How to use archives

Some packages are provided as .zip files, which can be extracted with pkunzip or any Windows (un)zipper like WinZip. Be sure to keep the long filenames and the directory information which is provided in some archives. Others are provided as .tar.gz files. It is a common Unix format based on an uncompressed tape archive file (.tar) that is compressed in a second step (.gz). Recent versions of WinZip and possibly other tools support this format. When you open a .tar.gz file using WinZip, the software will either offer you to open the single .tar archive (simply accept this) or it will ask you to provide a filename for the single file it detects. Provide a filename with the suffix .tar, and the software will offer you to open this .tar archive. Then you can proceed as you would with any .zip archive. To simplify this whole procedure, you should make sure that your browser does not mangle the filename and replace all but the last dot with underscores in the "Save as" dialog when you download an archive.