Herein is the final version of the BSC-It utility -- encodes and decodes



 -- Binscii's



 -- UUcode's



 -- Base64's



And it runs in 8-bit so it even works on the enhanced //e.  YOU NEED IT.


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 BscIT v2.1 Copyright 1997 Lysergic Software
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 1. About

    BscIT is small, it's fast and it allows you to encode and decode
    base64, binscii and uucoded files.

 2. Function

    A. Decode

       This is pretty easy, select the file(s) with the browser and it will
       decode them into the chosen directory. BscIT automatically scans
       through the file to find the start of the encoded data on all of the
       formats so you don't need to worry about editing your files to chop
       off offending headers.

       If you're double-clicking files to decode from the Finder, BscIT
       will automatically exit when finished unless you hold down the Cmd
       key when the program starts up.

    B. Encode

       Press "E" to switch to Encode. This brings up the encode options
       (see below). Press Return to accept the options or any other key
       to edit the defaults. Once the mode has been changed, you can
       select the files you want to be encoded and where you want to put
       them. Pressing Cmd-E will automatically jump to editing the options. 

    C. Options

       a) Format

          Select which format to encode with: binscii, base64 or uucode.

       b) Type

          Select whether the file is formatted for Apple or Unix.

       b) Segments

          This is how many binscii segments will stored per file. The main
          benefits to storing multiple segments per file are speed and not
          gumming up your directories with lots of little files. You can
          choose from 1-9, or "?" which lets it store up to 256 segments in
          one file (4 megabytes).

       c) Size

          This is how big the binscii segment will be. The default, 16k, is
          the best; smaller sizes may allow you to better use binscii in a
          bulletin board environment. The binscii header is fairly large so
          stick with the largest size if at all possible.

 3. Format notes

    A. Base64

       Base64 is an encoding scheme used by MIME message systems, what
       you might get if someone attached a file to your email.

       Decode does not automatically decode the multiple parts of a file
       that has been split.

       Encode does not properly set the MIME type, generate a complete MIME
       message, or split large files.

    B. Binscii

       Binscii is an encoding scheme used primarily by Apple II users,
       it has a slightly higher overhead but has good split file support
       as well as error detection.

       Decode supports all features.

       Encode supports all features.

    C. UUcode

       UUcode is an encoding scheme originating on Unix machines.

       Decode does not automatically decode the multiple parts of a file
       that has been split.

       Encode does not split large files.

 4. Browse-King(tm) mini-browser

    The browser has some new features this time around:

     - alphabetized file lists

     - expanded filetype descriptions

    And the command set this time around:

     - Up and Down move up and down the list of files.

     - Left moves back one directory level.

     - Space allows you to mark multiple files.

     - Tab lets you select from a list of online volumes.

     - Cmd+Left|Right switches to the previous|next online volume with files.

     - Return and Right select a directory or file.

     - D sets Decode mode.

     - E sets Encode mode.

     - Ctrl-A selects or deselects all files.

     - Ctrl-Z toggles between normal and showing all files.

     - Esc exits the program.

     - L brings up the launch list

     - Cmd-L launches the SYS or S16 file.

 5. Launch list

    As much fun as decoding and encoding files can be, we understand that
    you'll generally want to run some other program after BscIT.

    The launch list (a text file named 'launch.lst' in the same directory
    as BscIT) lets you set up a list of SYS (or S16 if you've run GS/OS)
    programs that can be launched. The format for this file is:

      filename1
      /pathname/of/file1/      
      filename2
      /pathname/of/file2/
      ...     

    Yes, this is the same file format and name that 2qwk! uses so you don't
    need to use two seperate files if you place them in the same directory.

    If you use Ctrl-Z to show all files you can launch the application under
    the highlight cursor with Cmd-L.

 6. Speed (decoding a 64k binscii file)

    BscIT uses highly optimized assembly to do it's conversions, what
    does that mean to you? Generally, a 2-3x faster translation.

    BscIT     BinSCII   GScii+    Sscii
    -----     -------   ------    -----
      18s         56s                         1.0 MHz
       8s         25s      23s      28s       2.8 MHz
       3s         10s      11s      14s       7.0 MHz

 7. Comments

    As always, any comments or bug reports can be sent to:

    ericlob@cris.com or brian.hammack@rook.wa.com