Intermediate Internet Skills:
Download, Expand, Install and Zip

Find a linked copy of this curriculum on:
www.wtvi.com/teks/ii

Last updated 7-14-2001
Please direct questions about this course to Wesley Fryer:
wesfryer@yahoo.com

QUICK LINKS
Tools for the TEKS: Integrating Technology in the Classroom - Lesson Links - TEA TAAS Guides - Harry Potter Pics

Yahooligans Downloader - Altavista Image Finder - Altavista Video Search
Webshots - Quicktime

Take the SurveyCourse Outline

  1. Before Starting
  2. Obtain the Software Tools You Need
  3. Downloading Files from the Internet
  4. Expanding (decompressing) Internet Files
  5. Installing Files
  6. Zipping (compressing) files and sending them as email attachments
  7. Resources: Software Tools and Websites

1. Before Starting:

Workshop Objective: This class will familiarize participants with the software tools and techniques needed to download and install a variety of software and file types from the internet. Participants will also learn how to compress one or multiple files as a single "zip" file and email it as an attachment to someone else.

If you are not familiar with surfing the internet using Internet Explorer or copying and pasting text/graphics from a web browser to another application, you should learn and practice these skills before taking this workshop.
ACTIVITY ASSIGNMENT: Try the Texas Heritage Scavenger Hunt to test your copy/paste skills.

These instructions are for Windows and Macintosh users running Internet Explorer as their web browser (IE 4.5 or newer for Mac and 5.0 or newer for Windows). If you need to download & install Internet Explorer, visit:

These instructions also assume you already have either a direct or dial-up connection to the internet set up on your computer.

Windows users: Unless the directions specify "right click," assume all instructions to "click" mean a SINGLE click with the LEFT mouse button. (Macintosh users just have one mouse button, so this is N/A for them.)

 A little about transfer rates / download speeds:

How to Download/Install Files: The Short Answer

  1. Make a special download directory.
  2. Find and download the software.
  3. Decompress the archive.
  4. Install the software.
  5. Delete the compressed file.

2. Obtain the Software Tools You Need

Downloadable files on the internet come in three general breeds:

  1. Uncompressed files that are ready to open immediately (Examples: Adobe pdf documents or Microsoft Word files).
  2. Compressed files that "expand" automatically on your hard drive and don't require any additional software to install and use.
  3. Compressed files that require a file expansion program to install and use.

I recommend using Aladdin System's Stuffit Expander for file decompression: it is free and cross-platform.

For file compression programs, the following shareware programs work well:

Instructions for downloading these software tools:

  1. For Macintosh users:
    1. Download Stuffit Expander:
      1. To download Stuffit Expander, go to http://www.aladdinsys.com/expander/expander_mac_login.html
      2. Scroll down to the log in form and fill it out. Only enter your real email address and check the boxes if you want to receive junk mail from Aladdin about their products. You CAN use a false name and email address.
      3. Click the GO TO DOWNLOAD button.
      4. Click the link to download Stuffit Expander under the heading "I HAVE A BINHEX DECODING UTILITY." (If you are have any version of Netscape or Internet Explorer installed on your computer, you should have an older version of this program already.)
      5. The download should begin in the background.
      6. To see the progress, select the "Window" menu at the top of the screen and select "Download manager" a few seconds after you click the link to download:
      7. Note that the download manager shows you a progress bar, an estimated time to completion, the amount transferred so far, the total file size, and the current speed of the download.
      8. If you don't already "have a binhex decoding utility," you can optionally have Stuffit Expander emailed to you: http://www.aladdinsys.com/expander/notes.html
    2. Minimize / Hide your web browser: Hold down the OPTION key and click outside the Internet Explorer window on the desktop.
    3. Install Stuffit Expander:
      1. Find the downloaded file and double click it: It should be located on the desktop.
      2. If you cannot find it, go to EDIT - PREFERENCES in Internet Explorer and click DOWNLOAD OPTIONS on the left side (see image at right). The default download folder will be listed at the top of the window. You can change it if desired.
      3. Follow the instructions to install the program on your hard drive, in the folder of your choice.
      4. At the end of the installation, choose OK to make Stuffit Expander the default file expansion utility for your Internet programs.
    4. Download file compression software:
      1. To install DropZip for Macintosh, go to http://www.aladdinsys.com/dropzip/macindex.html.
      2. Scroll down to the log in form and fill it out. Only enter your real email address and check the boxes if you want to receive junk mail from Aladdin about their products. You CAN use a false name and email address.
      3. Click the GO TO DOWNLOAD button.
      4. Click once on the download link for DropZip.
      5. The download should begin in the background.
      6. Install DropZip just like you installed Stuffit Expander above.
  2. For Windows users:
    1. Download the software:
      1. To download both Aladdin Expander and DropZip at the same time, go to http://www.aladdinsys.com/dropzip/winindex.html.
      2. If you just want Aladdin Expander, go to http://www.aladdinsys.com/expander/expander_win_login.html.
      3. Scroll down to the log in form and fill it out. Only enter your real email address and check the boxes if you want to receive junk mail from Aladdin about their products. You CAN use a false name and email address.
      4. Click the GO TO DOWNLOAD button.
      5. Click the link to download Stuffit Expander
      6. You will be prompted with a "File Download" window.
      7. Make sure "Save this program to disk" is selected and click OK.
      8. Choose to save the file to the desktop in a new folder. Click the "down arrow" at the top of the dialog window and choose DESKTOP. Choose to save to the desktop
      9. Next, click the new folder icon:Click the New Folder icon
      10. Enter a name for the folder, then press the enter key. (You might name it "temp" since it will be just a temporary folder)
      11. Double click the folder or click OPEN to choose to Save the file inside.
      12. Click SAVE to start the download.
      13. Windows download graphicA download window should pop up that indicates the destination folder for the download (where the file is being saved), the current transfer rate, and sometimes an estimate for the time left till completion. The total amount of the file downloaded so far is shown at the bottom of the screen on the taskbar icon for the download window: .
      14. If there is a problem with the downloaded file, you can RIGHT CLICK the provided link again and choose SAVE TARGET AS. Then specify the download folder and click SAVE.
    2. Minimize / Hide your web browser: Click the minimize button (flat line) in the upper right corner of the screen to show the desktop: Minimize
    3. Install DropZip and Expander Software:
      1. Double click the folder TEMP on the desktop.
      2. Double click the file inside, which is the file you downloaded: Windows icon
      3. Follow the instructions to install the program on your hard drive. Click YES / NEXT / OK repeatedly to accept all default settings.
      4. On the last screen before you click FINISH, you can choose to leave the box checked to view the README file and continue to use Expander.

3. Downloading Files from the Internet

To download a file from the internet, usually it will automatically download to the default location specified in your browser (Macintosh) or download to a location you specify at the time (Windows).

In some cases, your web browser may not recognize that you want to download an internet file. It may mistakenly try to open the file within the browser window. In this case:

ACTIVITY ASSIGNMENT: Find a print driver for a Hewlett Packard 4050N Laserjet Printer

Then specify where you would like the file saved.

Macintosh Users: Always choose to download in MAC BINARY format instead of BINHEX format if you are given a choice. Macbinary file sizes are always smaller and therefore faster to download.

File Types

In order to properly open a downloaded file with the correct application, or run the program (if it is an executable file), your computer must associate the file with its correct file type. File extensions are the three characters which often follow a period in a file name.

Some common file extensions / types are:

Windows computers ONLY associate file types with the three character extension that follows the file name. If the file does not have a three character extension or it has the wrong one, Windows will not use the correct application to open the file. Internet Explorer uses the same file type associations as Windows. Therefore, if you want to change the default application that handles a file type when it is downloaded, you need to change the way Windows handles them.

Changing How Windows Handles File Types
  1. Open up any folder within Windows.
  2. From the VIEW menu, select OPTIONS.
  3. Select the File Types tab .

To alter the way that Windows currently handles a file type, select the file type from the list and click the Edit button. To tell Windows how to handle a file type that it does not currently handle, click the New Type button.

Once you have changed the way that Windows handles file types, Internet Explorer will begin to handle the various file types just the same.

Macintosh computers associate file types with BOTH three character extensions following filenames and invisible file type code saved with the file. Sometimes, when a file is saved on an internet server and downloaded, it loses the invisible file type markers encoded with the file. In this case, Macintosh computers use the file extensions to associate file types.

Mac IE 5 File Type PrefsThese file type associations are specified by the preference settings in your web browser. To view your settings, in Internet Explorer choose EDIT - PREFERENCES, and select "File Helpers" under RECEIVING FILES.

 

You can add, change, or delete file associations by clicking the buttons at the bottom of the window. Usually, it is best to just leave these set at their defaults. When you install a new plug-in or utility program (like Stuff-it Expander), these settings will often be changed automatically.

Virus Warnings

The two most common ways of getting a virus on your computer or school network are:

  1. Receiving files as email attachments (and usually opening them, although this is not always required) that release viruses
  2. Downloading files that are infected with a virus

Some recommendations to keep your computer / lab / network virus free:

  1. Use only Macintosh computers! (over 90% of all known viruses affect only Windows computers)
  2. Run virus protection software on all your computers, all the time. Completely restart each computer at least once per week, since the full virus scan does not usually take place unless the computer shuts down completely.
  3. Update the virus definitions on your computer as often as possible
  4. Only download files from known, reputable websites (corporate sites, not personal Geocities sites, student homepages on .edu servers, etc.) Some shareware sites (like ZDNet - http://www.zdnet.com/downloads) indicate the date and time the file to download was scanned for viruses, and the virus scan program that was used.
  5. Set the preferences in your email program to not download attachments to your local hard drive which exceed a certain size (like 40 K). In Outlook Express 5.0 for Macintosh, this is done from the TOOLS menu under ACCOUNTS: Check the box next to "partially retrieve messages over ___ K and enter the file size restriction you want (40K works well). (See the graphic at right) By not downloading large attachments, you can often determine by the sender and name of the file whether or not you want to open the file. This makes your email connections faster, and can avoid long waits / huge downloads when someone sends you a big file like a video clip as an email attachment.
  6. If you don't know someone who has sent you a file, don't open the file.
  7. If you receive a message from someone you know, but a personal message does not accompany the file in the body of the email message, don't open it. Some viruses (also known as "worms") automatically send virus infected files to all the people in a user's address book.
  8. Before opening an attached file from someone, email them back to ask what it is and confirm they have scanned the file for viruses.
  9. Set your virus protection program to automatically scan files downloaded into your attachments folder.

McAfee's Glossary of Virus terms is a good resource for learning more about viruses: http://www.mcafee.com/viruses/virus_glossary.asp

Copyright Warnings

Software piracy is flourishing as never before in the internet age. Unscrupulous people often post pirated (stolen / unlicensed) software and files on the internet. MP3 audio files are often illegally made copies of CD tracks distributed by people who do not have the legal right to redistribute them.

In this day of legalistic jargon, if a downloaded software program doesn't have some sort of legal statement in the README file or installer, watch out! This is certainly not a guarantee that the file is legal, however.

Ultimately, as the computer user or lab administrator, you are responsible for making sure the software downloaded and running on your computers is legally licensed. If you are not sure if a file is really "freeware" or "shareware," and cannot verify it, don't keep it!

Shareware software means that if you use it beyond a certain amount of time (usually 30 days), you are expected to pay a small fee to the developer. Freeware does not require a fee to be paid, but sometimes developers will request that you register so they know how many people are using their product.

Plug-Ins

Plug-Ins are files that are installed in a special folder for use by your web browser. They extend the capabilities of your web browser by letting you display / view other media content from within your web browser. Several lists of current plugins are available:

If you do not have a plug-in installed for the media type you are trying to download and view, you will usually need a third party software application to view / play the downloaded file. A good list of available third party programs is available on ESC 20's site:

Shareware / Freeware can really screw up your computer

Be careful when you choose to install shareware or freeware software applications. The developers of software like this may or may not know what they are doing, and they can create conflicts with programs you already have installed on your computer.

It is a good idea to make a backup (to a removable disk like a zip drive or to the network file server) of any vital files you really don't want to lose before you install new software. This is actually a good idea with ANY software, but it is especially important for shareware / freeware.

Websites for Downloading Software

  1. http://www.shareware.com
  2. http://download.cnet.com
  3. http://www.jumbo.com/
  4. http://dir.yahoo.com/Computers_and_Internet/Software/Shareware/
  5. About.com's Guide to Freeware/Shareware - http://shareware.about.com/compute/shareware/
  6. Just for Macintosh:
    1. http://www.macupdate.com/
    2. http://www.macdownload.com - ZDNet's Macintosh Software library
  7. Just for Windows:
    1. http://www.davecentral.com/windows.html - Dave Central Software Archive
    2. http://www.zdnet.com/downloads - ZDNet's Windows Software library

4. Expanding (decompressing) Internet Files

When you click on a link to download an internet file now, your web browser should be configured to automatically use Aladdin/Stuffit Expander software to decompress the file.

Sometimes when a Macintosh downloads a .bin file (Macbinary format) it will not automatically open with Stuffit Expander. On a Windows computer, if you right click the download link and choose SAVE TARGET AS, Stuffit Expander will not automatically decompress the file.

Uncompressed Documents

If the downloaded file has a document extension (like .doc, .cwk. .xls, etc) you should be able to double click it and open it in the appropriate application. If the correct application does not open it (and the computer doesn't give you a choice of what application to use), try opening the file WITHIN the application:
  1. Launch the application you want to use (Example: MS Word)
  2. Choose FILE - OPEN and navigate to the folder where you saved the internet file
  3. If you do not see the file in the window, choose to SHOW ALL FILES at the bottom of the file opening dialog window
  4. Double click the file name to open it within the application.

Some examples of files of this type are found on the LISD website. The technology purchasing spreadsheet is an Excel document: http://www.lubbock.k12.tx.us/docs_software/purchasing.html. NOTE THAT TO VIEW / USE THIS FILE, YOUR COMPUTER MUST HAVE MS EXCEL INSTALLED ON IT! Excel is not available for free: a software license must be purchased for it from Microsoft. (Sun Microsystems is now giving away a MS Office-like suite of productivity software called "StarOffice" that is compatible with MS Office documents, including Excel. Download it FREE at http://www.sun.com/products/staroffice/.)

Another common example is a pdf (portable document format) file. The LISD technology competency descriptions are saved pdf files: http://www.lubbock.k12.tx.us/ProfDevelopment/TeacherCompMatrix.htm. NOTE THAT TO VIEW /USE THIS FILE, YOUR COMPUTER MUST HAVE ADOBE ACROBAT READER INSTALLED ON IT! This program is available free (for Mac and Windows) on: http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep.html.

Executable or Self-Expanding Files

Windows: Files that end in .exe are executable files, and may be self-expanding. It is important to save these files in a new folder, because they may "unpack" a large number of files when they uncompress. Double click the .exe file to expand it once it is in a new folder.

Macintosh: Files that end in .sea are "self extracting archives" and do not require a decompression utility. Simple double click the files to unpack them. Unpacked files will usually be automatically placed in a new folder, but you may want to create one and choose to unpack the files into it to be on the safe side.

After the file expands, you can delete the original compressed file from your hard drive.

Compressed Files

Files that end in extensions like .hqx or .bin or .zip are compressed and need to be unpacked. To expand (decompress) a downloaded internet file on either a Windows or Macintosh computer, you can either:

  1. Drag the file and drop it on top of the shortcut / alias to Aladdin/Stuffit Expander on the desktop.
  2. Open the Expander application and from the FILE menu, choose EXPAND. Locate the file you downloaded on your hard drive (either on the desktop or on the desktop in the "temp" folder) and double click to expand it.

After the file expands, you can delete the original compressed file from your hard drive.

5. Installing Files

Windows:

Macintosh:

To run an installed program, either:

On a School network, it is handy to create a folder especially for software downloads so you can access installer programs from any computer:

  1. Have your network administrator grant you access rights (read AND write privileges) to a folder on the network (the F: drive for Windows machines with a Novell server in LISD, the volume YOURSCHOOL.SYS for Macs with a Novell server.)
  2. You probably want this folder set up so students don't have access to see the folder, or don't have write privileges (so they can't delete your files).
  3. If you are in a cross platform environment, create one folder for Mac files and another for Windows files.
  4. Copy expanded / decompressed copies of installer folders into the appropriate folder on the network.
  5. You can then run one of the installer programs you've copied to the network from any client computer on your network. You won't have to download it again, expand it, etc. This will grow into your own local software archive.

6. Zipping (compressing) files and sending them as email attachments

  1. Move the files you want to compress onto the desktop.
  2. Select the file(s) you want to compress:
    • If you just want to compress one file, just click on it once
    • If you want to compress more than one file, hold down the CONTROL key (Windows) or SHIFT key (Macintosh( and select more than one file.
  3. Drag one of the selected files and drop it on top of the desktop shortcut for DropZip. The program will open and create a zipped file on the desktop.
  4. Make sure your file name is acceptable. Rename it if necessary. General filename rules that will keep you out of trouble are:
    • Don't include any spaces or special characters (!@#$%^&*) in the name.
    • Limit the name to eight characters followed by the extesion .zip
  5. Open your email program. In it, compose a new message and click the button to add an ATTACHMENT
  6. Browse to locate the attachment: yours is on the desktop, where you created it as a compressed zip archive.
  7. Send your email.

File Size Warning

Be careful not to send people huge attachment files. On a dialup modem it will take a long time for them to download. Some ISP's limit the amount of space email can occupy, and a large email attachment may max out a recipient's allotted server space for email.

Some email providers (like Yahoo) also limit the size of email messages. A workaround for this is to either:

ACTIVITY ASSIGNMENT: If you do not already have a web-based email account, sign up for one with Yahoo and use this account to email someone else in the workshop a zipped file of images from CNN.

7. Resources - Software Tools and Websites:

Image/Video/Sound Resources

Download or Update Internet Explorer:

Plug-Ins (Installed in a special folder for use by your web browser)

File compression programs:

Freeware/Shareware Picks:

Websites for Downloading Software

  1. Download A La Mode: Download resources from ESC20
  2. http://www.shareware.com
  3. http://download.cnet.com
  4. http://www.jumbo.com/
  5. http://dir.yahoo.com/Computers_and_Internet/Software/Shareware/
  6. About.com's Guide to Freeware/Shareware - http://shareware.about.com/compute/shareware/
  7. Just for Macintosh:
    1. http://www.macupdate.com/
    2. http://www.macdownload.com - ZDNet's Macintosh Software library
  8. Just for Windows:
    1. http://www.davecentral.com/windows.html - Dave Central Software Archive
    2. http://www.zdnet.com/downloads - ZDNet's Windows Software library

Tools for the TEKS home | Article Archive | Technology Workshops
Mailing List | Feedback | Tools and Techniques | Technology Idea Exchange

Contact me using this webform.

Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons License.

Banner 10000026