How do I decode a Macintosh file with a .bin extension?
Although it is occasionally used to represent other formats, a
.bin extension indicates that the file has most likely
been encoded in MacBinary, a file encoding protocol common
to Mac OS, and to a lesser extent, Mac OS X. The
file is probably an archive, application, or other binary
file encoded to protect the Mac's forked file
structure. To decode a MacBinary document in Mac OS, Mac OS X,
or Windows, use StuffIt Expander. Simply drag and drop the
file onto the StuffIt Expander icon and it will decode the
file. When necessary, it will also decompress the file into a usable
form. If dragging and dropping doesn't work, double-click the
StuffIt Expander icon and, from the File menu,
select Expand. In the Open dialog box that
appears, choose the file you wish to convert.
Most dedicated FTP and SFTP programs (e.g.,
Transmit and Fetch) can also decode MacBinary
files, and so can some mail clients (e.g., Eudora). Other
programs, such as Internet Explorer, will automatically
decode any file with the .bin extension as long as
StuffIt Expander is installed.
StuffIt Expander is available from Smith Micro. The Mac version is included with later versions of Mac OS and early versions of Mac OS X (up through OS X 10.3.x).
Note: To correctly decode MacBinary III files, you must have StuffIt Expander 5.0 or higher. Older versions will work to some extent, but won't extract icon badges and routing information, which are Finder features introduced in Mac OS 8.5.
Last modified on March 27, 2009.
