About File Compression
Archive for Size, Speed, or Portability
Choosing the right archive format
If you're trying to fit files onto a CD, or a USB Flash drive, then size may be the most important factor. If you're just grouping a bunch of related files together, speed may be the thing. When posting files to a web or ftp site for public download, then portability is king. StuffIt lets you create archives in three formats and customize your compression settings.
Droplets make DropStuff completely customizable
DropStuff gives you one large DropTarget and four smaller DropTargets. All but one of these DropTargets are preconfigured for you, but you can change the settings on any of them for your own needs. Change the Archive Settings, Destination, Encoding, and more to create a "Profile". Create as many unique Profiles as you like and save them as a Desktop Droplet in the Finder.
Tar is a format that is common on UNIX and Linux systems
Since OS X is based on UNIX, there is some support built into the OS for expanding these files. Tar archives are not compressed by default and need some post-compression applied (such as Gzip, Bzip2, or UNIX Compress). If you are sending files to a UNIX or Linux user, Tar is a reasonable choice. The compression offered by Gzip, and BZip2 are adequate for most purposes.
Zip is a ubiquitous format, but has limitations
Most computer platforms including Mac OS X have some form of Zip expansion available. The compression offered by the Zip format is similar to that of the Gzip format and is satisfactory for most purposes.
StuffIt X archives provide superior compression on more file types
StuffIt X includes important features that help you to protect your data: StuffIt X archives can be made with strong encryption, and can also be made with built-in "error-correction" technology that in many cases will allow StuffIt Expander to automatically repair damaged archives when it attempts to expand them.
StuffIt X can create tiny Indexes of archives stored offline on CD/DVD, or posted online to FTP or MobileMe iDisks. StuffIt Deluxe users can then locate items in these archives even though the original isn't on the machine. You can read more about Index Archives here on our help site Http://www.cleanupyourmac.com/.
The StuffIt X format supports "Duplicate Detection". When adding files to an archive, StuffIt detects if there are duplicate items (even if they have the different file names), and only compresses the duplicates once, no matter how many copies there are. When expanded, StuffIt recreates all the duplicates from that one instance. Depending on the data being compressed, it can offer significant reductions in size and compression time.
Anyone can open StuffIt X archives using our free StuffIt Expander software. Just point them to http://www.stuffit.com/stuffitexpander to download the StuffIt Expander software they'll need. It's available for Macintosh (both Classic Mac OS and OS X), and Windows. And best of all, it's free!
