Notes on Unpacking .zip Files

If you explore the Skins directory on your iWay, you'll notice that each skin installed has its own directory (or folder in Windows or Macintosh terminology). Each of these directories contains a collection of other directories and files that make up the skin. This structure is what the iWay requires to be able to use it.

The skins provided by Lowrance are delivered as an executable for Windows which locates your iWay and places the files in the right place. For those who use operating systems other than Windows (which includes the author), skins on this site are provided as .zip archives which can be used on any system that has a program that can read them.

Some Zip extractors, notably WinZip, give you the option to ignore directories in an archive and just unpack all of the files into a single directory. If you do that with the Zip files on this site, you'll end up with a Skins directory cluttered with files your iWay won't be able to use.

The sections below describe the correct way to unpack the .zip file using various extractor tools.

Extracting with unzip on Unix and Unix-like systems

Unix unzip behaves correctly by default:

1. % cd /mnt/iway/Skins
2. % unzip /tmp/motorcycle-skin.zip

(This example assumes your iWay is mounted on /mnt/iway and the skin file is in the /tmp directory.)

Extracting with WinZip

1. Open the .zip archive you wish to extract.
2. On the toolbar, click Extract.
3. Select the Skins folder on your iWay as the one where you want the files extracted.
4. Check the All Files box.
5. Check the Use folder names box.
6. Click the Extract button.

Extracting with the Windows Extraction Wizard

1. Right-click the .zip archive you wish to extract.
2. Select Extract All... from the menu.
3. Click Next in the Extraction Wizard's welcome box.
4. Click Browse and select the Skins directory on your iWay. This will usually be something like E:\Skins.
5. Click Next.
6. When the Wizard finishes extracting the files, click Finish.

-- MarkFeit - 03 Jan 2006