View source for StuffIt Expander

{{short description|File decompressor software utility}}
{{more citations needed|date=January 2008}}

{{Infobox Software
| name = StuffIt Expander
| logo = <!--current screenshot contains image of logo-->
| screenshot = StuffIt Expander window.png
| developer = [[Smith Micro Software]]
| latest release version = 16.2
| latest release date = {{release date|2020|12|21}}
| latest preview version = 
| latest preview date =
| operating_system = [[Classic Mac OS]], [[macOS]], [[Windows]]
| platform =
| genre = File Extractor/Decompressor
| license = [[Freeware]]
| website = [https://stuffit.com/ Stuffit Homepage]
}}

'''StuffIt Expander''' is a proprietary, [[freeware]], [[closed source]], [[data compression|decompression]] software utility developed by [[Allume Systems]] (a subsidiary of [[Smith Micro Software]] formerly known as Aladdin Systems). It runs on the [[classic Mac OS]], [[macOS]], and [[Windows]]. Prior to 2011, a [[Linux]] version had also been available for download.

The latest version for each Mac platform is as follows:<ref>[https://my.smithmicro.com/stuffit-updates.html StuffIt updates page] {{Archive url|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190213211439/https://my.smithmicro.com/stuffit-updates.html|date=2019-02-13}}</ref>
* 16.2 for [[OS X 10.11]]+ (as of December 2020);
* 16.0.5 for [[Mac OS X 10.8]]+;
* 15.0.7 (2011) for [[Mac OS X 10.6|Mac OS X 10.6.8]]+;
* 15.0.4 (2011) for [[Mac OS X 10.5]]+;
* 14.0.1 (2010) for [[Mac OS X 10.4]]+;
* 10.0.2 for [[Mac OS X 10.3]]+;
* 8.0.2 for [[Mac OS X 10.0]]+;
* 7.0.3 for [[Mac OS 8|Mac OS 8.6]]+;<ref>[http://www.stuffit.com/mac-expander.html Stuffit Expander (Mac) download page] {{Archive url|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140628102833/http://www.stuffit.com/mac-expander.html|date=2014-06-28}}</ref>
* 6.0.1 for [[Mac OS 8|Mac OS 8.1]]+ (PowerPC only);
* 5.5.1 for [[Macintosh System 7|System 7.1]]+ (68020 and up, PowerPC);
* 4.5 for [[System 6]]+ (compatible with all 68k processors).

StuffIt has been a target of criticism and dissatisfaction from Mac users in the past as the file format changes frequently, notably during the introduction of StuffIt version 5.0. Expander 5.0 contained many bugs, and its file format was not readable by the earlier version 4.5, leaving Mac users of the time without a viable compression utility.

The latest [[Standalone program|stand-alone]] version for [[Microsoft Windows|Windows]] is 2011 (15.0). Unlike the version before it (12.0), which was only able to decompress the newer {{mono|[[Stuffit|.sitx]]}} (and [[ZIP (file format)|ZIP]]) archives, version 2009 claims to be able to decompress over 30 formats, some listed below. The executables require both, the [[.NET Framework#.NET Framework 2.0.NET|.NET v2.0 framework]] and [[Visual Studio 2008|MSVC 2008 (9.0)]] runtimes. The previous stand-alone version able to decompress {{mono|[[.sit]]}} and other [[classic Mac OS]]-specific archives was 7.02, distributed with [[StuffIt]] v7.0.x for [[Microsoft Windows|Windows]].

From versions 7.5.x to 11 the Expander capabilities were actually performed by the [[StuffIt|StuffIt Standard Edition]], that allowed decompression even after the end of the trial period. To start [[StuffIt]] in Expander mode the following command line switches were used: {{mono|-expand -uiexpander}}.<ref>[http://support.smithmicro.com/techsupport/kb.cfg/php.exe/enduser/std_adp.php?p_sid=c6x18Eei&p_lva=&p_faqid=1562&p_created=1141697602&p_sp=cF9zcmNoPTEmcF9ncmlkc29ydD0mcF9yb3dfY250PTEzJnBfc2VhcmNoX3RleHQ9ZXhwYW5kZXImcF9zZWFyY2hfdHlwZT0zJnBfcHJvZF9sdmwxPTU3JnBfcHJvZF9sdmwyPTU5JnBfY2F0X2x2bDE9fmFueX4mcF9jYXRfbHZsMj1_YW55fiZwX3NvcnRfYnk9ZGZsdCZwX3BhZ2U9MQ**&p_li= Answer<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> Note that the registration reminder dialogue box is not shown in this case. With older versions of StuffIt Expander on the classic Mac OS platform, such as StuffIt Expander 3.5, it was possible to enhance the capabilities of StuffIt Expander and to add support for decompressing additional archive formats by means of the shareware DropStuff with Expander Enhancer software from Aladdin Systems.<ref>{{cite news |title=SEx and the Single Archive |date=1994-07-18 |publisher=[[TidBITS]] |last=Engst |first=Adam |authorlink=Adam C. Engst |url=https://tidbits.com/1994/07/18/sex-and-the-single-archive/ |accessdate=2018-05-11}}</ref>

An official [[MS-DOS]] [[Command line interface|command line]] program,  UNSTUFF v1.1, can decompress {{mono|[[.sit]]}} files.

StuffIt Expander 2009 decompresses files in the following formats:

* [[7z|7-Zip]] ({{mono|.7z}}, {{mono|[[Comic Book Archive file#Design|.cb7]]}})
* [[AppleSingle]] ({{mono|.as}})
* [[ARC (file format)|Arc]] ({{mono|.arc}})
* [[ARJ]] ({{mono|.arj}})
* [[BinHex]] ({{mono|.hqx}}), all versions
* [[Binary-to-text encoding#Encoding standards|BTOA]] ({{mono|.b2a}}, {{mono|.btoa}})
* [[bzip2]] ({{mono|.bzip}}, {{mono|.bzip2}}, {{mono|.bz}}, {{mono|.bz2}}, {{mono|.tbz}}, {{mono|.tbz2}}, {{mono|.tar.bz}}, {{mono|.tar.bz2}})
* [[Cabinet (file format)|CAB]] ({{mono|.cab}})
* [[Compact Pro]] ({{mono|.cpt}})
* [[gzip]] ({{mono|.gz}}, {{mono|.tgz}})
* [[LHA (file format)|LHA]] ({{mono|.lha}}, {{mono|.lzh}})
* [[LZMA]] ({{mono|.lzma}}, {{mono|.tlzma}}, {{mono|.tar.lzma}})
* [[MacBinary]] ({{mono|.bin}}, {{mono|.macbin}}), all versions
* [[Base64|MIME/Base 64]] ({{mono|.mime}})
* [[Private File]] ({{mono|.pF}}), Aladdin's [[encryption]] file format
* [[RAR (file format)|RAR]] ({{mono|.rar}}, {{mono|.rNN}}, {{mono|[[Comic Book Archive file#Design|.cbr]]}}, {{mono|.partNN.rar}}), including segmented
* [[SpaceSaver (file format)|SpaceSaver]] StuffIt compression format used in versions prior 5.x
* [[StuffIt]] ({{mono|.sit}}, {{mono|.sitx}}, {{mono|.sit.N}}, {{mono|.partNN.sitx}}, {{mono|.sea}}, {{mono|.exe}}) v1.5.1 to 8.0.x, including encrypted, segmented and [[self-extracting archive]] (Classic Mac OS file type code 'SIT!')
* [[Tar (file format)|tar]] ({{mono|.tar}}, {{mono|.gtar}}, {{mono|.gnutar}}, {{mono|.ustar}}, {{mono|[[Comic Book Archive file#Design|.cbt]]}})
* Unix [[Compress]] ({{mono|.Z}}, {{mono|.z}}, {{mono|.taz}})
* [[Uuencoding|UU]] ({{mono|.uu}}, {{mono|.uue}}, {{mono|.enc}}), PC/Unix 8 bit to 7 bit encoding similar to BinHex ({{mono|.hqx}})
* [[yEnc]]ode ({{mono|.ync}}, {{mono|.y}})
* [[ZIP (file format)|ZIP]] ({{mono|.zip}}, {{mono|.zNN}}, {{mono|[[Comic Book Archive file#Design|.cbz]]}}, {{mono|.exe}}), including encrypted, Zip64, segmented and [[self-extracting archive]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

== External links ==
* [https://stuffit.com/ Current Stuffit homepage, with links to download Mac and Windows versions]

{{Compression Software Implementations}}

[[Category:Classic Mac OS software]]
[[Category:MacOS archivers and compression-related utilities]]
[[Category:Data compression software]]
[[Category:Freeware]]