Advantages of PeaZip

Hello everyone, as I am not comfortable with Winrar, I was searching for some zipping and extracting software when I came across PeaZip. I need a brief information on the advantages of PeaZip. Does it support Windows operating systems? Does it have any additional requirements? I am using Windows Vista operating system. If PeaZip will not run in my system, please suggest some alternative that i can use against Winrar.

PeaZip supports the following platforms:

• Linux
• Windows 95
• Windows 98
• Linux Console
• Linux GPL
• Linux Gnome
• Linux Open Source
• Windows XP

Even it does not show that it supports Windows Vista or not, it runs fine in Vista and I can assure you this because I am using the same in my computer with Windows Vista.

PeaZip can be used to extract more than 118 file extensions and some of them are given below:

1. ACE, ARJ, CAB, CHM
2. COMPOUND: MSI, DOC, XLS, PPT, CPIO, ISO
3. Java: JAR, EAR, WAR
4. Linux: DEB, PET/PUP, RPM, SLP, LHA/LZH, LZMA
5. Mac: DMG/HFS, NSIS
6. Open Office files: PAK/PK3/PK4, RAR, SMZIP, U3P, UDF, VHD, WIM, XAR, XPI, XZ, Z/TZ

The advantages of PeaZip are more than Winrar. The layouts of the archives can also be saved using PeaZip. A search that is very powerful can be applied to the archives contents for the filters. The work of exporting is done with the help of a command line. It helps to bookmark archives and folders. The best thing is that it is a freeware and has a file size of just 5.40MB.

The interface of PeaZip is highly customizable, sice it comes with various skins as well as feature of transparency and icons. It has additional features like archive conversion, AES256 encryption, robust file copy, split/join files (file span), secure file deletion, compare, checksum and hash files, system benchmark, generate random passwords and keyfiles. But, I think that Winrar is a better comfortable software than PeaZip.

There are many other extraction and compression softwares that have more advantages than PeaZip. I found some of them, when I searched the internet for the same:

• FILEminimizer Suite
• Eazel
• Bricolsoft Zip ActiveX Component
• WinZip
• ZipView

Both are wonderful programs, like 7-zip, and unlike WinZip.
WinRar has the obvious advantage that is the only software capable to write Rar archives, since Rar is the proprietary format created by authors of WinRar, so you basically have no alternative if you want to create Rars.
PeaZip supports more formats, and has a more advanced file manager - more customizable, with better bookmarking and with some more useful features like secure file deletion, and it is open source and free (as well as 7-Zip), while WinRar warns that you are not lawfully entitled to run the software after the end of the trial (that's it, you can click ok and use Winrar anyway, but basically the authors says you are not lawfully entitled to do so).
PeaZip runs practically on every Windows system, old or new, and even on Linux, while WinRar and 7-Zip does the best on XP and more recent systems.
Both 7-Zip and PeaZip exists as portable software, see PortableApps.com, if you prefer softwares that does not require installation, while Winrar as for what I know lacks a portable version.
Of course, it is up to your specific needs to give the right value to each of this advantage each program has over the other ones.