Last Updated Friday, August 24, 2007
This package contains the following free applications:
1. DropCompress
2. FreeDMG
3. The Unarchiver
This combination of applications will allow you to easily create compressed files, make disk images, and uncompress files very easily. They support multiple file types and are much more powerful than the standard OS X compression tools. Here is a detailed description of each application along with website links:
DropCompress is a dock application that compresses any files that you drag onto it. You have 3 compression options: Tar-Gzip (.tar.gz), Zip (.zip), and Tar-Bzip2 (.tar.bz2). Tar-Gzip is the default. The most popular Internet format is Zip. To install, just copy it to the Applications folder. You can keep it in the dock by right-clicking on the dock icon and clicking on "Keep In Dock". The website is here:
http://homepage.mac.com/fahren...ress/dropCompress.html
FreeDMG is a dock application that wraps any files you drag onto it in a disk image file (DMG). There are a variety of compression options available; "UDZO - UDIF zlib-compress image" is the default and will work fine for basic use. You can optionally password-protect the DMG file (see preferences). Installation is the same as DropCompress, just copy it to the Applications folder and keep in the dock by right-clicking the dock icon and selecting "Keep In Dock". The website is here:
http://www.kelleycomputing.net:16080/freedmg/
The Unarchiver is a preferences application that allows you to uncompress many more file types than the default Mac uncompressor application. Among others, it can uncompress Zip, Tar-GZip, Tar-Bzip2, Rar, 7-zip, LhA, and StuffIt. To install, simply copy it to your Applications folder. It will actually replace the default unzip program in OS X once you set it up. You only have to set it up once: run the application, choose "Select All" under the Archive Formats tab, and exit. The website is here:
http://wakaba.c3.cx/s/apps/unarchiver.html
