7-Zip - meeting all of your file compression needs (and then some)

Filed under: Utilities, Windows, Productivity

7-Zip - meeting all of your file compression needs (and then some)

by Jason Clarke Jul 29th 2007

It's 2007. Why the heck is file compression still a pain in the ass? Most people have standardized on the Zip file compression format for compressing files, however there are a few out there that feel the need to point out that RAR offers superior compression ratios. Dealing with those two wasn't really that bad, but now we're starting to see newer algorithms that are providing noticeably improved compression ratios.

What to do?

Get yourself a copy of 7-Zip. 7-Zip can unpack RAR, CAB, ISO, ARJ, LZH, CHM, Z, CPIO, RPM, DEB and NSIS files, and can create 7z, ZIP, GZIP, BZIP2 and TAR files (and obviously unpack those as well).

The 7z file format is 7-Zip's claim to fame, with approximately 40% better file compression than a "compatible" zip file, and around 10% better than RAR, the previous file compression champion. 7-Zip's official release is for Windows, but the site links to unofficial Linux and Mac versions.

Now you can start sending your friends and business associates files that they have no idea what to do with! Either that, or you can standardize on the 7z format, and know that your files are smaller than everyone else's. Or you could just use it to create and unpack Zip files and stop trying to be so damn superior.

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Peter said 7:56PM on 7-29-2007

7-Zip is great and easy to use. Some people have had problems with the current release under Vista, but it works fine for me. (Vista Business and Ultimate)

Gardiner Westbound said 8:13PM on 7-29-2007

Someone invents a better mousetrap, and the mice get smarter. So someone invents an even better mousetrap. It's called progress.

Aalaap said 12:11AM on 7-30-2007

Even I don't like it everytime a new format comes along claiming to be superior than good ol' Zip and RAR, but the new 7z comression format is the last reason to use the 7-Zip archiver.

I switched to it a couple of years ago because its fast, it's small, it's open source and it supports extracting from Zip as well as RAR files. There's nothing else out there that's so good and yet is open source. I even prefer it's minimalistic appearance to the very 2000-style, unnecessarily ornate default skins of both WinZip and WinRAR.

So don't think of 7-Zip has a 7z format archiver; think of it as a replacement for your WinZip or WinRAR.

For me, it's 7-Zip for life.

ahoier said 1:00AM on 7-30-2007

Im not too big on the 7-zip format, since I don't compress too much stuff...but it definately replaced my old WinRAR and WiNZip :)

Dump the propreitary crap ;)

Darklord said 3:50AM on 7-30-2007

Winace is the best compression tool

http://winace.com

James said 1:36PM on 7-30-2007

Dunno about that, I've found that 7Zip does some things poorly when compared to WinRAR, my old stalwart. Example: select several archived files, then right-mouse drag them somewhere. IIRC, with WinRAR, you get an "extract all files here" and an "extract to individual subfolders", and either command spawns a single WinRAR process. With 7Zip, I think it only gives you the "extract here" option, and spawns one process per archive. Unless and until somebody gives me a better reason, I'll be using WinRAR for all the file formats it can handle.

Abe Ash said 10:02PM on 7-30-2007

Chech this blog

Darklord said 5:39PM on 8-01-2007

Compress MS Office 430MB ISO to 1.4MB with KGB Archive

http://digg.com/tech_news/Compress_MS_Office_430MB_ISO_to_1.4MB_with_KGB_Archiver

http://kgbarchiver.net/

if wht they said is true then KGB Archiver is the best compression utility of planet earth :D

Featured Time Waster

Civiballs is a beautiful, soothing physics puzzle Time Waster

I have an absolute weakness for physics games, and while Civiballs isn't the strongest physics-based game, what it lacks in the physics department it makes up for a few times over in style and fun.

In Civiballs, you are presented with a few colored balls, and your goal is to get those balls into the same-colored urn on the level. The "civi" part of Civiballs is that there are 3 sets of levels to play, each representing a different civilization. While the civilization doesn't affect gameplay, the artwork for each level is beautifully themed to it's appropriate era.

To play the game, you are given only one tool - a sword with which to cut the chains that are holding the balls. The puzzle part of the game is in figuring out what order, and with what timing to cut each chain. Do it right, and all the right balls end up in the right urns, with no stray balls entering an urn (a no-no). Do it wrong, and you get to start over again.

Civiballs is not terribly deep on gameplay; the entire game can be completed in about 15 minutes. But if you enjoy this type of game, it will be a very enjoyable 15 minutes.

View more Time Wasters