Helper Applications and Plug-Ins
The Problem:
Helper applications or plug-ins are programs that your Web Browser
uses to play/display file formats it can not handle. Because there
are many kinds of media in existence and many kinds of formats each
kind of media can be stored in, it is not possible for your Web Browser
to be able to handle all of them. Sometimes, you may come accross a new
format just created or a format that is not that popular or simply one
not yet handled by your browser. What do you do?
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The Solution: You must find a program that can play/display the media format in
question and install it on your machine and configure your Web Browser
to automatically call this helper program any time it comes across
this media format on the Web.
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How do you do it?
- Well, you must first know whay kind/format
of media you are trying to view. This is usually characterized by the file
extension used:
Examples:
paper.doc ----> This is a Microsoft Word Document (.doc)
paper.gif ----> This is an Image of format type GIF (.gif)
paper.ppt ----> This is a Power Point Presentation (.ppt)
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- Secondly, you must find a helper application/ Web browser plug-in
that will play/display the media. You can find this by searching
on the web for the application. For example, if you were looking for
a Helper Application that will let you view .WRL/.wrl files which are
Virtual Reality Markup Language (VRML) files, you could search
at your favorite search engine with the following strings:
Example Search Strings:
VRML player
Virtual Reality player
WRL player
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- Lastly, you will need to follow the instructions to download your
helper application. Commonly, the installation process will automatically
update your browser's Preferences section that lets it know from know on
whenever it sees the media format in question to call this helper application.
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Browse below to learn about the many available Helper Apps and Plug-Ins.
Find where they may be
downloaded to your system.
Remember the best way to find sites and resources is with a search engine, such as...
lycos
yahoo
The section below is a table adapted, but has omissions of changing technology
Common Internet File Formats
Updated from a table compiled by Eric Perlman and Ian Kallen
Last update: 1998
Find the file type you are looking for quickly in the INDEX, following the table
Note: This list is mainly intended for use on
PC's running MS-Windows and for
Macintosh computers.
This is only a partial list of what really is out there
but for these common platforms, the majority of the file types encountered
on-line can be handled with the referenced tools.
For compression info
for all platforms check the
comp.compression FAQ (126Kb).
Various File
Formats
File Suffix |
Format Description & Type |
How
to deal with it |
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|
|
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.arj |
PC format common to European
sites. |
Use
unArjMac or DeArj, however the resulting file will probably
not be usable on a mac. |
Use WinZIP to view and extract archives. | |
Use WinZIP to view and extract archives. | |
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|
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.au |
.au is the most common sound format found on the web.
|
Use Sound Player to play
it |
Use Waveform Hold and Modify to play it | |
Use Waveform Hold and Modify to play
it | |
|
|
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.aiff |
.aiff is also a semi-common sound format.
|
Use Sound Player to play it |
Use Waveform Hold and Modify to play it | |
Use Waveform Hold and Modify to play
it | |
|
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.bin |
Macbinary II Encoded File, or DOS/Win binary. Make sure to download as
MacBinary or Binary. |
Use Stuffit Expander to turn back into a usable
Macintosh file if it isn't already. |
Used with compiler/interpreter | |
Used with compiler/interpreter | |
|
|
|
.doc |
May be a DOS/Windows program or a DOS/Windows Self
Extracting Archive |
Use
MS-Word |
Use WordView to quickly display MS-Word
documents | |
Use WordView to quickly display MS-Word
documents | |
|
|
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.dwg .dxf |
Drawing files (2D and 3D) igmages from AutoDesk.
|
Unknown |
Search for Plug-In | |
Search for Plug-In | |
|
|
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.exe |
May be a DOS/Windows program or a DOS/Windows Self
Extracting Archive |
N/A |
Download
and launch it in its own temporary directory, it may spawn a number of
files and directories.
Self Extracting | |
Download and launch it in its own temporary directory, it may
spawn a number of files and directories.
Self Extracting | |
|
| | .gif |
GIF (Graphical Interchange Format), though not always the most
economical, is the most common graphics format found on the
Internet. Good for up to 256 colors, and supports interlacing and transparent images. |
Use GIFConverter
or JPEG View |
Use Lview Pro to view these graphics | |
Use
PolyView to view these graphics | |
| | | .gz |
.gz is the Gnu version of zip. It is a compression method
developed for use on UNIX systems. |
Use macgzip to view and extract archives. |
Use WinZIP to view and extract archives. | |
Use WinZIP to view and extract archives. | |
| | | .html (.shtml) .htm (.shtm) |
HTML (Hypertext Markup Language), the code the web is
written in. Plain text file.(.shtml is the parsed file with Server Side Includes) |
Use Netscape for MacIntosh to view the
file |
Use Netscape for Windows 3.1x to view the
file | |
Use Netscape for Windows95 and Windows NT to view the
file | |
| | | .hqx |
BinHex 4.0 - Encodes a Macintosh file into 7-bit text so
it can be safely transfered. Most Mac files appear in .hqx |
Use Stuffit Expander |
Use BinHex13 in a DOS window to un-binhex it
| |
Use BinHex13 in a DOS window to un-binhex it
| |
| | | .image |
Macintosh Disk Image, most commonly found on Apple's FTP
sites. |
Use Shrink Wrap to mount the disk image, and deal
with it like you would a floppy |
N/A | |
N/A | |
| | | .jpg .jpeg .jfif |
JPEG/JFIF, a 24 bit graphic format, generally best for photo-type images on the 'net. |
Use JPEG View |
Use Lview Pro to view these graphics | |
Use
PolyView to view these graphics | |
| | | .mpg .mpeg |
MPEG, the standard movie platform for the 'net.
|
Use sparkle to play them, or to convert them to
QuickTime. |
Use VMPEG with win32s to play MPEGs | |
Use VMPEG or Ladybug to play
MPEGs | |
| | | .mov .qt .movie .moov |
QuickTime Movie, Apple Macintosh native movie
platform. For QT movie to play on platform other than Mac, need to "flatten" the file. |
Use Sparkle, FastPlayer, MoviePlayer, SimpleText,
MicrosoftWord...
and many others. If the movie appears totaly white,
you may
need to use the Apple Quicktime VR Player
to see them. |
Use QuickTime for Windows, may need to flatten with program such as
Qflat. | |
Use QuickTime for Windows, may need to flatten with program such as
Qflat. | |
| | | .pdf |
Adobe Acrobat Portable Document Format, download as
Binary |
Use Adobe Acrobat Reader or Adobe Acrobat |
Use Adobe Acrobat Reader or Adobe
Acrobat | |
Use Adobe Acrobat Reader or Adobe
Acrobat | |
| | | .ps |
Postscript file. Plain text file, but not really
human-readable. |
Send to a Postscipt
printer with Laserwriter Font Utility or view
it onscreen using Ghostscript |
View it onscreen
using Ghostscript | |
View it onscreen
using Ghostscript | |
| | | .sit |
Stuffit Archive - Binary |
Download as
MacBinary, and use Stuffit Expander |
Use UnSit in a DOS window | |
Use UnSit in a DOS window | |
|
| | .sea |
Macintosh Self Extracting Archive |
Download as
MacBinary, and launch it. Self Extracting |
N/A | |
N/A | |
| | | .tar |
UNIX tar program takes seperate files and turns them into
one file.
Often also compressed. Extensions such .tar.Z, .tar.gz and .tgz (latter
two are equivalent) requires decompression first, then un-tar. Some
UNIX ftp servers will un-tar a file if you request it
without the ".tar" extention. |
Download and use Tar |
Use WinZIP to view and extract archives. | |
Use WinZIP to view and extract archives. | |
| | | .tiff .tif |
TIFF is a very large high quality image format. One of the most common for transfer of images across platforms, but be warned there are several flavors of TIFF>
|
Use JPEGView |
Use Lview Pro to view these graphics | |
Use
PolyView to view these graphics | |
| | | .txt |
A plain boring old Text File (but works on any platform). |
Use Microsoft Word,
Simple Text, BBEdit, whatever |
Use the
16 bit version of Programmer's File
Editor or Word or WordPad or whatever | |
Use
the 32 bit version of Programmer's File
Editor or Word or WordPad or whatever | |
| | | .uu .uue |
A uuencoded file. Typically this is done on a UNIX
command line:
uuencode OriginalFileName SecondFilename >
EncodedFile.uu
Then, after running:
uudecode EncodedFile.uu
One gets a file generated named:
SecondFileName
Using .uu as the extension is not required but is considered politely
explanatory for what
type of file it is. Increasing numbers of desktop mail and newsreading
programs will handle this type of encoding on the fly.
|
Use UU Undo to uudecode it |
Use WinCode to uudecode it | |
Use ESS-Code to uudecode it | |
| | | .wav |
Windows Wave format sound file. Largest availability of stock sound files. |
You can use SoundApp to play .wav files |
Use Waveform Hold and Modify to play it | |
Use Waveform Hold and Modify to play
it | |
| | |
.Z |
Unix Compressed File |
If you are
downloading via ftp most ftp servers will uncompress for you if you
drop the ".Z". Otherwise use Stuffit Expander
w/EE. | |
Use WinZIP to view and extract archives. | |
Use WinZIP to view and extract archives. | |
| | |
.zip |
pkzip, a common DOS/Windows compression format
|
Use ZipIt, Stuffit Expander w/ EE, or MacUnZip | |
Use WinZIP to view and extract archives. | |
Use WinZIP to view and extract archives. | |
Where to get the Software packages
- Adobe Acrobat Reader
- Freeware program from Adobe to
read Adobe Acrobat Portable Document Format files.
Source site: http://www.adobe.com/Software/Acrobat/
- BinHex13
- Use this in a DOS window to get the original file.
- ESS-Code
- A Windows 32 bit program. Allows drag and drop uuencoding/decoding
and
MIME support. Look for tile name like
ecdXXw95.zip where XX is a version number
ftp://ftp.cica.indiana.edu/pub/pc/win95/txtutil/
- Ghostscript
- Freeware program for viewing Postscript files on screen, saving to
PICT
format, etc. The program requires that you install a large (~6 MB)
collection of
files though. It also crashes alot.
Macintosh source site:
http://www.glyphic.com/free/macgs.html
To run Aladdin Ghostscript on a PC you need gs###ini.zip, gs###fn1.zip
and one of gs###dos.zip, gs###os2.zip, gs###win.zip or
gs###w32.zip.
Be sure to read the README and Index files in this
directory.
ftp://ftp.cs.wisc.edu/ghost/aladdin/
- GIFConverter
- Shareware program (~$30) for viewing and converting between GIF, PICT,
TIFF, RLE, JPEG (JFIF), EPSF, RIFF, Macpaint, StartupScreen and
"Scan Image" formats. Some primitive file editing can be done such as
cropping and re-sizing (scale-by-percent) and adjusting file resolution
and dither pattern.
GIFConverter will save GIFs in Interlaced format
if you choose, but cannot
handle transparent colors.
The main site:
http://www.kamit.com/gifconverter.html
- JPEGView
-
JPEGView is a freeware graphic program to read GIF, JPEG, TIFF, and
PICT
files.
Runs fast and will dither nicely to any size of screen/color
palette.
Source Site: http://mac.simplenet.com/graphics/jpegview
- Ladybug
- The Ladybug 1.00 for Windows95/NT can only play MPEG files less
than 800KB
but it looks promising, watch for updates.
- Laserwriter Font Utility
- This comes with your Macintosh. It's on the Printing Tools disk, or
it may
already be installed in your Utilities folder. If you need to download
it from
Apple, you can.
Source site: http://www.support.apple.com
- Lview Pro
-
Lviewpro provides support for a variety of graphics formats including
GIF '89
(transparent backgrounds), conversion between different formats and
image editing
functions.
Pick it up at
http://www.cmis.csiro.au/ITSG/lview.htm
- Netscape
- Netscape is by far one of the fastest and most powerfull World Wide Web browser.
http://netscape.com
- PolyView
- PolyView is a Windows NT/95 program that displays GIF, JPEG, TIFF,
and
photo-cd graphics files and converts between these file
formats.
http://www.polybytes.com/pvbetha.htm
- Programmer's File Editor
- Programmer's File Editor is a large-capacity multi-file programming
oriented e
ditor for Windows 3.1x, Windows NT on Intel
and PowerPC platforms, and
Windows 95.
http://www.lancs.ac.uk/people/cpaap/pfe
- QuickTime
-
QuickTime is Apple's video format. Players for Macintosh and Windows
are available.
http://quicktime.apple.com/
- Quicktime VR Player
- This is a QuickTime moview player that will aslo play QuickTine VR
movies
Source Site: http://qtvr.quicktime.apple.com/InMac.htm
More Information: http://qtvr.quicktime.apple.com/
- Shrinkwrap
- Shrinkwrap is a free Mac utility that allows you to mount and use
disk image
files as
if they were a mounted floppy disk. You can also copy disk
images
to floppies
with Shrinkwrap by simply dragging the floppy icon onto
Shrinkwrap.
http://wwwhost.ots.utexas.edu/mac/pub-mac-compression.html#shrinkwrap-142
- Sound Player
-
Sound Player is a multipurpose sound program that can record and play
back .au and
aiff format sounds.
http://wwwhost.ots.utexas.edu/mac/pub-mac-sound.html
- SoundApp
- SoundApp is a small featureless program that will play most audio
files you may find
http://wwwhost.ots.utexas.edu/mac/pub-mac-sound.html
- Sparkle
-
Sparkle is the best MPEG player for the mac. You can play and convert
between
Quicktime and MPEG.
Sumex: ftp://ftp.ncsa.uiuc.edu/Mac/Mosaic/Helpers/sparkle-245.hqx
- Stuffit Expander with Expander Enchancer
-
Stuffit Expander is the decompression program for the mac.
With Expander
Enchancer (It is installed when you install DropStuff)
you can expand a LOT
of formats!
get both Stuff Expander and Drop Stuff w/ EE from Aladdin
- Tar
- Tar 4.0 will read and write tar files.
gopher://gopher.archive.umich.edu:7055/40/mac/util/compression/tar4.0b.sit.hqx
- UNSIT
- UNSIT is a simple utility for PC users to extract files from a
StuffIt file.
http://www.opus.co.tt/library/atari1.htm
- UU Undo
- UU Undo is a simple program to decode uu encoded files on the mac.
http://helpdesk.uvic.ca/how-to/support/mac/uuundo.html
- VMPEG
-
VMPEG can play MPEG system layer streams containing both video and
audio.
This is a win32s program.
http://mirror.queen.it/cws/32video.html#vmpeg
- Waveform Hold and Modify (WHAM)
-
WHAM provides support for a variety of formats, conversion between them
and
file editing functions.
Pick it up from http://www.inc.net/disks/pc/wham131.exe
- WinCode
- Wincode is a Windows 3.x program which converts 8-bit BINARY (EXE,
COM,GIF,
etc) files to 7-bit ASCII (Text) files (and vice versa) through a
process
known as bit-shifting. Wincode currently supports UU/XX and Base64
(MIME
1.0 conformant) coding.
To be had from
http://www.surnames.com/organizations/agcig/shareware/wincode.htm
- WinZip
- WinZip is an essential tool for it's excellent handling of many
different
archiving and
compression formats. Downloads as a self-extracting
archive.
Get it off the Network and Computing Page at http://www.monterey.edu
- WordView
- For MS-Windows users, displaying Microsoft Word documents without
havin
g to allocate the memory resources
required to fire up MS-Word is very handy.
Get yours at
ftp://ftp.microsoft.com/Softlib/MSLFILES/
- ZipIt
- A fast program for the Macintosh to extract and create Zip archives.
Home Site: http://www.awa.com/softlock/zipit/zipit.html
Important file types not included within the above list include Schockware (for
Director, Authorware,
etc. from Macromedia), dxf/dwg viewers for 3D objects (Autodesk,
3DS files from Kinnetix, and
general layout viewers Envoy and Common Ground software.
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