Winzip and other file compression products.

[Easilyconfused]

A good number of the files in the file library are compressed by the original authors. UKTS does not prescribe any particular product to be used for the compression and does not recommend any particular product.

The built in functionality in Windows XP is known to have an issue with some of the more sophisticated compression methods such as spanned zip files that the commercial compression tools can produce.

There is a commonly held belief that Winzip and WinRAR are "free" products - that is not the case. In both cases there is a free download for a limited term evaluation of the software. At the end of the evaluation you should purchase a licence to continue using the products.

There are at least three free alternatives but as stated above UKTS does not recommend any particular product. Examples of products that are free include :

Zip Genius : http://www.zipgenius.it/eng/index.php
7-Zip : http://www.7-zip.org/
IZArc : http://www.izarc.org/
JustZiPit : http://www.freedownloadscenter.com/Reviews/r1835.html
Alzip : http://www.altools.com/ALTools/AlZip.aspx

Any members having additional download links to free compression utilities are welcome to PM them to a moderator who will then verify they are genuinely free and add them to this locked sticky.