BitZipper

BitZipper is a lightweight piece of software designed to help you preview, open and create a wide variety of compressed files that you are likely to come across while operating your computer.

While the setup is quick and straightforward, it is recommended that you pay attention and make sure that you do not install additional components that you do not really need. Upon launch, you are welcomed by an organized and user-friendly GUI that is unlikely to give you any troubles. Then again, if this is the first time you are using a compression tool, then you can access the Wizard interface and get familiar with the basics.

Since the interface is designed to resemble that of Windows Explorer, the direct advantage is that you are able to preview the folder structure of an archive in a tree view. In other words, it is similar to browsing the contents of a directory or a volume on your hard drive. Decompressing the archives can be done just as easily by accessing the Extract function.

The highlight of the program stems from the fact that it enables you to open over 47 different encoding formats and archives. Among the file formats you can access, you can count 001, ACE, ISO, XXE, ZIP, ZIPX, ZOO, TBZ, TAR, GXS, MZMA, MSI, CAB, DEB, LZH or WinRAR, just to name a few. Moreover, you can preview text files and images without decompressing the archive.

The application allows you to create eleven types of archives and four types of self-extracting archives, a feature that can be useful if you want to gain some space or send attachments via email, for example. If necessary, you can encrypt the archive using the standard AES standard.

In the eventuality that you need a reliable application to help you preview the contents of compressed files, open or create encrypted archives, then perhaps BitZipper could come in handy.