jZip

jZip, a free file compression tool offered by Bandoo Media and based on Igor Pavlov’s 7-Zip, allows you to work with a variety of archives, from ZIP and RAR to TAZ and TAR. The application makes it incredibly easy to create archives, to open archives and view their contents, and to extract data from archives. In exchange for providing this functionality, jZip does not ask for a thing – the application is freeware.

Download a small executable, run it, and a setup wizard will show up and guide you through the installation process. This wizard will ask you to pick one of several supported languages: English, German, Spanish, French, Italian, Portuguese, and Turkish. The setup wizard will also ask you to pick between a recommended Typical Installation (includes jZip core files, the Searchqu Toolbar, sets Searcgnu.com as your homepage and new tab page and Search-Results.com as the default web search engine) and a Custom Installation (you get to opt out of installing a toolbar and changing your homepage and default search). Last but not least, the setup wizard invites you to add a jZip shell extension and to associate the application with zip, rar, 7z, iso, arj, gz, gzip, tbz, tgz, tar, bz2, cab, tpz, z, and taz files. When the installation process completes, your default browser will launch and you will be taken to a "Thank you for installing jZip” webpage.

The jZip interface is fairly simple to figure out. The main pane presents the archive you created or opened; the bar at the top presents buttons associated with various functions jZip can perform. From the View menu, the Configuration submenu, and the Style tab, you can change the look of the interface. You can change the size of the aforementioned toolbar or hide it out of sight, you can change the item display style, and you can pick if you want jZip to use a Folder, Tree, or Flat style.

Creating an archive with jZip is a simple process that can be summed up as follows: choose the archive type you want to create, choose the files you want to be included in that archive, let jZip do its job (it will do it quickly). If you went with the shell integration option, you can just right click a folder for example, then choose the option to create an archive from the right click context menu. Once you have your archive, you can encrypt it, create a desktop shortcut for it, split and merge it, and email it.

Opening an archive with jZip is an even easier process: double click it and it will be opened in the free file compression tool. You can then view the data in the archive and extract said data to the location of your choosing.

jZip combines three elements exceptionally: file compression functionality, ease of use, completely free.