apple IIs.

http://www.visi.com/~nathan/a2/faq/asoft.html CDROMs and Apple IIs.

http://www.teraform.com/~lvirden/Misc/apple2-languages.txt Apple II Programmmer's Catalog of Languages and Toolkits

http://www.visi.com/~nathan/a2/faq/zip.html Upgrading and modifying Apple IIGS accelerators.

http://www.crl.com/~joko/ssii.html - ShareWare Solutions II Homepage

http://www.tals.dis.qut.edu.au/staff/willie/ Willie Yeo's verified list of commercial Apple II products reclassified to be publically distributable.

Other FTP Sites:

Archives of C.S.A2 Newsgroups:

Google Groups, http://groups.google.com, is an excellent searchable archive of pretty much all major usenet groups, including all of the Apple II newsgroups. It's only good back to about March 1995 as of 8/31/96, but they may be trying to extend that back.

Other, more limited archives:

wuarchive.wustl.edu|/usenet/comp.sources.apple2 (complete!) |/usenet/comp.binaries.apple2 ?ftp.tohoku.ac.jp|/pub/news/comp.binaries.apple2 hp4nl.nluug.nl|/pub/newsarchive/comp/sources/apple2 (incomplete) mcsun.eu.net|/pub/newsarchive/comp/sources/apple2 (incomplete) nic.funet.fi|/pub/archive/comp.sources.apple2 (complete?) relay.cs.toronto.edu|/pub/lists.1989 (1989 only)

If you have a Shell account, you can use 'archie' to find ftp sites with a particular file.

How do you download files off the net?

This is important because once you're on the internet, most of the files are available only on 'ftp' and www sites. ('ftp' stands for File Transfer Protocol, and www stands for the World Wide Web, but all you need to know is where to get Apple II files from. See the section above for a list of ftp sites.)

1. (For ProLine users) Get files to your host

 1. Dial up your host and log in.
 2. I'm not familiar with ProLine, so I'll be vague here. 
     Just go into the files section and look... Anyone wanna clue me in?

2. (for those with a Shell account) Get files to your host

 1. Choose an FTP site from the FAQ
 2. At your UNIX prompt, type "ftp _____" (fill in hostname)
 3. At the "Login:" prompt, type "anonymous" (or "ftp" if you are a bad speller like me ;)
 4. Type in your e-mail address when prompted for a password.
 5. Type "bin" unless you are only getting text files
 6. Type "cd ______" (directory) to move to the right directory.
 7. type "ls" to see a list of files.
 8. Locate each file (more "cd ___"'s and "ls"). Also, "cd .." will move up a directory in the tree.)
 9. use "get ______" (filename) to get it
 10. When you are done using FTP, type "quit"

3. From a WWW browser, most browsers are not set up to download .SHK files in binary, which will make them impossible to unpack. There are some solutions to this. Dan Zimmerman has made the Apple II archive at Caltech automatically send files in binary mode; go to http://apple2.caltech.edu/a2archive.html

If you are using Lynx, when the cursor is on the file to download, you can hit 'd' to download the file, which for most people forces a binary download. [Lynx has too many versions with the same version 'number' and possible configurations to be able to list which ones will work.]

Using most WWW browsers under unix (Netscape, Mosaic, lynx, maybe some others) you can try editing the file '.mime.types' (no 's) in your home directory on most unix systems. (Contact your local sysadmin or guru for help on unix editors). Add the following lines to the file:

application/x-Shrinkit shk SHK sdk SDK application/x-BinaryII bny BNY bqy BQY bxy BXY

This will work for most files downloaded with lynx, netscape, and mosaic. Non-unix browsers can do similar things, but you'll need to read the documentation on them.

4. From email or comp.binaries.apple2, the files are pretty much always in BINSCII format, so you do not need to worry about binary downloading. Simply save the email or news articles to disk (most things do have multiple parts, so be sure to get all of them), and download that to your Apple II. You can keep the posts as separate files, no need to paste them all together when saving or downloading. For a multiple part binscii file, the order in which you unpack them does not matter as long as you unpack every part. 5. Get files to your Apple II

See the next section on transfering Apple II files.

How do you transfer Apple files to/from other personal computers?

Normally, you cannot stick a 5.25" disk in a non-Apple II machine and have it read it. This is because the disk writing formats are different at a hardware level, and no software exists (or will exist) to let a PC read an Apple II 5.25" drive. However, with rarer addon hardware, you can bridge the gap. This has been an insolvable problem for nearly 15 years; if it could be solved in software, such a thing would exist.

That being said, here's a list of ways that do work:

How do I transfer DOS 3.3, Pascal, CP/M files?

Unless you have a null modem (see below) and a comm program for the OS in question, you'll most likely have to use a real Apple II to transfer the files to an OS that a lot more systems can read, such as ProDOS.

The ProDOS system software, the DOS 3.3 FST (optional part of GS System 6.0 and 6.0.1), and Copy ][+ can all read and convert files on DOS 3.3 disks to ProDOS disks; all but the DOS 3.3 FST can write from ProDOS to DOS 3.3 disks. All data files should translate fine, but any program requiring a specific OS will probably not run under the wrong OS.

For translating between ProDOS, CPM, Pascal and DOS 3.3, try the program Chameleon. You have to use the 'force disk as ProDOS' option to copy to/from your hard drive.


Once the file is on a ProDOS disk, you generally have a lot more transfer options available.

How do I transfer files by [null] modem?

This is probably the most accessible option; it can be done by an Apple and any other computer as long as both have serial ports, cable(s) to go between them, and communications software on both sides.

Modems allow you to transfer computer data over phone lines; a null modem essentially yanks the middleman of a phone. Null modem cables (which are identical to serial printer cables) are essentially a cable which plugs into the serial port of two computers, and is wired such that when one computer sends, the other receives, and vice versa. With a communications program that supports file transfer on both ends, you can send files from one side to the other. There are a few companies selling null modem cables and the like; see the appropriate section of this FAQ- 10.2 for their info.

For those who haven't picked a program to download with, here are the better Apple II programs listed alphabetically; for other systems, you'll have to find a comparable program. All of the non-commercial programs are available from FTP sites. If you don't have a comm program already, your best bet is to have someone mail you one on a disk or buy ProTerm. (See resources).

ANSITerm GS$ Color ANSI PSE X,Y,Z-modem Editor, scrollback, etc.
Agate E mono ANSI X,(Y,Z D/L only) Unpacks ZIP, buggy
ColorTerm GS Color ANSI X-modem Desktop based
CommSys E none X-modem Works on ][+
FreeTerm GS none X-modem Desktop based
GSVT GS VT-100 none Desktop
GTerm GS Color ANSI none Written in BASIC/ML
GenComm GS none none Text, Shell Compat.
Kermit-65 E VT-100 Kermit, X-modem Hard to use,Works on ][+
MegaTerm GS Color ANSI none ProDOS 8
PTP E$ VT-100 X-Modem, (Y-mdm D/L) From Quality Computers
ProTerm E$ PSE, VT-100 Kermit, X,Y,Z-modem From InSync
SnowTerm GS VT-100 (+) none Desktop based
Spectrum GS$ ANSI, VT100, PSE,
Viewdata Kermit,X,Y,Z Modem GS Desktop Prog
TIC E$ VT-100 (+) X-modem Small, Scripting.
Telcom GS VT-100, PSE X, (Y D/L only) Shell compat
Z-Link E VT-100 X-modem Good.

Key: $ = A commercial program + = And other obscure ones Computer: E = works on GS and //e, GS = only works on GS D/L = Download from other computer

PTP = Point-To-Point. I don't think it's being sold anymore. Anyone know? See the resources section for where to buy the commercial programs.

Once you are set up with a comm program on both ends, with a modem, here's how to send files: 1. Find out what file transfer protocols your Apple communications package supports. (see below for a list)

2. On your local comm program, set your file transfer type to Text (TXT) or Binary (BIN) depending on what type of file you are downloading. If there is an option to "strip incoming linefeeds", try turning it on.

3. Get your host to send you the file. I don't know about ProLine, but UNIX users can use these commands: For Z-Modem: "sz ___ ____ ____" (file names) For X-Modem: "sx ____" (one at a time) For Kermit: "kermit", then "put _____" (filename) Z-Modem is by far the fastest of the three; if you are getting random connection errors, you may need to do "sz -e ___ ____ ____" to force a safer (but slower) xfer method.

4. If needed, tell your local communications program to Receive. You must do this quickly, or the other host will give up trying to send the file.

5. Write down the full pathname of the files you downloaded and where you put them. There will be a quiz later. Pathnames look like "/DISK/DIR/FILE.NAME"

Note: If something goes wrong, hit ESC, Ctrl-X or Ctrl-C 3 times. If you can't get one protocol to work, try the next one down. Z-modem is much faster than the others. You will want to find a program that supports it.

With a null modem, it is similar. First, you need to tell both sides that they are online. Reading the manual is strongly encouraged! This is easy for some programs, where you can just start them or set an option, and they're running. Other, like Windows 95's Hyperterminal, are almost dead set on dialing a modem first. You'll also need to set both sides to communicate at the same speed and connection parameters (8 bits, no parity, 1 stop bit, aka '8N1' is customary). When you've got that done successfully, you can type on either computer's keyboard and have it appear on the other's screen.

Once the null modem connection is set up, you can transfer files. From the receiving end, issue the command(s) to receive a file in some protocol, such as Kermit, X-Modem, or Z-Modem. Then, from the sending side, issue the command(s) to send a file in that same protocol. The file should then be transferred. (As above, reading the manuals and/or documentation for the software used is highly encouraged).

A very nice null modem is the CrossWorks product, which has been taken over by Sequential Systems. It is a null modem cable as well as Apple II and IBM PC software that lets you translate certain types of files between both sides, such as Appleworks files, and keep the formatting roughly intact. See the vendors lists below.

How do I read/write files from other platforms with an Apple II?

As noted above, Apple II drives write differently at a hardware level than IBM PC drives; you will not be able to write to IBM PC 5.25" disks or 720K 3.5" disks from Apple IIs unless you have special hardware.

If you have an Apple //e, the Bluedisk from ///SHH systeme, which lets you plug in IBM PC 3.5" and 5.25" drives to an Apple II; you should be ablt to transfer files with standard file copy programs. Another option is the AE PC Transporter card, which had PC disk drive support for 5.25" and 3.5" drives, as well as the software to translate between the two. You also get the ability to run a number of IBM PC programs on your Apple.

If you have a 3.5" drive on your system capable of reading 800K or 1.44MB disks, you can read Mac (HFS) disks of the right size directly with some pieces of software: ftp://apple2.archive.umich.edu apple2/8bit/util/a2fx.8.bsq


Null modem's also an option if your Apple II has a serial port. Such a port is built into the //c, IIc+ and IIGS; you will need to purchase a card such as the Super Serial Card to add such functionality to a ][, ][+ or //e.

How do I read/write files from other platforms with an Apple IIGS?

With support for both 3.5" and 5.25" drives, the Apple IIGS is the best all-round platform for transferring files between various setups. First, all of the Apple II programs and methods are available to it; see the section just above this for those.

With GS System 6.0 and 6.0.1, the GS gained the ability to read and write Macintosh 800K and 1.44MB floppies from within all programs, not just the dedicated transfer programs mentioned above for pre-GS machines. (1.44MB disks require some additional hardware, such as the Apple 1.44MB Superdrive and Superdrive controller, the Bluedisk, or SCSI Floptical drives). Use the System 6 installer (select 'Custom' install to get the list of addons) to install the HFS (Macintosh) FST on your boot disk, then reboot to load it. It may be a bit of a squeeze to fit the HFS FST and such on a 800K boot disk, and GS System 6.0/6.0.1 pretty much requires at least 1-1.25MB RAM to do stuff.

System 6.0.1's optional MS-DOS FST allowed read-only (not write) access to MS-DOS formatted disks, though disks with Windows 95's VFAT extended names will not have the long names displayed. The GS's normal 800K drives are not capable of reading MS-DOS 720K or 1.44MB disks directly; you will need to get a 1.44MB capable drive, as listed in the paragraph above.

For the ability to write to MS-DOS disks, you will need Peter Watson's (email: paw@acslink.net.au) MSDOS utilities (latest version is 2.30), which can read/write MS-DOS formatted disks, both FAT (pre-WIN95) and VFAT (WIN95) disks, including Zip disks. It's not currently usable from within the Finder or other programs, but you need a program shell such as that included with The Byteworks' Orca series, Procyon's GNO/ME, ProSEL-16's shell, or the minimal shell included in the msdostools package.

ftp://ground.isca.uiowa.edu/apple2/apple16/utils/MSDOS.util/MSDOS.TOOL S.SHK

System 6.0 also added read-only support for Dos 3.3 and Pascal 140K disks. The Pascal FST in System 6.0.1 (and probably 6.0 also) will not recognize disks with legal punctuation in the disk name; Nathan Mates's GUPP program fixes that. See the System 6.0 mini-FAQ in this FAQ for details on where to download GUPP.

How do I read/write Apple II files from a Mac?

If you can read/write Apple II 3.5" disks, Macs can usually read/write to them, but please note the many quirks noted below. Apart from the Apple //e emulation card (see below), Macs never really had 140K 5.25" support. Using a null modem is almost always an option; see above.

With Mac System 7.5 and up, the Control Panel 'PC Exchange' lets inserted ProDOS and MS-DOS disks appear on the desktop and copy files to and from them, making the procedure rather simple. Before 7.5 (starting somewhere in Mac System 5 or 6 series), the program 'Apple File Exchange' was bundled on the system disks; it could manually (and very slowly) copy individual files, but only from within Apple File Exchange. Consult the system software disks for your Mac if you can't find these programs.

Macs downloading to Apple II disks to be read by ProDOS 8 applications is usually not an issue of directly dragging a downloaded file to the destination disk. Despite the claims of 'compatability' or 'ease of use', you're likely to need a special program to help to get a ProDOS 8 program such as BASIC.SYSTEM for Binscii, Shrinkit 3.4, Appleworks, etc., to read the files. [GS/OS can deal fine with the additions to the file, but if you're trying to get the ProDOS 8 version of binscii running, that is no help.] The usual symptom of this problem is a 'FILE TYPE MISMATCH' error on trying to read the file.

It is reported that the Mac program 'ProTYPE' can be used as a helper app to clean up the crud Macs add to files before copying them to an Apple II. There was also another program to do the same, but it disappeared recently from the net, which is apparently "normal" for Mac ftp sites. ProTYPE is currently available online (at an Apple II based site, so it hopefully won't disappear like the last rather useful program) at ftp://ground.isca.uiowa.edu/apple2/Mac/ProTYPE.hqx Consult the various Mac FAQs for information on how to download and use Mac programs. See section 1.3 of this FAQ for references on finding other FAQs.

Some have said that you can apparently change the type and creator to 'TEXT' and 'pdos', before copying it to the ProDOS disk-- that'll prevent it from adding the resource fork when writing to a ProDOS disk. Others claim that won't do the trick for them.

Once you have the ability to download .bsq files and unpack them, there are some Apple II files to remove forks. [These files are packed with Binscii. If you don't have binscii because it's got a resource fork on it, you can't use these fork removers. Thus, you'll need to deal with it on the Mac end at first.]

HFS.LINK, listed above can apparently read out the data from either fork; there are also the programs ConvertForks 1.0 or ForkSplit 0.5.

Also, the Apple //e emulation card (available for a few models of Macs-- see the section on it) allows you to plug in a real Apple II 5.25 drive, and read files off of it.

How do I read/write Apple II files from an IBM PC?

IBM PC drives operate differently from Apple II drives at a hardware level; there is NO software to overcome that. The only way to bridge the gap with only a PC or an Apple II is by using (rare) addon hardware. [Technical details: PCs use MFM disk encoding; Apple IIs use GCR. The disk controller card does the decoding of the bitstream, and if it's in the wrong format, it'll mess up the bits before software can get anywhere near it. Thus, a new disk controller card is a bare minimum.]

If you have a Macintosh and access to an Apple II with 3.5" disks (such as most GSs), you can copy the files to a ProDOS disk and let the Mac read that disk. It can then copy them to a MS-DOS disk with the same software that read the ProDOS disks; see above for Mac specifics.

Null modem is probably the best method; as noted above, the Crossworks product from Sequential Systems is a good product that lets you transfer and translate certain Apple II and IBM PC file formats.

There's supposedly a program that reads 1.44MB ProDOS disks on a PC (which the PC does support), but you need the ability to write such disks from the Apple II side anyhow.

There are a few rare hardware boards that you can plug into a PC and get it to access Apple II disks; the Trackstar Plus and Quadram boards are reported to be usable in IBM PCs. (Quadram's Quadlink reportedly only supports the IBM PC XT and older; the Trackstar Plus works well in any PC with space for a very full-sized ISA board and VGA capabilities) Neither is available new anymore, and can command a premium now on the used market, as IBM PCers who sold off their Apple IIs realize the follies of their ways. :)

How do I download and unpack binscii?

[If you'd rather skip this and most of the next step, Steve Cavanaugh has a disk containing this, Shrinkit 3.4, and many other useful programs. See the Resources section (10.2) below.]

1. Binscii has many programs that can unpack it, but if you have none of them, you will need to first get 'BINSCII.TXT', the only binscii program that can be transferred without any of the others or Shrinkit. [Spectrum 2.1 and later can also unpack Binscii, so if you have a GS and want to purchase this program for general telecom use, that's an alternative.] After you have this binscii program and Shrinkit, you can unpack other binscii decoders.

2. There are non-Apple II Binscii programs (sciibin is available in source code form ready to be compiled on unix and other platforms), should you desire, but to download and unpack Shrinkit, you will almost certainly need a minimal Binscii decoder on your Apple II. Thus, it's in your best interest to download a binscii decoder.

3. Make sure you have a method of getting files to a ProDOS disk on your Apple. That may include downloading with a communications program, or copying to a disk from another computer. Please note that Apple II and IBM PC 5.25" and 3.5" disk formats are different at a hardware level, so without (rare) addon hardware on one or both sides, you cannot use an IBM PC to download stuff to an Apple II disk.

Macs running system 7 can write to ProDOS 3.5" 800K disks, but please note that the Macintosh system software has the bad habit of adding a "resource fork" to files. This makes them UNREADABLE from most Apple IIs, unless you run a special program on them from the Macintosh side. Please see the section on file transfer from Macintosh to Apple II for where to get that program.

If you do not have ProDOS, please contact your local Apple II User Group for a copy-- they can copy it free of charge. If you do not have a modem program, but do have a modem or null modem to another computer, Steve Cavanaugh's disk that was mentioned above has some simple comm programs. Alternatively, the commercial program ProTERM 3.1 by Intrec is by far the best general Apple II communications program, so if you have at least a 128K Enhanced Apple //e, a //c, IIc+, or Apple IIGS, it is worth it to invest in this program. See the sections on dealers below for Intrec's address and phone number.

The rest of this tutorial assumes that you have read the above sections and have a basic clue as to how to navigate the internet and download files.

4. Download the file 'BINSCII.TXT', written by Todd Whitesel to your Apple II. A copy is linked in at Nathan Mates's Apple II Resources WWW pages, http://www.visi.com/~nathan/a2/binscii.txt Or, check the major Apple II ftp sites (see above), as well as ftp.ugcs.caltech.edu, pub/nathan/binscii.txt This is a text file. (Previous versions of it were named 'binscii.exe', which most people confused as being a MS-DOS executable, which the program most definitely is not.) It must be downloaded in text mode to your computer, or it will require some work to get it working. Check the ftp and [z]modem transfer options to make sure binary mode is off before downloading it to your Apple II. If you used a Macintosh to write the file to a ProDOS disk, be warned that it'll sometimes add a 'resource fork' to the file, rendering it unusable under ProDOS and Basic with a "FILE TYPE MISMATCH" error on trying to access it. To avoid that, see the section on file transfer from Macintosh to Apple II for a Mac program to clean up after that problem.

5. See if you can unpack it. You will need to get to Applesoft Basic under ProDOS to do this. [ProDOS identifies itself as such when booting, and Basic is the ']' prompt available by running 'BASIC.SYSTEM' if you booted to the Finder]. From the prompt, change to the disk/directory with the BINSCII.TXT file in it. [A reference on Dos 3.3 and ProDOS commands is not part of this FAQ, but is available at http://www.visi.com/~nathan/a2/faq/dos.html] Next, verify that the file was transferred as a text file. From the prompt, type the following:


If the "PR#3" command causes your computer to crash, hang, or display garbage, you do not have an 80-column card in the normal place. [This is rare, and only happens on ][+s, or stock //es.] Reboot your computer and try again without the PR#3 command. The catalog should have a line like the following (though the date and time will vary)

BINSCII.TXT TXT 12 20-AUG-96 20-AUG-96 3:14 5645

[If not in 80-column mode, that'll be wrapped to 2 lines.] Anyhow, the number we wanted was the very last number, which should be 5645. If that number is 5737, you downloaded in binary mode off an IBM PC. That's fixable. If the number is 512, you disregarded the warnings above about how the Macintosh will make an Apple II file unreadable; see the section on file transfer from Macintosh to Apple II for a Mac program to clean up after that problem. Also, note the file type in the second column, which is 'TXT' here. If it is already TXT, you can skip forward to step 5. Fixing the filetype. First, note what it currently is. If it's not 'TXT', common alternatives are 'BIN' or '$00', but almost anything is possible. The second and fourth line of the following commands, assume it's '$00', with file length 5645. Modify those two values to match what you saw in the catalog listing above:


This first renames the old file, loads it up, creates a file of the right length and then writes the new file. 6. Now that the file type is correct, trying to install binscii. Type the following:

EXEC BINSCII.TXT If you get a lot of ?SYNTAX ERRORs and beeps, then you most likely did not download it in ascii mode. You should try again, making sure of ascii mode, or try typing in this program. If the file size you got from the CATALOG above is not 5645, change the 5645 in line 10 to whatever it is.


Use the basic command 'RUN' (no 's) to run this program. After it is done, you should have a better chance at being able to "EXEC BINSCII2.TXT" and run it.

7. After all of this is done, you should have the 'BINSCII.SYSTEM' program on the disk/directory you EXECd binscii from. To run it, type


That should start it. For now, with no files to decompress, just exit it. Congratulations, you can now unpack BINSCII files.

8. There are fancier BINSCII decoders, but this one is the only that can be easily transferred. If you have a GS, you might want to consider downloading the gsciiplus program from some of the following ftp sites: apple2.archive.umich.edu, apple2/gs/archivers/gscii.bsc apple2.caltech.edu pub/apple2/addons/nda/gscii231.shk However, to unpack this, you will need a Shrinkit program (detailed in the next section) to unpack them before you can use them. Once unpacked, you will need to copy the 'gsciiplus' NDA to the DESK.ACCS folder inside the SYSTEM folder on your boot GS/OS disk.

How do I download and unpack a Shrinkit unpacker?

Ok, getting and downloading binscii is the hard part, promise. Because binscii takes care of the worry of filetypes, end of lines and the like, you don't really need to worry about those problems again.

Which Shrinkit program you should download depends on which model of Apple II you have. These programs are listed in increasing order of features and better user interfaces, so Unshrink ][+ will run on pretty much anything that you got binscii running on, while GS-Shrinkit 1.1 will only run Apple IIGSs. Apple IIGS programs can have file formats known as 'forked files' which ProDOS 8 and regular Shrinkit cannot unpack, so if you wish to download and unpack most GS programs, GS-Shrinkit is required. (The exceptions are demos and the like distributed as a shrunk copy of a disk)

At least an Apple ][+ with 64K running ProDOS:

Your only option is Unshrink ][+ and Autounshrink, available via ftp from

apple2.caltech.edu, pub/apple2/ARCHIVERS/unshk2plus.bsc apple2.caltech.edu, pub/apple2/ARCHIVERS/autounshk.bsq

At least an Enhanced Apple //e with 128K, or //c, IIc+, IIGS:

Although you can run Unshrink ][+, Shrinkit 3.4 is far better. Get apple2.caltech.edu, pub/apple2/ARCHIVERS/shrinkit34.bsc

At least an Apple IIGS with at least 1.5MB Ram, running GS/OS System 5.0.4 or later, hard drive recommended:

GS-Shrinkit is the best choice, though if you spend most of your time in ProDOS 8, you may also want to get Shrinkit 3.4 as well as detailed above. You can get GS-Shrinkit from apple2.caltech.edu, pub/apple2/ARCHIVERS/gshk11.bsc

Download the appropriate file(s) to your computer, and unpack them with the binscii decoder.

IMPORTANT NOTICE: The gscii plus NDA (and related unpackers, like the sscii command) can NOT correctly unpack the GS-Shrinkit 1.1 file. You _MUST_ use the binscii program that was mentioned and downloaded in stage 1, or wait for GS-Shrinkit 1.1A.

Run them Shrinkit program you just unpacked. GS-Shrinkit can be run by double-clicking on its icon in the Finder or the equivalent for other launchers. For the other programs, from the Basic ']' command in the disk/directory where you unpacked the program type 'CAT' to get a list of files. Find the filename of the program, and then '-FILENAME' to run it. (Replace 'FILENAME' with the name you saw in the list)

How do I unpack a generic .SHK or .BSQ file?

Now that you have all the files you want on your Apple II, you will first need to run the binscii program on any BINSCII'd files you downloaded, and then the Shrinkit program on the results of the un-binsciiing and/or any .SHK/.BXY files you downloaded. Once you're done with that, it's up to you to play around with the files you unpacked.

After unpacking the .BSQ files, you'll notice that .SHK files are usually produced. You do not need to keep the .BSQ files around to unpack the .SHK files; you may delete the .BSQ file(s) at your convenience. Similarly, once the .SHK file is unpacked, you can delete it if you do not expect to need to unpack it again anytime soon.

I can download .BSQ files fine, but .SHK files can't unpack. What's wrong?

If these files are coming from a standard Apple II ftp site, such as those listed in section 5.2, they should unpack fine as long as you download the files in BINARY mode at every stage, which includes from the ftp site to any intermediate machines along the way. Any single text download will usually corrupt a .SHK file enough to make it impossible to unpack. Make sure that you're downloading in binary at each and every stage. Binscii (.BSQ) files contain enough extra information so that they aren't affected by ascii downloads.

There are the occasional bad uploads to the ftp sites, but these tend to be reported quickly and dealt with. If you're having a problem with a file, and are very sure that the file is bad on the ftp server, please email the administrator to resolve the problem. Administrators should have tools to verify the integrity of any files on their sites, and deal with any problems on their end. [Administrator's email addresses are usually listed when you connect to a ftp site.]

Apple Archive Format (aaf)

Apple Archive Format was invented as a standard way to post source code to comp.sources.apple2. The C and Basic source code to aaf unpackers are available on the various FTP sites, in aaf format. Fortunately, files in aaf format can be turned back into source code with a simple text editor. Just break the file up into component files and remove the first character of each line.

ftp://apple2.archive.umich.edu /apple2/unix

Alternative location, including dox: http://www.openix.com/~jac

Filetypes and dealing with files of various types

Section 6: A quick note about ProDOS filetypes


ftp://apple2.archive.umich.edu /apple2/8bit/util/fazz.2.3.bsq

Net standard formats

There are several formats that are used widely on the Internet. The most common in FTP sites are tar (.tar) and compress (.Z). From a unix box, to undo a Tape Archive, type 'tar -xvf filename.tar', to undo a compress, type 'uncompress filename.Z'. Since tar does not make the file smaller, and compress can only compress 1 file, many times you will find files that are 'tarred an feathered'. They have a '.tar.Z' extension. Just run uncompress then un-tar the result. Other USENET groups will use uuencode (.uu) to send binaries. From a unix box, just type 'uudecode file.uu'. BinSCII is better than uuencode because 1) It stores the ProDOS filetype. 2) It splits the file into manageable 12K chunks. 3) It does a CRC checksum on each chunk.

Most of these 'Unix' standard formats are available on the Apple. See the table below.

Unix Format Types

NuFX Bin uuen- com- .ZOO Bin LZH/ Stuff ARC Other
Program SCII code press Hex LHA -It
Angel[1] e X X X X .ZIP
Balloon g X
Binscii e X
DeArc e D
GShk g X D D D D
LHext x D?
Nulib c X
PMPUnzip x .ZIP
SciiBin c D
Shrinkit e X
Spectrum g X X
sscii x X X X

(Key: E = Encode only, D = Decode only, X = Encode and Decode) (Type: e = Apple //e, g = GS Only, x = GS EXE file, c = C Source code) [1] Angel is pretty Buggy, but it's worth a try.

Where to get those programs listed above

This FAQ already lists exactly where to get Binscii and GSCII+ as well as the Shrinkit programs, as well as the top level directories of several major ftp sites. To save some hunting around in the directory structures, Apple II versions of most archive programs are located at the following places:

Caltech's Apple II Archive: apple2.caltech.edu, pub/apple2/ARCHIVERS Ground: ftp://ground.isca.uiowa.edu/apple2/Mirrors/caltech/ARCHIVERS

What do the file extensions mean?

Many times, people put filename extensions (extra characters at the end of a filename) to denote what type of file it is. Please note that these are just accepted standards. If a file does not indicate it's type, you will probably have to guess. The following is a table of some common filename extensions. (Note that upper/lower case usually doesn't matter in extensions) See the previous section (on archivers) for programs that will deal with these files.

Text only files:
What is it? (What program do I use?)
.html [TEXT] ASCII text file with (ascii) formatting codes. Used to
format documents on the World Wide Web, some other places.
.htm [TEXT] .html, but the extension got trimmed to 3 characters
.txt [TEXT] An ASCII text file: usually English text.

|Archive files:
What is it? (What program do I use?)
.aaf [TEXT] Apple Archive Format for source code (aaf.unpacker)
.ACU Applelink Conversion Utility (Shrinkit)
.ARC ARC Archive (IBM ARC, GS Shrinkit, //e Angel or DeArc2E)
.BSC [TEXT] Binscii file. (Binscii)
.BSQ [TEXT] Binscii'd NuFX file. (Binscii--then Shrinkit)
.BXY NuFX archive with a Binary II header. (Shrinkit)
.BNY BLU archive. (Shrinkit)
.BQY NuFX or Binary II with BLU header. (Shrinkit)
.BNX NuFX with BLU header. (Shrinkit)
.dsk Disk image of 140K 5.25" Apple disk.
.exe [TEXT] Executioner file. May only work in DOS 3.3. See above.
Note: .EXE generally means IBM executable (binary) program.
.gz Gzipped file. No legal Apple II software distributed in this format.
.HQX [TEXT] Mac BinHex file. (BinHex on Mac or GSCII+ on GS)
.LZH LZH Archive (IBM/Amiga LZH program, //e Angel)
.LHA LHA Archive (IBM/Amiga LZH program, //e Angel)
.QQ BLU archive. (Shrinkit)
.SEA Self-extracting archive (Usually Mac, might be Shrinkit archive)
.SIT Mac StuffIt archive. (StuffIt on Mac (preferred) or GS ShrinkIt;
GS Shrinkit will only decode very old StuffIt files.
.SHK NuFX archive. (Shrinkit)
.SDK NuFX with a shrunk disk image. (Shrinkit)
.tar Unix Tape Archive (Unix 'tar -xvf', GS EXE tar)
.tgz Gzipped .tar file
.uu [TEXT] Unix uuencode file [TEXT] (//e uudecode, Unix uudecode)
.uue [TEXT] Unix uuencode file [TEXT] (//e uudecode, Unix uudecode)
.ZOO IBM Zoo Archive (GS Shrinkit or IBM ZOO program, //e Angel)
.ZIP IBM Zip Archive (GS EXE Unzip, IBM PKUNZIP, Unix unzip, //e Angel)
.Z Compressed file (GS Shrinkit, Unix uncompress, //e Angel)

Common graphics file extensions:
What is it? (What program do I use?)
.AVI Windows Movie. No Apple II program can display this.
.BMP Windows and OS/2 Bitmap format.
.GIF Graphics Interchange Format: Compressed picture.
(IIGIF for //e, many programs for all other computers)
.JPG Newer graphics format. (GS viewers only)
.JPEG Newer graphics format. (GS viewers only)
.MOV Quicktime Movie. No Apple II program can display this.
.MPG Movie format. No Apple II program can display this.
.MPEG Movie format. No Apple II program can display this.
.TIFF Graphics format (GS SHR Convert and others)

Common sound file extensions:
What is it? (What program do I use?)
.AU Sun (unix) audio format. rSounder 3 can read, AudioZap 2.0 can
.MOD Amiga Music file. Some GS programs can read & play these.
.WAV Windows file. rSounder 3 can read 8-bit WAVs, AudioZap 2.0 for GS
can read/write, other programs can guess at reading

All 'text only files' files can usually be opened directly in any word processor, assuming they were downloaded in ascii mode. (Downloading a text file in binary mode from a non-Apple (Apple II or Macintosh) machine will probably be formatted incorrectly.)

All of these types, except the ones marked [TEXT] are BINARY files. Binary files cannot be sent over e-mail, posted to the newsgroups or FTP'd in text mode. You must FTP them in binary mode (see the section on FTP). You can download either with kermit, X-,Y- or Z-Modem.

See the next few sections for how to use transfer text, pictures, general graphics, and sound/music files.

Generally, anything labeled as 'Archive' above can and do contain multiple files, and even subdirectories. Most archivers (except for tar) also compress the files so that they take less disk space and time needed to download them.

Sometimes you will find multiple filename extensions. Simply take the filename extensions apart one at a time starting with the rightmost and you should be able to reconstruct the original file. (i.e. somefile.bsq.tar.Z would mean: uncompress, untar, unbinscii, then unShrink to get the original file!)

How do I USE stuff I have transferred to/from an IBM/Mac?

A:If you get a 'File Type Mismatch' error on when trying to read a file you transferred via a mac, then you will need to remove the resource fork from the file. See the section on file transfer from Macintosh to Apple II for where to get that program.

In general, only certain types of files can be usefully transferred back-and-forth between computers. One thing that you CANNOT do is run programs designed for another type of computer. But often you can transfer data files between similar programs (Spreadsheets) on different platforms. Here are some pointers:

How do I use text files from other computers?

One helpful hint is that all computers can read text files. Most word processors can save your file as text and import as text. But with text files, you will loose all your formatting (font type, centering and so-forth). For spreadsheets, saving as DIF will make conversion a breeze. Databases can be saved as tab-delimited records. (Note that in AppleWorks, you have to go to Print to save in these formats). Look for options like "Import" or "Export" (or "Save As" in the Mac world).

If you want to do better, there are several options available. A commercial program called MacLinkPlus can do some conversions. Some Claris programs do conversions automatically. Also, AFE can convert between some kinds of documents (For example AppleWorks Word Processor to MsWorks) if you have the right translator.


For IBM folks, The CrossWorks program can convert between many Apple and IBM formats, and even comes with a universal null modem cable. Alternately, If you use AppleWorks a lot, you can get SuperWorks for the IBM, a clone of AppleWorks. It can import AppleWorks files directly. For graphics, SuperConvert can convert between all Apple-specific graphics formats and many Mac, Amiga and IBM specific formats. It can also save as GIF, which is a universal standard.

How do I view picture files from other platforms?

A: There are quite a few programs available, each capable of reading different file formats:

GIF, BMP, other lossless compressed formats: * IIGIF is a freeware GIF converter for any Apple II (but there is a patch needed for the Apple //c). It reads in GIF and saves as hires or double-hires.


ftp://apple2.archive.umich.edu/apple2/8bit/graphics/iic.patch.for. iigif

  • MACDOWN is also freeware and lets you do the same with MacPaint pics.
  • A ProDOS 8 version of The Graphics Exchange from Roger Wagner Publishing.

[The following software only work on an Apple IIGS]

  • Convert 3200 is one of the best programs still being sold for graphics conversion on the GS. A short list of file formats it handles is: Apple Preferred Format (GS) and PaintWorks Gold format, various 3200 color GS formats, as well as Windows-OS/2 BMP, Compuserve GIF, Amiga .IFF/ PC .LBM, Paintbrush PCX, Binary PC and several varieties of TIFF files. It can save in a number of those: Apple Preferred, Windows BMP, Paintbrush PCX, TIFF, Binary PC and Print Shop GS.

For more information, please see http://www.crl.com/~joko/convert.html.

  • The Graphics Exchange converts between many formats of graphics; the 16-bit version is also available from Roger Wagner Publishing.
  • Prizm v1.0 Converts .GIFs, Amiga IFFs, Raw Files, and some other types to Grayscale (very fast), 16 colors, 256 colors, and 3200 colors! Size of picture limited by availabe RAM (Not sure where it's available from anymore either; it was commercial.)
  • SuperConvert (commercial program, published by Seven Hills Software) loads all GS formats, plus GIFS and other non-GS specific formats and saves in all GS formats (including Finder Icon files). It has more dithering options than most of the other programs, but you may have to play with it to find the best one. It can also save in TIFF and GIF formats if you want to move Apple II graphics to other machines. Version 4.0 of this program is faster and adds support for JPEG files.
  • SHRConvert is the earlier, shareware, predecessor to SuperConvert. It does a pretty good job on the types of graphics it supports. SHRConvert used to be available for download at ftp://apple2.archive.umich.edu/apple2/gs/graphics/shrconvert.2.1.b sq, but it appears to be pulled off ftp sites at the author's request when SuperConvert was published.
  • Platinum Paint is a commercial program that can import all GS formats plus MacPaint. It can only save in SHR and Apple Preferred. Version 2.0 can make Animations too! Platinum Paint was sold by Scantron Quality Computers.
  • The Byte Works has a TIFF Viewer/Converter that'll read in TIFF files on the GS.
  • Animasia is reported to have some sort of .DXF (3D format used by CAD programs among others) importer; it runs only on the GS.
  • DreamGrafix supports all 3200 color picture types and also 16 color and 256 color pictures. This is a very impressive commercial paint program with its 3200 color support. EGO Systems (now since out of business) has teken over distribution of this; see the dealers section of this FAQ for their address.

Note: 'All GS formats' includes Superhires (type $C1 and $C0), hires, double-hires and PrintShop/PrintShop GS.

JPEG and other lossy formats:

As far as I know, JPEG viewers are only available for the Apple IIGS, no other Apple II machines. Seven Hills Software's commercial program SuperConvert (version 4.0 or later) can view and convert them. A number of free viewers are available at ftp://apple2.caltech.edu/pub/apple2/graphics/viewers. Check them out if you're interested.

How do I use Icons/Fonts/etc from other platforms?

A: For reading Mac icons and such, try "Resource Spy"


Note that Mac TrueType fonts will require you to purchase the 'Pointless' program by Westcode software before you can actually use them on a GS. Once you have that installed, you can copy Mac TrueType fonts off a Macintosh disk and use them without any conversion through Resource Spy. IBM Truetype fonts are in a different and unspported file format. Conversion programs exist for the Macintosh (and possibly IBMs as well), but no GS converters exist.

No Truetype readers exist for non-GS Apple IIs to my knowledge; Postscript fonts are not displayable by any Apple II programs to my knowledge. EGO Systems' LaserBeam 1.1 can download PostScript fonts to an attached Laserwriter.

How do I listen to sounds/music from other platforms?

Ian Schmidt has put together an Apple II Sound & Music FAQ which has much more detail on this subject. It is available online at http://www.visi.com/~nathan/a2/faq/snd.mus.html.

For non-GS Apple IIs, there are two programs available. Michael Mahon's Sound Editor 2.2 is supposed to have very good playback. It is available from http://members.aol.com/MJMahon/sound22.shk

'IISound' is also available for regular Apple IIs; it can play back many sorts of sounds, and is reported to use the same playback routines as Mahon's program above. You can get it from: ftp://apple2.caltech.edu/Zocalo/pub/apple2/8bit/music.and.sound/iisoun dv4.2.shk.

With the expanded sound circuitry of the GS, the number of sound programs is dramatically increased. On the GS, the program 'MacSoundGrabber' can read Mac sounds out of Mac files, and save them in a GS format; you can get it from ftp://apple2.caltech.edu/pub/apple2/sound/macsoundgrab.shk. Alternatively, you can use the 'rMover' addon for Hypercard.

Also, programs such as rSounder 3 and AudioZAP for the GS can read/play WAV files and lots of other formats. rSounder can also save converted files (8-bit input only) as GS Resource-based sounds, suitable for the System 6 Sound control panel.

With most 8-bit mono sounds, you can simply import the file as binary and use the editor to strip off any header and Zero (0) bytes, which cause the sound to stop prematurely on playback due to the way the GS's Ensoniq chip handles samples. 16-bit formats (a number of WAVs, possibly also .AUs) will sound like garbage; only rSounder 3 and AudioZAP 2.0 (available only after paying the $20 shareware fee for AudioZAP 1.x) can deal nicely with those. ftp://apple2.caltech.edu/pub/apple2/sound/rsounder3.shk. ftp://apple2.caltech.edu/pub/apple2/sound/audiozap.shk.

About the only non-Apple II music format which is readily playable is the Amiga .MOD format. Many players exist, from fairly lousy to ones doing a pretty good job. Recommended ones are MODZap, Beatbox, Shellplay/Deskplay; most of those are available from ftp://apple2.caltech.edu/pub/apple2/music/modplayers.

How do I transfer Hypercard/Hyperstudio files?

Apple bundled a 'rMover' program with Hypercard GS that facilitated the transfer of files that didn't require custom XCMDs. It can transfer in both directions. I've never used it, but the necessary files should be available with the rest of Hypercard at ftp.support.apple.com, pub/apple_sw_updates/US/Apple_II/HyperCard_IIGS . These files are unfortunately only unpackable on Macs. The .bxy files (despite the filetype extension) are not readable on Apple IIs unless you manually strip off the 512 byte header

Apparently the Mac version of HyperStudio will run GS HyperStudio stacks without conversion.

There are a lot more questions with answers not included directly in this FAQ; please see http://apple2.info/wiki/index.php?title=CSA2_FAQ for more of them.

Copyright 2007 by Tony Diaz

--- End Part 3 of 4

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