Zip Tools for Windows

Zip programs compress and unpack large amounts of file data.market folder on the pc screen image by Alexey Klementiev from Fotolia.com

With information in the modern world being sent digitally via e-mail and external hard drives, ensuring that you always have some free disc space on your hard drive can prove difficult. File compression and decompression software -- also known as a Zip program -- can help manage disc space by literally compacting and zipping up files so that they take up less room. Similarly, these programs can unpack the files again when needed. Both of these functions help greatly in conserving hard drive space and when sending larger files over the Internet.

WinRAR Archiver

WinRAR is a program that can zip and unzip data into smaller or larger file sizes. The software is particularly adept at decompressing files of many different formats, including the CAB, ARJ, Z, 7Z, ISO, ACE and TAR file extensions. WinRAR is also available in many different languages and offers a free trial version before you decide to buy.

WinZip boasts having an easy-to-use Zip program with a straightforward and simple display interface. The software is now supported by Windows 7 operating systems and can package and unpackage data for "for quick, efficient, and secure uploading and downloading, e-mail transmission, and data archival." The minimum requirements for using WinZip are the following operating systems: Microsoft Windows 2000, Windows XP, Windows Vista or Windows 7.

WinAce is a compression-decompression program that claims to combine both speed and efficiency for a smooth Zip program experience. One particular feature of WinAce is that it has a complex data protection system so that office and business users of WinAce always have data password-encrypted. The program also sports a quick-view application so that users get a quick preview of Word documents, images and HTML pages without opening them fully.

7-Zip is an open source software program that claims to provide "a compression ratio that is two to 10 percent better than the ratio provided by PKZip and WinZip." The software is supported by a long list of operating systems including Windows 7, Vista, XP, 2008, 2003, 2000, NT, ME and 98. The program also contains a port of the command line version to Linux-Unix and is available through the 7-Zip website.