File Suffix | Format Description & Type | How
to deal with it |
.arj |
PC format common to European
sites. |
Use
unArjMac or DeArj, however the resulting file will probably
not be usable on a mac. |
You can use WinZIP to view these files, but you will
need another peice of software to extract them. |
Use WinZIP to view and extract archives. |
.au |
.au is the most common sound format found on the web.
|
Use Sound Player to play
it |
Use Waveform Hold and Modify to play it |
Use Waveform Hold and Modify to play
it |
.aiff |
.aiff is also a semi-common sound format.
|
Use Sound Player to play it |
Use Waveform Hold and Modify to play it |
Use Waveform Hold and Modify to play
it |
.bin |
Macbinary II Encoded File. Make sure to download as
MacBinary or Binary. |
Use Stuffit Expander to turn back into a usable
Macintosh file if it isn't already. |
N/A |
N/A |
.doc |
May be a DOS/Windows program or a DOS/Windows Self
Extracting Archive |
Use
MS-Word |
Use WordView to quickly display MS-Word
documents |
Use WordView to quickly display MS-Word
documents |
.exe |
May be a DOS/Windows program or a DOS/Windows Self
Extracting Archive |
N/A |
Download
and launch it in its own temporary directory, it may spawn a number of
files and directories.
Self Extracting |
Download and launch it in its own temporary directory, it may
spawn a number of files and directories.
Self Extracting |
.gif |
GIF (Graphical Interchange Format), though not the most
economical, is the most common graphics format found on the
Internet. |
Use GIFConverter
or JPEG View |
Use Lview Pro to view these graphics |
Use
PolyView to view these graphics |
.gz |
.gz is the Gnu version of zip. It is a compression method
developed for use on UNIX systems. |
Use macgzip to view and extract archives. |
Use WinZIP to view and extract archives. |
Use WinZIP to view and extract archives. |
.html .htm |
HTML (Hypertext Markup Language), the code the web is
written in. Plain text file. |
Use Netscape for MacIntosh to view the
file |
Use Netscape for Windows 3.1x to view the
file |
Use Netscape for Windows95 and Windows NT to view the
file |
.hqx |
BinHex 4.0 - Encodes a Macintosh file into 7-bit text so
it can be safely transfered. Most Mac files appear in .hqx |
Use Stuffit Expander |
Use BinHex13 in a DOS window to un-binhex it
|
Use BinHex13 in a DOS window to un-binhex it
|
.image |
Macintosh Disk Image, most commonly found on Apple's FTP
sites. |
Use Shrink Wrap to mount the disk image, and deal
with it like you would a floppy |
N/A |
N/A |
.jpg .jpeg .jfif |
JPEG/JFIF, a 24 bit graphic format |
Use JPEG View |
Use Lview Pro to view these graphics |
Use
PolyView to view these graphics |
.mpg .mpeg |
MPEG, the standard movie platform for the 'net.
|
Use sparkle to play them, or to convert them to
QuickTime. |
Use VMPEG with win32s to play MPEGs |
Use VMPEG or Ladybug to play
MPEGs |
.mov .qt .movie .moov |
QuickTime Movie, Apple Macintosh native movie
platform |
Use Sparkle, FastPlayer, MoviePlayer, SimpleText,
MicrosoftWord...and many others. If the movie appears totaly white,
you may need to use the Apple Quicktime VR Player
to see them. |
Use QuickTime for Windows |
Use QuickTime for Windows |
.pdf |
Adobe Acrobat Portable Document Format, download as
Binary |
Use Adobe Acrobat Reader or Adobe Acrobat |
Use Adobe Acrobat Reader or Adobe
Acrobat |
Use Adobe Acrobat Reader or Adobe
Acrobat |
.ps |
Postscript file. Plain text file, but not really
human-readable. |
Send to a Postscipt
printer with Laserwriter Font Utility or view
it onscreen using Ghostscript |
View it onscreen
using Ghostscript |
View it onscreen
using Ghostscript |
.sit |
Stuffit Archive - Binary |
Download as
MacBinary, and use Stuffit Expander |
Use UnSit in a DOS window |
Use UnSit in a DOS window |
.sea |
Macintosh Self Extracting Archive |
Download as
MacBinary, and launch it. Self Extracting |
N/A |
N/A |
.tar |
UNIX tar program takes seperate files and turns them into
one file.
Often also compressed. Extensions such .tar.Z, .tar.gz and .tgz (latter
two are equivalent) requires decompression first, then un-tar. Some
UNIX ftp servers will un-tar a file if you request it
without the ".tar" extention. |
Download and use Tar |
Use WinZIP to view and extract archives. |
Use WinZIP to view and extract archives. |
.tiff .tif |
TIFF is a very large high quality image format.
|
Use JPEGView |
Use Lview Pro to view these graphics |
Use
PolyView to view these graphics |
.txt |
A plain boring old Text File |
Use Microsoft Word,
Simple Text, BBEdit, whatever! |
Use the
16 bit version of Programmer's File
Editor |
Use
the 32 bit version of Programmer's File
Editor |
.uu .uue |
A uuencoded file. Typically this is done on a UNIX
command line:
uuencode OriginalFileName SecondFilename >
EncodedFile.uu
Then, after running:
uudecode EncodedFile.uu
One gets a file generated named:
SecondFileName
Using .uu as the extension is not required but is considered politely
explanatory for what
type of file it is. Increasing numbers of desktop mail and newsreading
programs will handle this type of encoding on the fly.
|
Use UU Undo to uudecode it |
Use WinCode to uudecode it |
Use ESS-Code to uudecode it |
.wav |
Windows Wave format sound file |
You can use SoundApp to play .wav files |
Use Waveform Hold and Modify to play it |
Use Waveform Hold and Modify to play
it |
.Z |
Unix Compressed File |
If you are
downloading via ftp most ftp servers will uncompress for you if you
drop the ".Z". Otherwise use Stuffit Expander
w/EE. |
Use WinZIP to view and extract archives. |
Use WinZIP to view and extract archives. |
.zip |
pkzip, a common DOS/Windows compression format
|
Use ZipIt, Stuffit Expander w/ EE, or MacUnZip |
Use WinZIP to view and extract archives. |
Use WinZIP to view and extract archives. |