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October 3, 2008 12:00 AM PDT

Featured Freeware: ALZip

by Seth Rosenblatt

If you're looking for one tool that can handle a myriad of compression methods, from RAR and ZIP to TAR and TGZ and nearly 30 other formats, ALZip just might be for you. In fact, archive format support is ALZip's forte. It'll even open ISO and other CD images. All the usual archive application options are here, as well: context menu additions, password protections, virus scanner integration, and assistance in creating self-extracting archives.

The interface looks modern and is well-designed, with archive contents displayed as icons, in a list, or in a detailed spreadsheet-style grid. There are 14 criteria by which you can sort files, the program supports 21 languages, there's a test function to make sure the archive works, and you can save in eight formats. Some people will most likely not be impressed by the bird-egg icons, but I thought they were a subtle way to differentiate the app from its competitors.

This program leaves a slightly larger footprint than WinZip, but since we're talking about a difference of 2MB I think it's worth giving ALZip a chance to fly.

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by khamma October 3, 2008 7:44 AM PDT
Gets my vote for UGLY of the year.
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by AdelheidBernstein October 3, 2008 4:25 PM PDT
I can't imagine ever abandoning WinRAR. Aside for the occasional odd proprietary-algorithm archives I get, like StuffIt, WinRAR has been my go-to archive application for... hmm... just about 15 years.

Ugh, just had a flashback of .TAR and .ARC archives. Man, I feel old. =P
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by cssoz7 October 3, 2008 7:21 PM PDT
khamma & AdelheidBernstein, WinRaR and WinZip just can't compete with Alzip v7.0 Beta 1 since many features Alzip has and WinZip or WinRaR (winrar just bad, but all of u saw the ads years ago and liked it) doesn't. i can't really explain it to u but u must download Alzip v7. beta 1 ( not v6.7) use it u will know and its free for home users unlike Winzip and Winrar just want to earn money.
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by AXG October 4, 2008 7:39 AM PDT
The v7.0 Beta 1 is not available anywhere, at least not in plain view. Where did you download it from?
by micky0 October 4, 2008 8:55 PM PDT
still M thinking power archiver is best one but I should say it is not supporting for 30 formats. may this one is good literally I need a archiver that have good compression rate. can i know the best one for compression instead of number of supporting formats... pls ( http://tutorial-net.blogspot.com/ )
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by vflores October 5, 2008 3:03 AM PDT
I've been using this program for years (I live in Korea) and I've NEVER had a single issue with this program. If you don't like the little egg man, fine, but it's the ONE archiver I use. It's efficient, easy to use, and has served me reliably for years. I've NEVER had to download another archiving program since using ALZip.
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