14 DAY TRIAL // I still remember the old days when, due to the lack of space on my hard disk, I had to uninstall a certain application or erase whatever I couldn't find useful anymore. Nowadays, producers tend to build bigger and bigger hard disks but still, space will always be a problem. And because you cannot always uninstall or erase software, something must be done in order to solve this "small" inconvenient.
One of the solutions is archiving, packing one or multiple files together for backup, to transport to some other location, in order to save it on a peripherical device so that more hard disk space can be made available for some other purpose. We all know there is a wide range of file formats to which we can pack a file or folder (ZIP, RAR, ACE, TAR, etc.) and choosing one against the other is, after all, a matter of taste. Producers have come to develop more or less effective compressors and one of them is today's topic.
If you are looking for such an application you might run into EasyZip, provided to you by Linos Software. As the name itself suggests, EasyZip will deal with the majority of aspects involved when working with ZIP files. But, first things first...
The installer of the current version, 3.1.2851.30164 is pretty fair, taking into account the purpose of this utility, and by simply following the instructions, you won't have any trouble installing it. When launching the application, a nag screen will let you know about the number of days left for the fully functional evaluation copy. At this point you have two options: either continue testing EasyZip if the trial period has not expired, or enter the unlock code in case you have purchased it or you're not able to use it anymore.
Moving along, we find out that EasyZip has an easy to use interface, with all its features grouped together under intuitively-named menus. As I said before, the application will deal with ZIP files. So the first thing I tested was the opening of a previously created ZIP archive. It worked. EasyZip displayed its contents right underneath the toolbar. This is particularly useful when, for example, you have to run a setup included in a ZIP file, when you are not advised to do so before unzipping. Then I tried to create a ZIP file. A Save As dialog is displayed to choose the output filename, and then the user may choose the desired filename and path. A number of advanced options are also available and the most important of them is the program's ability to work with several compression formats, as well as the fact that it lets users choose the right compression level and the volume spanning. For security minded users, EasyZip also comes with the possibility to create password protected archives. Creating such a secure archive takes just a second as the process is straightforward, users having only to check the "Password" field and then enter and confirm the chosen password.
Apart from these features, the application also provides you with the possibility to select the way the files and folders are displayed, either as large or small icons, list or details, just like in Windows Explorer. On the left side of the window, a file and folder tree view allows users to easily navigate through the local file system. Once the user hits the Add button, a second smaller window comes up and displays two progress bars allowing an easy view over the entire operation. After the successful completion of the archiving process the contents of the newly created file are directly visible in the main application's window. Here, the users will see every file and folder added, as well as a number of extra details about each of them. The initial element size as well as the packed size are both visible and, for better understanding the amount of space reclaimed through compression, the packed ratio is also made available.
Among the extra functionality provided by EasyZip there is the Mail Archive shortcut that instantly calls a mail client wizard which will guide users through the process of connecting to an Internet account and linking to a specified mail server. While the front-end application is provided by Linos Software, the backend, the real mail client, is none other than the well-known Microsoft Outlook.
Like any other file compression utility, EasyZip implements a wide range of functions that enable users to extract, modify and create an auto executable file from an ordinary archive. The extract tool has some advanced options too, as it can unpack a compressed file in a certain user-given folder and it can also extract all the files or only those that meet a specified criterion.
EasyZip can also make a self extracting archive from a normal compressed file and it allows users to specify the name of the resulting application as well as an introduction message and another custom message that will be displayed upon the successful completion of the operation. A default extracting folder can also be given by the user as well as a custom Readme file and a special application icon.
The Tools item that provides EasyZip with the possibility to read several compressed files or even folders at once and extract them into a user-given location is integrated into the main application's menu. A batch processing capability is also included in this utility and it provides users with an easy-to-use wizard and interface when they need to create a large number of compressed files. Among the different types of batched tasks that can be performed by EasyZip there is a normal archive creation type as well as several other options that will allow users to process a large number of input files according to some predefined filters. As compressing a large file or folder usually takes some time, EasyZip integrates a scheduling wizard that can perform all the basic operations of a file manager. Archives created using this wizard can also be transferred by the internal FTP module which features an easy-to-use interface and rich connectivity options.
EasyZip comes with many configuration options including the possibility to display many and detailed attributes of the currently selected archive. Using the first tab of the Configuration window, users may select the desired columns resulting in hassle-free and un-bloated archive explorer. The second tab comes with another host of options, this time related to the EasyZip integration into the underlying operating system. While this application offers all the functionality a user may expect from a compression and manipulation utility, it can also be linked and associated with only certain file types allowing users to employ several such compression applications at the same time.
The last tab of the Configuration window deals with global options and settings, such as the default startup folder or the location that will be used for file extraction unless the user directly specifies another one. Two other tools are also increasing EasyZip's value and applicability in day to day situations. The former is named Favourites and it allows an easy way to view, classify and inspect a list of compressed files. Especially useful when managing a large number of archives, Favourites comes with a built-in file extension filter that limits the output only to selected files. The latter tool is a history browser and viewer and it can be valuable for those users who are sometimes misplacing their files or for those users that need a complete log of all performed operations.
The Good
EasyZip comes with pretty extended functionality and it supports the most popular archive types out there. An easy to use graphical user interface makes EasyZip a joy to work with and most likely, it will not scare away even a novice computer user.
The Bad
This application comes with a tricky choice of colors that are sometimes making it hard to read a number of important details about current operations. While the graphical user interface is intuitive and eye-pleasing, the less fortunate colors employed are sometimes nagging.
The Truth
EasyZip comes with enough features to satisfy the average computer user that works with only the most popular and widely available compressed file types. Even if ZIP, TAR and GZIP are pretty widely used file types, they are all related to each other so the internal EasyZip archive manipulation engine is pretty limited as it cannot accommodate other, unrelated types like ace, rar and so on. While its price is low and its developers and vendors included a 15 day evaluation period in the package, there are a number of similar software applications providing the very same basic functionality at no cost whatsoever.
Here are some snapshots of the application in action:
