Internet File Support

Although Zip is by far the most common archive format on the Internet, you may occasionally come across files in other formats. WinZip provides support for the most commonly found archive and compression formats.

RAR is a compression and archiving format. WinZip can extract RAR files, but not create them. WinZip does not use external programs when working with files in this format.

BZ2 files are individual files compressed by the bzip program. WinZip supports all operations on bzip files except creating new ones.

TAR ("Tape ARchive") is an old file format that is used to group files together. It does not provide compression. WinZip supports all operations on TAR files except creating new TAR files and adding to TAR files.

Z and GZ: these are individual files compressed by the gzip program. Z and GZ files do not contain multiple files. WinZip supports all operations on gzip files except creating new ones.

TAZ and TGZ are TAR files compressed in Z or GZ format. WinZip supports all operations on TAZ/TGZ files except creating new ones.

ARJ is an archive format that provides both compression and grouping. WinZip 11.1 and earlier support all operations on ARJ files but requires the external ARJ program. WinZip 11.2 and later no longer support external programs for ARJ.

LHA and LZH provide both compression and grouping. WinZip 11.2 and later include integrated support to create and extract LHA and LZH files. WinZip 11.1 and earlier supports all operations on LHA and LZH files but requires the external LHA program.

ARC is an older format that also provides both compression and grouping. ARC files can be manipulated by several programs, including the original ARC, ARCE (also known as ARC-E), PKXARC, and PKUNPAK. WinZip 11.1 and earlier supports all operations on ARC files except creating new ARCs and adding to existing ARCs but requires one of the above external programs. WinZip 11.2 and later no longer support external programs for ARC.

CAB is a format used by Microsoft and some other vendors to distribute software.

UUencoded, XXencoded, BinHex, and MIME files are often used for Internet mail. These formats allow e-mail users to send and receive any file type (graphics, video, audio, games and other programs, application data, etc.) by e-mail. WinZip supports opening and extracting from these files. A tutorial on these file formats is available.

See, "Where can I find the external programs required for ARC, ARJ, and LHA files?" for more information on the external programs supported by WinZip 11.1 and earlier for ARJ, LZH, and ARC support.

Go to the WinZip Product Information Page

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