Archival Software -- WinZIP, WinRAR, WinACE, Part 4

In the last 3 newsletters, I've been talking about the importance of archiving programs: specifically, WinRAR, WinZIP, and WinACE. Unfortunately, neither of these popular software titles are freeware, which is why I asked Infopackets Readers to send me their favorite alternate picks.

Ionut C. wasn't alone when he recommended ZipGenius:

" ZipGenius is a zip tool suite that offers a variety of features. It offers ... drag and drop and features and an 'intelligent' wizard to get you started. Among other things, ZipGenius offers 5 different compression levels, full customization and integration in Windows Explorer. The program also comes with a built in FTP client that allows you to download and upload files from within the software. "

From web site: " Compression for: ZIP (and more) ... decompression for RAR, ACE (and more). "

Languages: Italian / English

http://www.zipgenius.it/

Chris E. recommends UltimateZip (and so did many others):

" For my archive and multi-volume archive work, I use UltimateZip which works just fine and adds its features to the Explorer menu, and it's free! "

While searching for the URL for UltimateZip, I came across this wonderful description from FreewareArena.com:

" Built-in compression support for: Zip, Blak Hole, Cabinet, Jar ,Lha ,GZip ,Tar and Tar-GZip archives ... decompression support for: Ace, Arc, Arj ,Rar, Zoo, Zip, Blak Hole, Cabinet, Jar ,Lha , GZip ,Tar and Tar-GZip archives. "

Languages: German / English

http://www.ultimatezip.com/index.htm

Angel T. from Romania mentioned that WinACE still functions after the trial period, if you ever needed to compress a .ACE file:

" Hi from Romania, and I enjoy your newsletter!

Just a quick note about WinACE: it can be used also to pack-unpack archives in a variety of formats, including RAR, ZIP, and TAR (and a few others). Even though it has annoying popup windows, my version of WinACE still functions -- well after the trial period has ended. "

From web site: " ... compression of the following formats: ACE, ZIP, LHA, MS-CAB, JAVA JAR ... decompression of: ACE, ZIP, LHA, MS-CAB, RAR, ARC, ARJ, GZip, TAR, ZOO, JAR "

Languages: English / German. Note: this is not freeware.

http://www.winace.com

Chris B. recommends FilZip:

" After trying a few, the one I have settled on is FilZip. One thing I like about this one, apart from all the extras it an do, is that it doesn't take up a lot of USER resources. It meets the criteria you required: can associate the file types you want, and can span media. You don't have to register it, although if you do, you'll be advised of future updates. "

From the web site: " Compresses ZIP [and more] ... extracts ZIP, ACE, ARC, ARJ, RAR, ZOO. "

Languages: German / English / French http://www.filzip.com/

Chris B. also recommended a programmed called ChainSaw. It's a generic file-splitter that can chunk larger files into manageable pieces:

" Your readers may also be interested in [ChainSaw]. During the splitting process, a small batch file is created that will rejoin the parts ... [it is therefore] not necessary for the recipient to have the original file-splitting program to rejoin the parts. "

http://www.schmeusser.siw.de/software/chainsaw.html

Jake O. sent in a recommendation for a program called ICEOWS.

From web site: " ... compression for ICE, ZIP and built-out compression for ARJ, ... decompression for ICE, ARJ, ZIP, GZIP, TAR, MS-CAB, RAR, ACE ... multi-volume spanning for ICE, ARJ, ZIP, RAR, and ACE. "

Languages: All major languages.

http://www.iceows.com

Lots of users recommended ZipCentral, including Jan E. from Sweden:

" First of all: I really do appreciate your newsletter very much!

For a number of years I have used ZipCentral as my main compression and archive software. It meets all of your criteria and I consider it very easy to use. " http://zipcentral.iscool.net/

Unfortunately, I'm not sure what formats ZipCentral supports (compression / decompression) because I was unable to access the ZipCentral web site from my location -- it may be temporarily unavailable.

Tentative conclusion

The archival software included in this article appears to have a trend. All titles support compression in ZIP format, and most support decompression for other formats, including: ZIP, RAR and ACE. ZIP is a popular format and is used extensively across the Internet, which may suggest why developers have included the format as a compression standard.

eBook and video on compression / decompression / multi-volume spanning?

Thanks to all who sent in their suggestions for great freeware software! As of late, my schedule has been very chaotic. If I have time on the weekend, I'll try and throw together an archiving video tutorial and eBook.

Until then!