User`s guide

Today, practically all servers can handle pure binary transfers; so,
binscii is no longer in popular use. However, quite a few old A2 files are still
in binscii form and binscii is used for files uploaded to comp.binaries.apple2.
To convert binscii'd files to their un-biniscii'd form, you can use a
program named "BINSCII" or, on a GS, the New Desk Accessory named "GScii". These
programs can, also, create binscii files.
Note: Binscii is in no way related to Binary II. Binscii changes the entire file
into Text. Binary II is just a small block of bytes tacked onto the front of a
file, mainly to identify the file's filetype.
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002- What are ShrinkIt (.SHK) files and how do I use
them?
ShrinkIt files are the Apple II world's answer to .ZIP files in PC-ville. An
.SHK file is a file which contains one or more files which are almost always in
compressed form. Usually, they are produced by GS-ShrinkIt (also called "GSHK"
or "ShrinkIt-GS") or the Balloon NDA, or by 8-bit ShrinkIt. Some .SHK files are
produced by Macs; these may not always be compatible with A2 ShrinkIt programs.
An .SHK file can be unshrinked by ShrinkIt even if it shows up on the Apple
II with a TXT or BIN filetype and even if the name does not end with ".SHK" or
".shk". If a ShrinkIt file does not show up as available for unshrinking, you
can toggle an "All files" option to see the file and then select it. If an .SHK
file has a Binary II header, ShrinkIt will automatically remove it and assign
the correct filetype. (Of course, this will usually be SHK.)
Other kinds of ShrinkIt files include .SEA and .SDK. An Apple II .SEA file
is a IIgs executable self-extracting archive-- i.e. you can click it on the GS
Finder and it will unShrink. There are also Mac .SEA files and these are not GS-
compatible.
A ShrinkIt whole-disk archive is an .SHK file which is usually labeled
".SDK" to show that it is a Shrinked diskette. An .SDK file can archive a 3.5"
diskette (both sides) or 5.25" diskette (one side). Most are archives of 5.25"
DOS 3.3 diskettes produced by 8-bit ShrinkIt.
A whole-disk ShrinkIt archive retains all data bytes on a diskette,
including files, Catalog/Directory sectors, empty tracks, and DOS if present. An
.sdk file of a DOS 3.3 5.25" disk created by 8-bit ShrinkIt also preserves
volume number-- important for some games and utilities which depend upon volume
numbers to identify disks. (5.25" whole-disk archives created by GS-ShrinkIt do
not preserve volume number.)
8-bit/IIe ShrinkIt can be used to fully unshrink any Apple II .SHK file
_except_ .SHK files which contain files with GS/OS resource forks and .SEA
files. For this reason, 8-bit ShrinkIt should not be used to unshrink .SHK file
archives containing GS programs unless you know that none of the contained files
has a resource fork.
GS-ShrinkIt can handle nearly all kinds of Apple II .SHK and .SDK files. It
will not handle shrinked 5.25" DOS 3.3 .SDK files created by 8-bit ShrinkIt. In
fact, most users automatically use 8-bit ShrinkIt to create and unshrink .SDK