Many years ago I use ONLY WinZip because of the simple interface and it does the job of unzipping files. Years went by and RAR became famous. Many people started using WinRAR. Since WinZip doesn’t support extract RAR files, I need to have WinRAR installed on my computer. I find it a hassle to have 2 compression software installed because that gives me double job to always keep a lookout on newer version of WinZip and WinRAR.

I then found PowerArchiver. It claims to support nearly all types of compression. So if I have PowerArchiver installed, I can ditch WinZip and WinRAR. I’ve been using PowerArchiver for many years now and the interface is nearly the same as WinZip. So there’s no problem in me switching from other compression software to PowerArchiver.

Just few days ago, a major update for PowerArchiver has been released. It is now called PowerArchiver 2007, Version 10.0.

The latest version of PowerArchiver supports Windows Vista and has been extensively tested for compatibility. A completely revamped user interface in PowerArchiver 2007 makes it easier to access the wealth of features that PowerArchiver has. This task-based interface utilizes the same “Ribbon” design found in Microsoft Office 2007, and ensures you quick access to the most used features while not hiding others under layers of menus.

I am still not very used to the new interface, so I switch to the classic interface from the configurations.

Another very new feature to compression software is the Queue system. An innovative Queue System has been added to PowerArchiver 2007. This is the first time such an option is available in compression utility, and it enables you to better organize your compression, extraction and backups, as well as schedule multiple jobs to be done sequentially without slowing down your system – as multiple compressions would do if run all at once. Another first for PowerArchiver.
If you don’t want PowerArchiver queue to automatically start on Windows startup, you can disable it by right clicking on the PowerArchiver icon on the traybar, select Close, and you’ll have the option to stop PowerArchiver Starter.

One thing I really like about PowerArchiver is the complete built-in support for 7-ZIP, ZIP, CAB, LHA (LZH), TAR, TAR.GZ, TAR.BZ2, BH, RAR, ARJ, ARC, ACE, ZOO, GZ, and BZIP2 file formats. I don’t need to worry about an unsupported compressed file anymore. Moreover, PowerArchiver cost only USD19.95. It’s USD10 cheaper than WinZip and WinRAR.

Whiterat, a member of Team ICU has created a patch to crack the latest PowerArchiver. After cracking PowerArchiver, you will no longer be bothered by the nag screen whenever you open a compressed file.

[ Download PowerArchiver 2007 v10 ]