WinZip Pro

About this release

WinZip has been the default archiver on an enormous number of machines for a very long time, and the current version has grown well past compression. It still zips and unzips everything expected of it, reading the common archive formats and writing zip with modern encryption, but the application now presents itself as a place where files get packaged, cleaned up, backed up and sent somewhere.

The compression side is solid and configurable. Best method picks an algorithm per file type instead of applying one setting to a whole folder, which typically produces a smaller archive than a fixed choice. Split archives, self extracting output, archive conversion and batch operations across many archives at once are all present, and encryption on archive contents uses a modern cipher.

The file management side is what separates the professional edition. Duplicate file finding, large file identification, folder cleanup, background backup jobs with scheduling and versioning, and direct connections to the common cloud storage services so an archive is created and uploaded in one operation rather than two. Files too large to send by mail are replaced with a link automatically.

The interface is built around this workflow, with panes for the source files, the archive being assembled and the destination it is going to. For anyone who packages and sends files regularly it removes several steps from a task they do many times a day, which is the whole reason the professional edition exists.

What it does

Per file compression choice

Best method picks an algorithm suited to each file type rather than applying one setting to everything.

Modern encryption

Strong encryption on archive contents with configurable strength.

Cloud destinations

Create an archive and send it to connected storage in one operation.

Backup jobs

Scheduled background backups with versioning and selective restore.

Disk cleanup tools

Find duplicates and unusually large files and clear them out from inside the same application.

Batch operations

Convert, re encrypt or re split many archives at once instead of handling them individually.

Changed in this version

• Faster compression on high core count processors.
• Cloud service connectors updated for current service versions.
• Duplicate finder is quicker on very large folder trees.
• Interface density options added for high resolution displays.
• Backup job scheduling reworked with clearer conflict handling.

System requirements

Install order

1. Unpack the archive and run the installer.
2. Choose which archive formats it should associate with during setup.
3. Skip the optional companion utilities unless you want them.
4. Connect any cloud destinations from the settings panel after first launch.

Worth knowing before you start

File details