Zip Explorer Pro for Windows 95

Zip Explorer Pro for Windows 95 -- Zip Explorer Pro is designed primarily for seamless integration with the Windows 95 Explorer client and for adding greatly needed archive maintenance to the Windows 95/NT interface. Native support is offered for format standards like TAR, uncompress and gzip; ZIP and UNZIP are supported with PKZIP-compatible code. Zip Explorer Pro sports the same familiar interface found in Explorer and offers full drag 'n' drop (with OLE 2.0 support) between both Explorer and the entire Windows 95/NT interface. Multiple-disk archives are supported with automatic compression/decompression tools. Near-instantaneous viewing of compressed files is perhaps Zip Explorer Pro's best feature -- quick viewing is offered in both ASCII and binary modes and is a much-appreciated addition for a compression utility. The quick view utility would be even better if simple editing tools were also included. Zip Explorer Pro does lack an extensive on-line help system but is generally intuitive and easy to use with the exception of actually installing the program. Zip could greatly benefit from an efficient automatic installation client for both uncompressing the file into a particular directory and also for creating a program manager folder and related i Cons. Finally, at $39.95, Zip Explorer Pro is more expensive than WinZip but offers fewer features. Pros: Native Windows 95/NT application, sports an Explorer-like interface, quick viewing Cons: Lacks an automatic install program and the multitude of features found in WinZip New: Built-in LZH, multi-disk LFN ZIP, and encrypted ZIP file support; multithreading, more Version Reviewed: 2.02 Build 602 Date of Review: 6/27/96 Reviewer: Forrest