StuffIt Deluxe 8 permissions issues

Yesterday we covered a problem with StuffIt 8.0 whereby an application compressed in a StuffIt (.sit) archive that has been expanded by StuffIt Expander 8.0 will not launch (basically because the application does not have the execution bit set). Aladdin has provided a detailed explanation of the problem in a FAQ posted on their website. The FAQ includes three different solutions: (1) a Terminal procedure to set the execution bit on an affected application; (2) a downloadable, drag-and-drop utility that will set the execution bit; or (3) a recommendation to expand such StuffIt archives using an earlier version of StuffIt Expander (i.e., 7.x or earlier).

Aladdin recommends, as a longer-term solution, that developers and users archive applications using the .sitx format, which correctly understands and sets the execute bit on application files (but which is only available to users of StuffIt 7.0 and later). Aladdin also states that they will be releasing an update for StuffIt Deluxe 8 and Standard 8 that addresses this issue. (It isn't clear whether StuffIt 7 products will receive a similar update.)

Udpate: Several users report that Aladdin's third suggested solution -- using an earlier version of StuffIt or StuffIt Expander to unstuff application archives -- may not always work. Specifically, if you install StuffIt Deluxe 8, a system-wide StuffIt engine is installed; older versions of StuffIt Expander will use that engine if present, meaning that the end result of will be the same as if you used version 8. The workaround is either to hold off on installing StuffIt Deluxe 8 and continue using Expander 7 to "unstuff" files, or to use one of the other procedures described above.

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