Zip Software - 12 Areas You Should Evaluate Before You Buy

Zip archives are the de facto standard for compressing files on Windows. Tons of software utilities exist, each of which can create Zip archives, and many of them are tiny Zip utilities available for free.

While lots of the freebies don't work well, there are a few that can usually get the job done -- just the basics -- but they work. Unfortunately, they suffer from a tiny feature set that leaves you feeling cramped and inefficient.

With all those freebies around, it's hard to justify spending cash for a Zip program. So why would you buy?

For most people it comes down to raw practicality. They have a need to save space or bandwidth, so they want to Zip up files and either put them aside for later use or send them to someone else. And they want to do their Zipping easily and quickly so they can move on to their next task.

And that's what makes the paid-for Zip programs so valuable.

The Zip industry is dominated by one large player and a few smaller ones. But what really sets the main players apart?

Frankly, there's really no way to figure out which Zip program best meets your needs without downloading a free trial and trying it.

So to help you decide which Zip program will best meet your needs at a price you like, here's a list of common Zip program features and their purpose. You can download some free trials and use this list to help you pick the one best-suited for you.

1. Ease of Use

• Is there a wizard? Not the Wizard of OZ, but a series of screens that lead you through the process of making a Zip archive. While this type of feature can drive an experienced user mad, the hand-holding it provides is a great help for the beginner.
• Are the screens intuitive and easy to understand? Or do they leave you scratching your head? You may not necessarily understand everything that appears on each screen, but you should be able to get a general idea of the structure of the program pretty easily.
• Is the help system useful and understandable? And is it easy to access? Look for access to the help system from all different screens that you come across -- or at least from all the major screens. And ask yourself if the help information is actually useful ... or if it's just window dressing.

2. Compatibility

• Which compression formats are supported? The more supported compression formats -- besides the plain-vanilla Zip -- the easier it will be to exchange compressed data with others.
• Can the utility create self-extracting (.exe) zip files. A self-extracting Zip file is one that contains everything needed to unZip the compressed files inside it. There is no need for an actual Zip utility, because the archive includes a small amount of unZip code. The ability to create self-extracting Zip files ensures that someone who receives a Zip file from you can extract the contents, regardless of which software they have on their computer. It's a great feature for exchanging data, though it is generally only functional on another Windows machine.
• Can the utility convert an archive from one compressed format to another? What if you have a set of compressed files in one format -- let's say Zip -- and you want to convert it to another format -- perhaps GZ? This operation may be the only way to send the data to someone else so she can access it. Does the utility make this operation easy? Or is it a multi-step process?

3. Backups

However, Zip archives have changed things. Making backups of your important files using a Zip archive is growing in popularity, because it's easy to find a utility to open Zip files. Therefore, backups made with Zip archives don't leave you stranded after a computer crash.

• How do you select a set of files to backup? The most convenient utilities use both an "inclusion" and an "exclusion" list that use wildcards. This gives you great flexibility to specify that you want all the files in a certain directory except for files of a certain name or type.
• Can you save backup sets? After you've specified a set of files to backup, can you easily save this list so you can reuse it? Being able to run backups regularly depends on making the process easy.
• Can backups be scheduled to run on a regular basis? This is just one more labor-saving feature to make sure your backups get done.
• Can the utility burn a set of zipped files directly to CD/DVD? Burning backups to removable media is a great way to store your your backed up data separately from your computer. And being able to easily put your Zip archive on a removable disk is a great labor-saving addition.

4. Costs

• Which features are included with the basic version of the software and which ones require additional purchases? The best-selling Zip utility requires additional purchases to get features that other utilities include in their basic cost.
• How much do upgrades cost? Chances are that sooner or later you'll need to upgrade your software. At the very least you can expect you'll probably want to upgrade with new versions of Windows. How much will it cost you to upgrade? At least one Zip utility comes with free upgrades for life.
• How reliable is the utility? If your Zip utility crashes when it tries to create an archive, you'll be left pulling your hair in frustration trying to get an archive successfully created. Worse yet, if the utility creates a Zip file that's corrupt, your Zipped data may not be recoverable. Either problem could cost you time and money. I make sure this problem doesn't occur by using one Zip utility to create an archive and another to check if I can successfully extract the files.
• Is a free trial available? To make sure your purchase of a Zip utility meets you needs and doesn't waste you money, a try-it-before-you-buy-it opportunity is essential.

5. Integration with Windows

• Are Zipping features integrated into the Explorer context (right-click) menu? The options available from this menu should include the most common operations you would perform.
• How easily can zip capabilities be accessed? In addition to access from the Explorers context menu, does the Zip utility offer access to its features from the system tray? Additionally, some utilities will display a summary of Zip archive contents if the mouse is made to hover over the Zip archive.

6. Batch Operations

• Can you extract multiple archives at the same time? For this operation to be useful, you need a way to specify different directories for the contents of each archive.
• Will the Zip utility repair multiple archives with one click? Repairing multiple broken Zip archives is a useful feature.
• Can multiple backup sets be started at the same time? Initiating multiple backups allows you to start them up and walk away.

7. Large Archives

• How many files can a single Zip archive hold? Former restrictions are being overcome with new procedures and standards.
• How large can a single archive be? If you need to Zip video files, you may find yourself lacking if the largest archive your Zip utility creates is too small for your needs.
• Can the Zip utility break an archive into multiple files? This feature is essential if you need to create an archive that grows too large to fit on a single CD or DVD. In this situation you need the ability to have your archive span multiple disks.

8. Work Efficiency

• How quickly can the utility Zip and unZip an archive? The differences in speed among competing software can be great. What can be a small difference in time with a small amount of data can become unbearable when the amount of data is large.
• Can you upload a set of Zipped files to an FTP site or email them to a recipient? These seemingly simple operations can be a real boon to productivity, if you do these operations often.

9. Convenience

• Does the Zip utility integrate with your anti-virus software? This type of integration can make it easy to keep your computer clean of viruses. Having the Zip utility perform this operation for you may help you avoid forgetting a security scan at a critical time.

10. Automated Operations

• Does the archive have the ability to schedule periodic tasks for backing up and archiving? Automated scheduling can make an important set of operations a breeze. And you don't run the risk of these essential operations eventually slipping your mind.
• Can the Zip software be run from the command line? This useful feature makes it possible to incorporate Zipping operations into scripts. With this capability, complex file manipulation techniques become possible.

11. Finding Files in an Archive

• Can you filter the files you see in a zip file? Seeing just the files you want can make finding a needle in a haystack more like finding a needle in a pin cushion.
• Can you search for files in an archive using wildcards, date ranges, and file sizes? Searching by file name patterns, creation or modification times, and the size of a file is just another way to find the needle you seek.
• Is it possible to generate a list of files in the archive for printing or saving to disk? Generating this type of list is an important but missing feature in many Zip utilities.

12. Advanced Features

• Can the utility automatically select the best compression method? Different types of files require different methods of compression to achieve the highest compaction. Knowing which method works best for which types of files is a detail most people don't want to worry about. Having your Zip utility figure it out for you saves you the hassle.
• Is it possible to compress graphics files? Since graphics files are usually already compressed, further compression has generally not been possible, without affecting quality. However, one utility now boasts the technology to compress graphics files.
• Does the utility provide a way to easily pass archives through email anti-virus software? Many anti-virus packages routinely strip Zip files from email. However, by changing the filename extension to a different value, this anti-virus behavior can be by-passed. One Zip utility can be configured to use a custom file extension for archives. If two people agree to configure their Zip utilities with the same extension, they can easily email archives back and forth.
• Are there strict limits on the length of timestamps? One utility now can use extended timestamps on the files in an archive to preserve greater details about the files.
• Are thumbnails displayed for graphics files in archives? One utility can provide this useful feature to help you find the precise picture you want without having to extract everything.

A Zip utility is a piece of software that you'll love if you pick one that fits your way of working and meets your file compression needs. It's a piece of software you'll hate if it gets in the way of what you want to do. So take the time to evaluate them carefully.

One Zip utility I find promising is PicoZip. While it doesn't boast every feature I've mentioned above, it has an extensive set of capabilities at a price that's lower than its larger competitors. And the software has won numerous awards and been recommended by an impressive list of computer-savvy experts. Why not download a free fully-functional trial copy and take it for a test spin.