FilZip

Program: FilZip, version 3.04
Publisher: Philipp Engel www.filzip.com
Category: Compression/Decompression Archiving Utility

I use FilZip for all my unpackaging needs other than .zip files. As a considerate program, when you install it, it asks which file extensions you want FilZip to handle. I suggest you use my setting -- select all but .zip. However, if you change your mind, you can unselect some or select some more via the FilZip's Options/Preferences menu.

FilZip handles a number of compressed file types that have become pretty obsolete, such as .lha and .arc. It also will maintain the directory structure, if you are packaging (or unpackaging) more than one directory. It handles current file formats such as zip, .cab files (Microsoft's favorite), gzip files (.gz), tar-gzip files(.tgz), .tar files, and rar and UU-encoded files, which are common in Usenet news.

Many of the programs that I use to run my websites are provided from the Linux/Unix/BSD world, which is appropriate since they are running on BSD (BSD is functionally similar to Linux and Unix, but is internally different. It can often run the same script files.) These files are usually packaged as .tgz or .tar.gz, which mean the same thing.

FilZip handles .tgz files automatically. For files that end in .tar.gz files, it is a two-step process to ungzip compression and then untar the files package. At that point, I can edit any configuration files I need to, and then upload the files to either of the web hosting companies I use — Powweb or HostGator — using FileZilla, my June 27, 2005 Shareware/Freeware Pick of the Week.