Considered to be the third most widely used and best reputed file compression software, PeaZip is actually at the very top of the open-source/free file compression software list. This tool can read and extract nearly all existing archive file formats and create new compressed files both in its own format (PEA) and in some of the most common ones, ZIP and 7Z included.
Why PeaZip appears below WinZip and WinRAR on the above-mentioned list is simply beyond me. Those two not only ask for a license fee to unleash their full potential, but they also lack the functionality that PeaZip offers you for free. They are all secure, efficient, and reliable, but, amazingly, some users still prefer to pay for roughly the same functions they could enjoy free of charge. If curious, you can take a look at some of the benchmark tests available, and you’ll find that PeaZip can compress and decompress a ZIP file faster than WinZip itself...
PeaZip has been around since 2006, and it is considered by experts to be the file compression tool with the best file support rate. It is, by far, the program that can read and open more archive formats – over 150, a figure that no paid or free competitor can beat. It can also create ZIP, 7Z, ARC, TAR, and WIM archives (among others), and offers you its own high-quality compression algorithm and format, PEA, with AES256 EAX authenticated encryption. All the most highly rated encryption standards are supported for 7Z, ZIP, ARC, and PEA files, and even for RAR if it happens to be installed on your system. And the great thing is that being an open-source development, PeaZip improves its numbers on every iteration, especially regarding processing speeds and RAM usage.
What I love about PeaZip is that on top of performing as the high-end compression tool that it is, it comes with a plethora of other utilities. And I’m not referring just to PeaUtils, useful as this set of tools is, but to its archive converter, its password manager, its secure random password creator, its archive analyzer, its duplicate file finder, its file splitter and joiner, etc. The list is too long to reproduce here, so – being a free tool – I’ll leave the rest for you to discover.
PeaZip is, undoubtedly, everything you need to open and create archive files with the best compression algorithms and the highest level of security. And if that is not enough to make you download and install it on your desktop, think of the wealth of other utilities and features that come with it at no cost whatsoever.
v8.0 [Jun 10, 2021]
BACKEND:
- PEA 1.01.
- Added exit codes to functions for easier integration with third party software and scripts
- Running PEA in batch_report and hidden_report mode automatically saves task log without further user interaction
- Fixed: hidden and hidden_report modes do not flash the GUI before hiding it.
- Updated online documentation at https://peazip.github.io/pea_help.pdf.
- CAB (Windows).
- Selecting custom format (and deselecting RAR checkbx, if selected) in Advanced tab it is now available "CAB" preset in custom executable dropdown menu, to use Windows' makecab.exe utility (which accepts single files as input).
CODE:
- Various fixes and improvements.
FILE MANAGER:
- Added support for .xappx, and various Open Packaging Conventions filetypes (.3mf, .vsdx, .mmzx, .aasx, .slx, .scdoc) files, 218 file extensions supported.
- by default support is read only, to enable write support check "Edit non-canonical archive types" in main menu, Options > Settings > Archive manager.
- Added text completion for search field.
- Checksum/hash files can now be set to perform a single algorithm (faster), by default SHA256.
- Performing all algorithms at once, or all common algorithms at once, is available as option in Option > Settings > File manager.
- Dragging a single archive file on file manager screen, the archive is now opened without requiring further interaction
- Improved preview and open with functions.
- If nothing is selected, preview takes current directory as input
- To avoid confusion with "Preview" actions submenu, "Extract and open with" sumbenu can now be enabled / disabled from Options > Setings > Archive manager.
- Improved random password generator in main menu, Tools > Create random password / keyfile.
- Default length is now 12 characters
- Quote characters ' and " are avoided to keep the password console-friendly regardless the character escaping abilities of the scripting environment that will be employed by the user.
- Improved smart sorting of file names
- Improved status bar.
- Browser modes "Details" and "Icons and images" can now be selected with a single click from icons on status bar.
- Style dropdown menu button on the left of browser modes icons, on status bar, allows to set most common UI settings fro a single, easily visible place:.
- set tool bar to archive manager, file manager, images manager
- toggle tab bar on/off.
- toggle row select on/off.
- set browser preset modes.
- set themes.
- set side bar to navigation panel, treeview, or hidden.
- Style menu entries are replicated also in context menu, Navigation submenu.
- Improved support for non-canonical archive types (containers, disk images, installers...) with new options in main menu, Options > Settings > Archive manager.
- "Browse non-canonical archive types" (default on) set those file types to be opened for browsing on doubleclcik in PeaZip file manager; unchecking this option those file types will be opened with associated application but can still be browsed on demand (as any arbitrary file type) using "Open file as archive" menu entry
- "Convert non-canonical archive types" (default off) will treat those file types as archives in Conversion process (extract and recompress them), otherwise those files will be left unchanged and simply compressed in the desired format.
- Improved theming: can now optionally display grids with alternate color for better readability
- Replicated link to Text encoding settings in main menu, Options; extended hint for custom codepage.
EXTRACTION and ARCHIVING:
- Added "Force typing passwords interactively" option in password screen that forces to always type password in the native backend interface.
- This option allows to create scripts that will require operator to enter the password interactively rather than running unattended
- Zpaq backend does not support this option
- Backends not supporting encryption are not affected by this option
- Please note this option forces console mode for backend utilities (except PEA, which is a graphic application)
- With this option enabled PeaZip cannot browse archives with encrypted name of files (encrypted toc), but it is anyway possible to list/test/extract them.
- Can now edit existing 7Z-compressed sfx archives
- Improved "TAR before" option, which saves multiple input to TAR archive before compression step.
- Option to delete original files now works whith "TAR before" option enabled
- Tasks with "TAR before" option enabled can now be saved as command line.
- It is now possible to customize the default action to perform when a file type associated with PeaZip is double-clicked on the system (or any time a single file is sent as input to PeaZip).
- In main menu, Options > Settings > Archive manager "Default action on start-up" can be set to.
- Open, default
- Open as archive, force trying to open any arbitrary file type as archive
Mall Creeps
