Working with DropStuff® Preferences

DropStuff Preferences can be used to change the compression format used by DropStuff when it creates archives, to set the level of compression used, and to set advanced options such as making self-expanding and encrypted archives.

Stuffing Preferences

The Stuffing page contains settings that relate to how the application creates StuffIt archives.

Archive Type: DropStuff is able to create StuffIt (.sit) archives, or StuffIt X (.sitx) archives. The default archive type is .sitx.
Compression Level: As well as changing the format in which the archive will be created, you can also change the compression level that will be used when items are added to the archive. The choices are Faster and Better; as the names suggest the Faster compression method makes archives more quickly, and the Better compression method creates smaller archives. An additional choice, Custom is also available. When Custom is selected you can use the Expert Compression Settings dialog to determine how DropStuff will compress your files.
Encrypt Archives with a Passphrase: When this option is checked, the archives you create will be encrypted with a password. You will be prompted to provide a password before the compression begins. When you create an archive with encryption, be sure to make a careful note of your password.

Aladdin cannot recover files from encrypted archives if you have lost your password. Also note that passwords are case sensitive.
Make Self-Extracting for...: When checked, this preference will cause DropStuff to create self-extracting archives. Self-Extracting archives open automatically without any special expansion software. You can choose to create self-extracting archives for Mac OS Classic and Windows.
Add Error Correction: When this option is selected, the StuffIt X archive you create will contain error correction code to protect it from corruption caused by bad media, or transfer errors.

Options

The following options effect how DropStuff goes about the job of adding files to an archive.


Delete Originals After Stuffing: The original files that were compressed into the archive will be deleted from your hard drive when the archive is created. Use this preference with great caution. If an error occurs during stuffing, an archive may not be created and the original files may still be deleted. It is always recommended to keep backups of important files.
Stuff each Item as an individual archive: When this option is set, when you drag multiple items onto DropStuff, each item will be compressed as an archive. The items will not be combined into a single archive file as they are compressed.
DonŐt Stuff files that are already compressed: File types that are known to already include compression (such as Gif images, or QuickTime movies) will not be compressed when they are added to an archive. Selecting this option will save time where these types of files are involved. You may wish to deselect this option if you want DropStuff to attempt to further compress these files. In most cases these files will not significantly decrease in size enough to warrant the time spent to compress them.
Ignore Finder Desktop Files: When this option is set, DropStuff will not add Finder files (such as Desktop Database files or .DStore) to an archive.
Show Drag Window: When this option is set, DropStuff will display a drag and drop window when the application runs. You can compress files and folders by dragging them onto this window.

BinHex Settings

The options in the BinHexing page allow you to instruct DropStuff to BinHex encode a StuffIt or StuffIt X archive after it has been created. You can configure this behavior so that the archive is deleted after it has been encoded, and you can also choose to remove the .sit or .sitx from the file name; the archive will then be named file.hqx, rather than file.sitx.hqx.

Destination Settings

The settings in the Destination page determine where on your hard drive the new archive file will be created.

Same As Original: By default, the archive is created in the same location as the original files that were compressed.
Ask: This option causes DropStuff to prompt you to specify a location to which the archive will be saved.
Use: This option allows you to specify a location on your hard drive to which all archives created with DropStuff will be saved.

Version Checking

This option allows you to specify whether or not DropStuff should check online for updates or newer versions. This preference is on by default.

See also Advanced Format Options.

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