Dealing with Files Too Big to Fit on a Floppy Disk

You basically have one option. If a file is too big for a floppy and you can’t break the file into pieces (which you can’t in this case), you have to "squish" the file. More technically, you need to "compress" it. This part is a little complicated, so be patient. NOTE:  This only pertains to DOS/Windows computers.

Most computer files contain lots of repetitive data sequences, much of which can eliminated. There are various ways of compressing files, but the most common one involves two small DOS programs called "pkzip.exe" and "pkunzip.exe". "Zipping" a file up means compressing it, and "unzipping" it means decompressing (expanding) it.

These two programs are already loaded on the ALAN server.

First, get out a totally blank 1.44Mb (High Density) disk. You’re gonna fill this sucker up, so you don’t want anything else on it.

If you’re in Windows, go to a DOS prompt. (You don’t have to quit Windows.)

At the DOS prompt, type the following exactly:

g:\public\pkzip a:wlman87.zip c:\wlman87.pdf

This assumes that you stored the file in the root directory (C:\).

This says "make a ZIP file called wlman87.zip on the A: drive using the file c:\wlman87.pdf". As it’s working, you’ll see it "deflating" the file. The end result will not be spectacular, as the compression will only be about 8%. However, that’s enough to shrink the file from 1,505,385 bytes down to 1,396,058 bytes. It will now fit on your floppy.

Now, because you’ll want to be able to decompress the file anywhere you take your disk, you need to keep a copy of the pkunzip.exe program. At the DOS prompt, type the following exactly:

copy g:\public\pkunzip.exe a:

By now, your disk is nearly full. However, you have what you need: a compressed file, and the program needed to decompress it.

Later, you can sit down at another computer, decompress your file onto the hard drive, and read to your heart’s content. Here’s all you do:

Log in to ALAN, put your disk in the drive, and go to a DOS prompt. At the DOS prompt, type:

a:pkunzip a:wlman87.zip c:\wlman87.pdf

Go back to Windows, surf to the g:\public\acroread directory, and double-click on acroread.exe.

After it loads, go to the File menu, Open, and surf to c:\wlman87.pdf.

Note: When you’re finished reading, please delete the .pdf file from the hard drive of the computer you’re using. Don’t leave a bunch of trash files around that nobody else knows what to do with.