home *** CD-ROM | disk | FTP | other *** search
- INFO WORLD, By Tom Marshall, Review board
-
- If you ever download files from or upload to an on-line service, you
- know about Zip file compression -- what a time and space-saving boon it
- is to file transfers and disk storage, and what a headache it is to
- remember the command-line syntax between uses. Thus, although a good
- deal of power is built into PKWare Inc.'s twin programs (PKZip and
- PKUnzip), it's doubtful that you're using more than the basics of
- compression and expansion.
-
- WinZip 5.0, from Nico Mak Computing Inc., opens up a brave new world of
- file compressian in Windows. For starters, WinZip provides a familiar
- icon-driven user interface for its Zip and Unzip functions. These are
- fully compatible with PKZip 2.0, and can unzip files created by any
- version of PKZip.
-
- You can effortlessly use WinZip as a front end for other file-
- compression programs, including LZH, ARJ, and ARC formats (which are sold
- separately).
-
- The main WinZip window features a menu bar, a row of buttons for the
- most commonly used actions, and a scrollable list box with the names,
- sizes, and date/ time stamps of all files in an arckive. This list can
- be sorted on any field.
-
- With the right mouse button, you can select multiple noncontiguous
- files from the list. Enhanced drag-and-drop support provides the
- capability to drag files from WinZip to other applications, drop archives
- on WinZip to open them, or drop files on WinZip to add them to the open
- archive.
-
- The CheckOut facility provides a handy way to preview downloads.
- Within an open archive, click the CheckOut button to create a Program
- Manager gpoup containing all files in the archive, each represented by an
- icon. Double-click an icon to either run the executable file or open it
- within its associated application. When you leave WinZip, you'll have
- the option to delete the entire group.
-
- WinZip has extensive, useful context-sensitive help. The one prominent
- drawback is the absence of a provision for sorting directories and files
- when opening, creating, or adding to archives. (A Hints and Tips file
- suggests a work-around: Use the Windows File Manager with WinZip's drag-
- and-drop capability to sort and open or add files.)