Compression/Decompression Programs

Files stored for public access on the internet are often compressed to reduce hard disk storage space and to make file sizes smaller for quicker transfer across the internet.

These files must be decompressed or expanded before you can use them on your computer. This requires the use of decompression programs on your computer to expand the files back into their original state. The suffixes or file extensions at the end of the filenames provide a clue about which compression program is needed. See the table below to identify common compression program extensions or suffixes.

KINDS OF COMPRESSED FILES 
    
     Extension/
     Suffix     Description   Program Required
     ---------  -----------   ----------------
     .zip       DOS           PKZip
     .arc       DOS           arce.com
    
     .hqx       Mac           Stuffit
     .sit       Mac           Stuffit
     .pit       Mac           PackIt
     .cpt       Mac           Compactor  
     .sea       Mac           Self-Extracting Archive  
  
     .tar       Unix          tar -xvf
     .uue 
       or .u    Unix          uuencode
     .z or 
      .gz       Unix          gzip
Most current web browsers recognize and decompress these files automatically when they are downloaded. In the browser options settings you can set the directory where these files will be stored.

Using FTP
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Maintained by: Layne Nordgren (nordgrle@plu.edu)
Last Update: 05/24/97