Aladdin Expander Offers Free One-Step Universal File Decompression for All Popular Formats Found Online

Business Wire, July 23, 1998

WATSONVILLE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--July 23, 1998--

Aladdin Systems Provides New 32-Bit Decompression Freeware for Windows With "Expand Your Horizons" Web Contest: www.aladdinsys.com

Aladdin Systems ships Aladdin Expander(TM) version 2.0 for Windows today, a freeware product that gives Windows users an easy way to expand all the popular compressed and encoded files downloaded from online services and the Internet.

Aladdin Expander 2.0, expected to post after 3:00 p.m.PST, is also the only Windows decompression tool that can expand StuffIt(R)-compressed files, the standard compression utility on the Macintosh.

Users who want to download the Windows decompression tool and enter the contest on Aladdin's web site (http://www.aladdinsys.com/expander) have a chance to win a travel voucher, a travel bag and software.

"Aladdin Expander is the only solution for Windows users that easily handles the myriad of file formats found online," said Jonathan Kahn, VP sales. "We've introduced our new Windows product in a fun way with the 'Expand Your Horizons' web contest. It lets users know there are alternatives to the decompression products currently available and Aladdin Expander can handle the formats found online that others can't."

Aladdin Expander Features: -0-

--   Supports long file names
--   32-bit support; Native to Windows 95/98/NT 4.0
--   Access to the most popular formats found online
--   Private File decryption capabilities
--   Support for MIME/Base64 encoded files
--   Joins Macintosh-segmented archives
--   Free, one-step file expansion

-0- Windows 95/98/NT 4.0 Native

Aladdin Expander supports long file names and 32-bit operation. As users upgrade their operating system, Aladdin Expander offers universal decompression to take advantage of these added features.

Access Online File Formats

Aladdin Expander decompresses files from the most popular archiving and compression formats found online, including Zip (.zip) and StuffIt (.sit) and it expands encoded files in UUencode (.uue), BinHex (.hqx), and MacBinary (.bin) formats. Other archive formats supported include Arc (.arc), Arj (.arj), and gzip (.gz). Aladdin Expander will also expand self-extracting archives created by StuffIt, Zip, and Arj.

Private File Decryption

Aladdin Expander has decryption capabilities for Private File (.pf), Aladdin's commercial security software that allows users to easily send encrypted documents over the Internet safely. With Private File, users can send encrypted documents to other Private File users AND to anyone that has Aladdin Expander installed on their computer.

The Private File or Expander recipient can decompress and decrypt the document(s), provided they have the correct password. Now, users can easily trade Windows or Macintosh files without worrying about access or platform compatibility.

Join Mac-Segmented Archives

Aladdin Expander is the only Windows utility that allows users the ability to join segmented archives made by StuffIt on the Macintosh. Now, large Macintosh files that have been split into smaller, more manageable files can be joined quickly on Windows machines.

Aladdin Expander users can configure it to perform periodic checks on the contents of the "watch directory," so compressed files added to the directory will be automatically expanded. With this feature, the online user can set Aladdin Expander to expand files in the background while others are being downloaded.

Users can also associate compressed file types with Aladdin Expander, so that double-clicking a compressed file will automatically expand it. Alternatively, a user can drag-and-drop compressed files on the Aladdin Expander desktop drop box or use the Explorer contextual menu to expand them.

Aladdin Expander takes advantage of the Explorer contextual menu which gives users easy access to Aladdin Expander's most important features, such as expanding files, setting destinations for expanded files, and configuring cross-platform options.

Aladdin Expander's cross-platform settings make it easy for Windows and Macintosh users to exchange compressed files, without worrying about file format differences. Aladdin Expander for Windows also offers a comprehensive help system designed to assist users with software operation.

Availability, Pricing, and Requirements

Aladdin Expander is expected to post on the Aladdin Systems' web site (http://www.aladdinsys.com) after 3:00 p.m. PST, then on CompuServe and AOL. Aladdin Expander for Windows is also distributed through online information services, bulletin board systems, the Internet, user groups, and freeware collections.

Aladdin Expander is copyrighted software. It is available as a free executable (.exe) download or on diskette directly from Aladdin Systems for $7.50(US).

Aladdin Expander is compatible with Windows 95/98/NT 4.0. Users of Windows 3.1 should use StuffIt Expander for Windows 1.0. For more information on Aladdin Expander go to (http://www.aladdinsys.com/expander).

Aladdin Systems: Making access transparent -- Founded in 1988, Aladdin Systems Inc. celebrates 10 years of developing award-winning business and consumer products. Aladdin develops StuffIt(R), the Macintosh compression standard which offers comprehensive solutions for compression, translation, and archiving. Other products: Aladdin FlashBack(TM), provides unlimited Undo's and instant access to any version of any document; and Private File(TM), the easiest cross-platform security software. Aladdin products are designed to help make life easier by helping users take full advantage of their computer.