Friedbeef’s Tech

There’s much more to file compression than simply zipping and extracting files using WinZip.  Here are 7 extra useful tools to make you even more productive when dealing with zipped files.

1. How to preview zip files before downloading them

ArchView is a Firefox extension which can open zip files online without downloading the whole archive. 

Not only can you see what’s in the zip file before you download it, you can even choose which individual files to grab.  This is extremely useful when you only want a few files not the whole zip archive.

This extension is also very fast since it merely fetches a small portion of the archive file from server. 

2. How to zip your files online

Just need  to zip up a few files without installing anything?  Simply upload your files to FileStomp, and it will create a zip file for you on the fly which you can download.

3. How to unzip your files online

While Filestomp creates zip files, WobZip is a way to unzip files online without the need of external software.  You can either upload the file, or point WobZip to the URL online, and it will be uncompressed and ready for download. 

Wobzip has a zipped filesize limit of 100MB, will also scan your zipped file for viruses, and even supports password protected zip files. 

4. How to create a full installer with a Zip file

ZipInstaller is a free tool which installs and uninstalls applications and utilities that do not provide an internal installation program.

It automatically extracts all files from the Zip file, copies them to the destination folder you select, creates shortcuts in the start menu and in your desktop, and adds an uninstall module to allow you to automatically remove the software in the future.

5. Where to get a free WinZip alternative

 7-Zip is perhaps one of the best known free alternatives to WinZip.  Capable of handling most popular file compression formats like Zip and RAR, you can either install it on your system, or carry it around with you on a thumbdrive with the portable version.

6. How to repair corrupted zip files

Zipped files are pretty sensitive where even a minor corruption of the file will cause it to fail an integrity check.  What DiskInternals Zip Repair will do is extract and move all the intact files to a new archive so you gain access to it.

7. How to hide zip files inside a JPG image

This is a really cool hack which allows you to hide zip files within a JPG image.  If you click on the file, the picture will display normally, but you can unzip the picture itself to reveal hidden contents!  Check out the video for more details.

What do you use to zip files?  Tell us in the comments!