Seagull Scientific
Uncompressing Your Downloaded Files
Uncompressing your downloaded
file
The software downloaded from Seagull's download web page will
have been stored in one of two formats. For more information on
uncompressing the type you downloaded or need to download, read
below.
Uncompressing self-extracting
executable files
As with "ZIP" files, self-extracting executable files (or
self-extracting "E-X-E" files, for short) are created using a data
compression program. However, whereas zipped require a separate
decompression program (such as PKUNZIP) in order to uncompress them,
self-extracting EXEs uncompress themselves. This is made possible by
the fact that the necessary decompression software is stored in the
EXE file at compression time, right along with the compressed files.
This way, all you need to do is run the EXE program itself in order
to uncompress the stored components.
The easiest way to run the EXE and thereby uncompress the stored
file is to simply double-click on it from within the File Manager of
Windows. Alternatively, you can "shell" to a DOS prompt, and then
run the EXE simply by typing its name. Depending on whether you are
running Windows 3.1 or Windows 95, you may then need to do the
following:
Windows 3.1 Users
After the EXE has run, and all the stored files have been
extracted, the Windows File Manager will not automatically list the
newly created files. To see these new files listed, you will first
have to temporarily display the contents of a different directory.
Next, simply switch back to the temporary directory containing your
EXE and the newly extracted files will now be listed.
Windows 95 Users
Unlike with Windows 3.1, Windows 95 will automatically update its
list of files in a given directory. However, Windows 95 does not
automatically close your DOS Window after the self-extracting EXE
has finished running. Therefore, you will have to do so manually,
either by clicking on the "X" in the upper right, or by
double-clicking on the DOS icon in the upper left
Uncompressing a "Zipped" File
Zipped" files are files that have been compressed using a program
called PKZIP. These files must subsequently be uncompressed using
PKUNZIP (you will need to download this software off of the
Internet). (PKUNZIP is "shareware," and therefore legally copyable.)
Unlike most other downloaded files, PKUNZIP.EXE will be downloaded
to you as an uncompressed "EXE" file, meaning it is ready to run
without any preliminary uncompression.
To uncompress your zip file, type the following, either at a DOS
prompt or from within the Windows Run command prompt:
PKUNZIP <filename>
where <filename> represents the name of the file that you just
downloaded. When you are done unzipping, you will have, in addition
to the original zip file, a variety of other files needed to install
your software
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