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How to .zip files on 10.2 Jaguar?

CTB

Well-known member
I have a bunch of files on my MacMini running 10.2.7. I want to zip them but can't find a compression utility on the machine such as the newer versions of Mac OS X have. I need a compression utility for 10.2.7 but can't seem to find one anywhere.

Suggestions?
 

CTB

Well-known member
Gzip worked but it mustn’t have got the command right. It still kept the folder structures but gziped everything in the folders.
 

cheesestraws

Well-known member
gzip is not the same thing as zip. gzip will only compress individual files - that's why you see .tar.gz as a popular archive format on UNIX. Tar bundles up a directory structure into a single file, and gzip compresses it. And gzip files are not compatible with zip compressors or decompressors. Different name, different file format.

If you want to create zip files specifically under 10.2 I'm pretty sure you'll need a third party tool.

If you just want to compress stuff, I thought under 10.2 you could just right click and choose 'compress' and you'd end up with a .Z file, but I might be misremembering and that might have come in later. But I thought that was in from the ex-NeXTSTEP days.

Bear in mind that under early OS X a lot of command line tools don't play terribly nicely with Mac metadata. So if they're Mac files you want to compress, grab an OS X specific application, don't just assume that the command line tools will work properly.
 

joshc

Well-known member
I think this is why Stuffit was still commonly used in the early OS X days, its usage didn't drop off until a bit later.
 

CTB

Well-known member
There is no compress option when right clicking under 10.2, that was the first thing I tried.

I am still hoping to find a zip utility for 10.2. I Don’t want to use StuffIt as I want to future proof as much as possible.
 

Phipli

Well-known member
If you just want to compress stuff, I thought under 10.2 you could just right click and choose 'compress' and you'd end up with a .Z file, but I might be misremembering and that might have come in later. But I thought that was in from the ex-NeXTSTEP days.
That turned up in 10.3
 

Phipli

Well-known member
I am still hoping to find a zip utility for 10.2. I Don’t want to use StuffIt as I want to future proof as much as possible.
Stuffit Deluxe will make Zips as well as other formats I believe. You might have to take care with resource forks. .zip isn't the best format for old mac stuff.
 

Forrest

Well-known member
According to my info, the first Mac Mini had a 1.25 GHz G4 and shipped with 10.3.7. Zip support should be built into the OS
 

Phipli

Well-known member
According to my info, the first Mac Mini had a 1.25 GHz G4 and shipped with 10.3.7. Zip support should be built into the OS
Yeah, but you can sometimes install an older OS than the one a machine shipped with. G4 Minis will boot with versions of 10.2.
 
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Forrest

Well-known member
Seems like a good reason to upgrade. OSX 10.4.11 Tiger runs fast on most G4 Macs. 10.5.x was a bit slower.
 

LaPorta

Well-known member
StuffIt Deluxe had standalone applications included in its package. Those included not only StuffIt Expander, but DropTar and DropZip. DropZip for OS X is what you need.

Check the garden for Stuffit 7 or the like.
 
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