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Although some archivers can achieve better compression rates, it's ZIP the format that made archiving so popular. Created back in 1989 for MS-DOS, the ZIP archive format entered the Windows world in the mid 1990's, with the help of Nico Mak Computing and their product called simply WinZip.

Now I'll leave over a decade of history behind and move straight into the present, when Corel Corporation is the owner of WinZip International, and the latest version of the program is 11.1...


Setup
Currently, there are two versions of the program available for licensing - standard, for 29.95$, and Professional, priced as high as 49.95$, but there is only one shareware version available for download, and you can use it for 45 days without having to think about money.

Once you have downloaded the 9MB setup package, you have to be careful about some things during the install process. First of all, as you can see above, you can install the Google Toolbar and Desktop Search with this program. Be sure to uncheck these options, if you don't need these things.

As soon as the unpacking of the files is complete, you should follow careful the instructions, and choose the options to install, such as the Explorer shell extension or the Quick Pick tool. At last, choose the default interface that WinZip will use, and you're ready to go!

Interface
As you can see in the picture to the left, the WinZip Wizard allows you to quickly switch to the Classic interface, while allowing to avoid using it at the same time. People used to archivers, like me, shouldn't even try to use the Wizard interface, because - at least this is true in my case - they may end up losing time instead of working with increased efficiency.

The Classic interface is, just as its name says it... a classic! Everything is very easy to do, drag and drop operations are supported for packing and unpacking files, and the new plethora of features overwhelms me (last time I used the program, it was version 9, if I recall it well), so let's have a look at the program's features...


Features
The Standard version of the program is able to choose best compression method based on file type, has improved compression of WAV files compared to previous releases of the program, and it is possible to use if for extracting files from BZ2 and RAR archives. Older features, such as 128 and 256 bit AES encryption and quick creation of self extracting archives are still here, and I am sure that those new to WinZip should find them really useful.

Now, you're probably asking why pay 20$ more for the Professional version, and I was asking myself the same thing before starting to get information about it. To make a long stoy short, here's what you get: ability to send current archive to a FTP location or burn it to CD/DVD, automatically email archives and logs when a job is complete, combined with the power to create automated tasks, for processing a high volume of data, or viewing full size images right from your archives.

If all the above is not enough, then add the possibility to use WinZip Professional as a backup tool, with the help of the predefined backup jobs, and you'll get a better view of the whole deal.


The Good

WinZip's latest release comes with the new features required to keep it alive and kicking, while remaining the same easy to use, fast and reliable program as always, with a pleasant interface, easy to use for both beginners and power users.

The Bad

Considering the tough competition, I think that WinZip would be more attractive with a slightly lower price tag.

Conclusion

WinZip is one of those programs that are part of the history, but continues to keep up with the competition over a decade from its birth. While a lot of programs come with built in ZIP support, even Windows Vista having the ability to open ZIP files, nothing is better than the real thing, so take your time to try the latest WinZip release, I am sure you'll like it and find it as useful as always!

Developer: WinZip International LLC
Price: 29.95$(Standard)/49.95$(Professional)
Trial Link: Download