When people talk about file compression, they usually mean ZIP.In fact, they often make it into a verb—much like we“Google” things on the Internet, we “zip”files before sending them over email. ZIP is just onecompression format, though, and it isn’t necessarily the best. Free,open-source utility 7-Zip supports ZIP, but also the much-improved7z compression format.
In fact, 7-Zip is the official reference implementation for the7z format, and since it is open source, the format specification isdistributed right within the source code. To test it, I used afolder with 65MB of easily-compressed documents such as DOC, XLS,and BMP files; it also contained a few small ZIP files for goodmeasure. Zipped using Windows Explorer, the folder compressed to8,881KB. 7-Zip compressed the same exact folder down to 6,036KB,shaving almost 3MB off the archive. That’s a difference ofmore than 25%--phenomenal, really, when you consider ZIP’smarket dominance.
Speaking of market dominance, that’s another keydifference between the 7z and ZIP formats. Windows Explorer hasbeen handling ZIP files like folders for years, and most peoplerecognize them instantly and work with them all the time. But sendsomeone a .7Z file, and they may not know what to do with it--infact, they may not even realize it’s a compressed file.
Note that I call it a “difference” rather than adisadvantage: These days, many email providers (including Gmail)snoop into any ZIP file you send, and if it contains executablefiles, simply don’t let you send it. Compress yourexecutables using 7-Zip, and you can email them to anyone youlike.
7-Zip doesn’t always offer a superior compression ratio:When I tested it with a folder full of JPG files (which are alreadywell-compressed), the resulting 7z archive was actually 78KB largerthan a ZIP of the same folder produced by Windows Explorer.However, the archive was nearly 34MB in size, so a 78KB differenceis negligible.
When you first launch 7-Zip, its interface is simple and sparse:Just a list of files, along with six large toolbar buttons and amenu. No Wizards, welcome dialogs or any other pesky interruptionsbetween you and your files. If you’d like to give theinterface a bit more “oomph,” hit F9 and 7-Zip will betransformed into a basic dual-pane file manager. You can even saveup to ten folders as “Favorites” if you use it oftenfor traversing your file system.
All in all, 7-Zip’s user interface will probably not blowyou away. Its impressive compression ratios, however, justmight.
Note: This software comes in 32-bit and 64-bitversions. This is the 64-bit version, which is for 64-bit PCsrunning a 64-bit OS. If your PC is running a different supportedOS, please download the 32-bit versioninstead. Hindi full movie dhoom 2.
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