I have used StuffIt Expander (freeware version) for sometime now, as I'm sure many of you have, it is the Macintosh standard for un-compressing files downloaded via the Internet for sometime now. So I never even considered the commercial product from Aladdin Systems, Inc. called StuffIt Deluxe 4.0. What a mistake! It is one of those programs that after you buy it, you kick yourself for not having it before, no really, it's that good.
StuffIt Deluxe 4.0 includes:
StuffIt Expander 4.0:
StuffIt Deluxe 4.0's StuffIt Expander is for un-stuffing .sit, .bin, .hqx, UUEncoded, .zip, and a host of other compression schemes including the once highly popular .tar (I'm showing my cyber-age on this one! ;->) format, but recognizes many more formats than the freeware version.
Drop Stuff 4.0:
StuffIt Deluxe 4.0's DropStuff is a drag and drop savvy compression program that allows you to create .sit, .sea (Self Extracting Archives) and has an option that allows password protection so that only the person you are sending it to can unstuff the archive (handy when working via a network or sending sensitive information*).
StuffIt Browser:
StuffIt Deluxe 4.0's StuffIt Browser is the coup-de-gras, it allows you to "open" archives and unstuff only what you want via a drag and drop window that shows the entire contents of an archive, once the window opens you simply drag and drop the item(s) you want unstuffed to your desktop or an open folder and that's it. You can choose a single file, several files or the whole archive.
This is the part of StuffIt Deluxe 4.0 that gave it the high rating. This feature of StuffIt Deluxe 4.0 is indispensable if you use compressed archives on a regular basis.=
Space Saver:
StuffIt Deluxe 4.0's Space Saver feature is a disk compression utility, and works like a charm. What this feature does is to compress files and folders or whole volumes (hard drives) while they are not in use. You simply select what you want compressed and when it's not being used it is compressed saving valuable hard drive space, when you open a Space Saver compressed item it automatically unstuffs, and then automatically restuffs when you quit using the item.
Magic Menu:
StuffIt Deluxe 4.0's Magic Menu is a menu bar addition that appears next to the "Special" menu, it allows compression of a highlighted item, decompression of a highlighted item, allows you to stuff and automatically e-mail** the stuffed item by launching your e-mail program for you with the archive already attached.
In a Nutshell:
StuffIt Deluxe 4.0 is a winner and some would say it is a must have, I would say it is a must have if you are downloading(receiving) and uploading(sending) stuffed files on a regular basis, or if you are a network manager*** and at minimum need to save space over the network. If you only download a file or two a month then the freeware version of StuffIt Expander will do fine(no disk compression though). But if you need more disk space, you send and receive files via e-mail or are a heavy shareware user, StuffIt Deluxe 4.0 is a God send. If StuffIt Deluxe 4.0 would have supported Netscape and Claris e-mailer mail I would have given it a rating of 5 !!!!
All in all, StuffIt Deluxe 4.0 is a program worth it's price and will serve you well.
PRO's:
CON's:
Reviewers Grade: 
3/4
* Remember there is NO software security feature that is 100% safe.
** Eudora, Micro$oft Mail and Quick Mail are supported, Netscape Mail and Claris E-M@iler are NOT supported.
*** There is a known network bug that can cause a system crash or archive corruption if several people try to change the same archive at the same time, Aladdin Systems, Inc. is working on a fix for this bug.
WilliamLH william@en.com
This article is Copyright (c) 1997 WilliamLH. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part in any form or medium without express written permission is prohibited.
