From...

by Max Green

(IDG) -- Adam Smith must have had something right when he wrote how "the whole industry of human life" is employed not for fulfilling needs but for procuring conveniences. The current crop of file-compression utilities do much more than create archives and decompress them; they also create self-extracting executable files, pause and reconnect your download, and set BMP files as your wallpaper. Three of the files on this week's list boast another valuable feature: They're free. Whatever your zipping preferences, you're bound to find at least some of them fulfilled in the files on this week's list.

Top 10 file-compression tools

1. WinZip 7: Features built-in zip and unzip; handles long file names, MIME, UUencode, XXencode, BinHex, TAR, and other formats. Drag and drop to or from the Explorer, or zip and unzip without leaving Explorer. This $29 program supports self-extracting files spanning multiple floppies and list-printing capability inside zip files.

2. WinZip for Windows 3.x & Workgroups: In addition to zipping and unzipping, this popular $29 utility supports UUencode, MIME, and BinHex decoding. This version also includes the Self-Extractor Personal Edition for creating self-extracting executables out of your zip files.

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3. PKZip v2.60: Here is the Windows 95 version of the $39 compressed-file extraction utility. Get pk263wsp.exe for Windows 95/98/NT, or pk263w16.exe for Windows 3.x.

4. WinArj98: Create and extract ARJ archives with this $10 Windows 95 shell. You can also view ARC, ZIP, ZOO, LHA, PAK, TAR, SIT, and MSoft compressed files.

5. FreeZip: This program is a small, fast, and efficient utility for compression and decompression of files and directories. FreeZip integrates with Windows Explorer and uses file associations and context menus to zip or unzip files, and yes, it's free.

6. eZip Wizard: Create and decompress zipped files for free. New features in this $30 version include a sizable screen, the ability to set BMP files as wallpaper without unzipping them first, and a delete option after any zip or unzip process.

7. ARJ: Archive as many as 32,000 files at once with this compression utility. It includes enhanced SFX modules, a multi-volume SFX module, a search and extract feature, and more. Free for personal, noncommercial use.

8. NetZIP Deluxe: This $30 utility manages downloads and decompresses files. Its Download Demon feature automates Internet downloads, allowing you to pause and then resume at a later time. This saves time and frustration if your download is interrupted. The utility also features an info window that lets you shop, look for a job, play games, and check news headlines while you wait for your download to complete.

9. Aladdin Expander: Expand files from the most popular archiving and compression formats found online, including StuffIt and Zip. Aladdin Expander will also expand files in uuencoded, BinHex, and MacBinary formats, and it's free.

10. Free Zipper: Get all the compression functionality you need for free with this zip utility. Free Zipper allows you to zip and unzip files, create self-extracting zip files, check archive contents, delete files in an archive, and more. You can also generate a detailed list of content-specific data in an archive, retrieve information on a specific file by file name or index, and run integrity tests on zipped files.