Version tested: 1.0.0.36791

Description: Jzip is a free compression utility based on 7-Zip. It features the same reliability, high compression ratios, and speed that 7Zip provides with an enhanced user interface.

Jzip is based on the open source 7-Zip, which delivers the 2 most important features you would want out of a compression program (a) very high compression ratios, meaning that your compressed files created with this program will be as small or smaller in size than many comparable compression programs out there, and (b) excellent compression speed. (For comparisons of a number of archive programs see this great comparative review of zip utilities on Donationcoder).

The most consistent criticism of 7zip has always been its rudimentary interface, and Jzip offers the kind of user friendly interface for managing files/archives that 7-Zip’s interface lacks (and that is offered by many archive utilities); such as:

• Display folder trees on the left-pane, explorer-style.
• Create folders/subfolders and drag files into these from within the Jzip interface.
• Switch between icon, thumbnail, list and detail view, explorer style.
• File sorting. Also supports sorting by clicking on column headers in detail view.
• Wildcard select (e.g. select all .jpg files within an archive)
• The ability to view compressed files without having to extract them from the archive first. Read more »

Rating: 5

Version tested: 3.4.0

Description: TugZip is a poweful, full-featured 100% free compression/archiving program that supports all the major compression formats including ZIP, RAR, ACE and many others (see below).

TugZip is my definite choice for powerful, free compression program, for the following reasons:

• TugZip is a very powerful freeware compression tool rivaling 7-Zip in my experience.
• Allows you to extract multiple folders; each into its own folder or all in one folder.
• Can create self extracting archives (also includes a scripting tool for automated backups
• Allows drag and drop file compression/decompression.
• Supports all major compression formats; it can read AND write the following (7-ZIP, BZ2, CAB, LHA (LZH), SQX, TAR, TGZ, YZ1 and ZIP), and can read (only) the following: A, ACE, ARJ, CPIO, DEB, GCA, GZ, IMP, LIB, RAR, RPM, TBZ, and TAZ archives. Read more »

Rating: 5 pick 

Version tested:  4.42

7-Zip is without a doubt the strongest free archiving program out there.

I recently downloaded a 4GB DVD ISO saved under RAR format and split into multiple archives. I was using IZarc as my archiving software and was surprised when the extracting process failed. I assumed it was a bad archive and was going to delete the files and move on when on a whim I decided to install try 7-Zip. Sure enough, the extraction worked. Great, I thought, a makeshift test that I could use to test different free archivers (ZipGenius, Quickzip, IZarc, and Extractnow failed to extract the file, while TUGzip and 7-Zip were successful).

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Rating: 4

Version tested: 4.29

Let’s say you want to keep the programs installed on you machine to the minimal possible number. You’re not interested in clogging your machine with all sorts of stuff that you do not need, and when it comes to compressing/archiving to zip you’re quite happy with the default windows support. Even the zipped folder icons look pretty cool straight off the bat on XP.

The problem with this scenario, however, is that there is a proliferation of archive format on the net that you will come across and need to be able to extract, most notably the popular .rar format but also a handful of others.

Enter ExtractNow, a nifty little utility that supports the EXTRACTION (but not compression) of the most popular archive formats on the net. It also supports batch extractions so you do not have to do them one by one manually.
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