+--------------------+
                      |                    |
                      | ***  UDEC 1.1  *** |
                      |                    |
                      +--------------------+




  Universal decoding program for UUENCODE, XXENCODE, MPACK, SHIP and HEXBIN
  files for DOS.


  Usage:

  - To decode the file named "mail.txt" simply type "udec mail.txt" at the
    command prompt.
    If wildcards ("*", "?") are used it's possible to sort the files before
    decoding them by using the parameters /E or /N; therefore it is not
    necessary that multiple files are listed in correct order - just make
    sure that they are correctly numbered.
    (Note: if you want to decode more then 10 files at a time by
     using wildcards, the numbering should start with a "0", e. g.
     "file00, file01, ..." rather than "file0, file1, ...")
     2nd note: if a numbering in the file-extension is used, the files
     will get sorted by this value, e.g. "file.01", "file.02",...,
     "file.99", file.100"...)

  - If a textfile contains more than one binary file, these will be
    successively decoded.

  - The source files may have DOS format (linefeed 0dh+0ah) or UNIX format
    (linefeed 0ah).

  - The decoder automatically decides what decoding method is appropriate
     - no need to worry about this!

  - Headers are ignored.

  - Invalid linefeeds or missing spaces at the end of a file are ignored.

  - If a new binary starts and the decoder hasn't found the end-of-file
    mark of the previous file, decoding of the previous file is stopped
    (you'll get an error message) and decoding of the new file starts.

  - If the decoder finds an already existing filename you may
     * overwrite the old file [Y]
     * don't decode the new file [N]
     * overwrite all following files [A]
     * rename the new file [R]
     * quit decoding [Q]

  - If the decoder finds an invalid filename you'll be asked for a new
    name (decoding is only interrupted, not aborted).

  - If you invoke the decoder with option -A (or /A), missing, double or
    invalid filenames automagically are replaced.

  - If you're using an asterisk ("*") for the filename extension (e. g.
    "udec file.*") .ARJ .ARC .ASM .BAK .BAT .BMP .COM .DLL .EXE .GIF .FOR
    .JPG .LZH .OVL .PAS .PCX .PIF .SYS .TGA .WAV .ZIP .ZOO files aren't
    scanned for coded text.

  - If you're doing a lot of decoding on an already rather full HDD -
    don't worry about running out of disk space: use the switch -C (or /C)
    to delete files immediately after they are decoded.
    Beware, though: if an error occurs during decoding (e. g. you're
    decoding a file consisting of multiple articles and one is missing)
    this error may be unrecoverable.


 Warnings:

  - The target files won't be checked for correctness (CRC, checksum) !!!!!
  - There's occasionally a problem with Mpack and Mimefiles:
      if the length of the file is dividable by 45
      (i. e. filelength mod 45 = 0)  you may get an error message like
      "unexpected end of input file". The target file is o.k., though.
      To suppress this error message add a "=" line (i. e. "=" + 0ah)
      to the file...


  WARRANTY:

  - This program is provided as is with no written or implied warranty.

  - Any private user is free to copy and distribute this program, provided
    no changes or additions are made.

  - Commercial use is in any way and under any circumstance PROHIBITED!
    (distributing on Shareware disks/CD-ROM included!)
    Please contact the author if you want to include this program in
    a shareware package. (Email address is given at the end of this file.)

  - The author shall in no event be held liable to you or anyone else
    for any damage of any kind, incidental or consequential, arising
    from the use or the inability to use this program.


  You'll find the latest version of udec always on the anonymous
  ftp server

     sunshine.informatik.uni-wuerzburg.de (132.187.10.1) in /pub/peter.

  Bug reports, suggestions and comments (flames will be ignored...)
  are appreciated. Feel free to send email to...

       Peter Liebel (liebel@cip.informatik.uni-wuerzburg.de), 7.15.1995