Free Alternative to WinZip?

Post by **acp** » Feb Mon 12, 2007 4:45 am

WinRar. It has a nag screen, but it's better than WinZip and doesn't expire in any way anyway: http://www.rarlabs.com/download.htm

Post by **rdeacon** » Feb Mon 12, 2007 10:04 am

Yeah I would agree, I think Winrar is good and better the winzip.

Rich

Post by **spaulo** » Feb Mon 12, 2007 11:24 am

7-Zip -- handles more formats than WinZip or WinRAR, and unlike both, is completely free without nag screens.

Post by **subsonic** » Feb Mon 12, 2007 11:37 am

It's all about 7-Zip. Spaulo beat me to it.

Zandro · Post by **Zandro** » Feb Mon 12, 2007 12:33 pm

7-zip is stellar for true solid archiving, but lacks strength in the efficiency, SFX, and split capabilities of WinRAR. I use either of which is better suited for each particular task.

Post by **subsonic** » Feb Tue 13, 2007 11:54 am

Zandro wrote:7-zip is stellar for true solid archiving, but lacks strength in the efficiency, SFX, and split capabilities of WinRAR. I use either of which is better suited for each particular task.

I disagree, besides uncompressing most formats the 7-zip format has much higher compression than rar and zip files.

Isn't SFX mac format?

Post by **spaulo** » Feb Tue 13, 2007 12:57 pm

SFX is short for "self-extracting"

You're thinking of SIT/SITX which are "StuffIt" files, common on Mac systems.

Zandro · Post by **Zandro** » Feb Tue 13, 2007 1:08 pm

By "efficiency" I mean to compare their speed:compression ratio. I already said that 7-Zip is excellent for some heavy-duty compression, but it is slower than WinRAR. When making fast time is more important than what I know I could get in compression, I choose WinRAR over 7-Zip.

With WinRAR's upper limit of 4MB for its sliding dictionary size in solid compression, it is not nearly as valuable for multiversion data files any larger in size. 7-Zip's dictionary size allowing upwards of 192MB can do so much more in some applicable circumstances, but would be wasted on several unique files. This is where WinRAR proves its worth.

7-Zip's multi-volume splitting method has confused me. It seems to be unable to find its pieces afterward. How should it be referencing its parts, because I haven't figured it out?

Also, Alexander Roshal has provided some optimizations for audio data in WinRAR, which makes me happy to use it over 7-Zip for when dealing with that.

It really depends on what you are working with most often that should help you decide which to use for yourself, if you can't live with having more than one program. I think WinRAR is better for general compression needs, as it can get the job done faster than 7-Zip. However, in the extra method of solid archiving, WinRAR it does not provide levels powerful enough for cases met today involving multiple files differing only slightly in data structure. ... Is that a bit too niche? It does involve my work.

Post by **subsonic** » Feb Wed 14, 2007 11:24 am

Okay, you know way more than me. I'll stick with 7-Zip because I don't have to pay for it.

Shinku · Post by **Shinku** » Feb Thu 15, 2007 12:47 am

I use 7zip as well. Free and easy.

weluvmovies.com · Post by **weluvmovies.com** » Feb Thu 15, 2007 9:49 pm

winrar has worked perfect for me... no problems, ...just that"nag screen." Ha.

Post by **horizons1** » Feb Fri 16, 2007 9:56 am

I use 7-zip at work and WinRAR at home. They both work great. If you have an older OS you can also find ZipCentral in Google. My biggest requirement for a good zip program is one that has an "Unzip To Here..." option in the context sensitive menu.