WinZip, or similar?? Alternatives!?

I’m about to post my software to the site… Ready for public download. But how do I post it the best way!?

Maybe WinZip is not the best!? Are there other alternatives!?

I have been using zipped archives on my sites for 20 years or so without issue. Make sure to use use legacy compression so Windows can unpack.

If you need to place some files in specific locations, or if you want your software to install in a professional looking manner, have a look at the FREE Inno Setup. It produces a very nice installer which is like what most Windows users (IMHO) expect.

On Mac you can use zip command line tool.

Or write your own tool in Xojo.

On Windows? Inno Setup. Easy to use and Free.

Most Windows users expect an installer, and that is what Microsoft recommend they say. Personally I prefer a straight .zip or some such archive. Installers have the habit of splattering all kinds of cack ( Afrikaans: kak ) all over your hard drive and registry, and many require you to have your wits about you and to read the small print or they install ghastly “optional” rubbish that you neither want nor need. Even Adobe Reader tries to get you to install McAfee nonsense, and I see EAC wants to install heaven knows what these days.

Plain archives are also called “portable” nowadays - maybe offer your user both an installer and an archive.

Antiviruses tend to frown on exe files. Hence it is a good idea to package the installer into a zip file. It also allows packing a ReadMe file and a user license file at the same time that can be read before install.

That is what I do.

Adding junkware to an installer is stupid. Would it be Adobe and its idiotic push for McAffee or freewares that are so jammed packed with garbage, it is plain ridiculous.

Thank you!
Let me be more specific:
I use Windows and I compile for the others, Mac and Linux.
My software is a “first post”… Meaning, there is not really a user base. No person has tried the software besides me.

WinZip will do the work!
I’d like the free alternative. Maybe there is a Mozilla alternative!?

At this moment, I don’t care for installers… Since I can’t try and verify the use. I hope to do in the future, but not in the moment.
I’d love an installer in the future!


On Windows? Inno Setup. Easy to use and Free.

I’ll look into this one!
** Oh! That’s an installer for Windows!


http://download.cnet.com/s/utilities-file-compression/windows/

Maybe this list will give some possible alternative!?
I’ll look later!!

Thank you all for all input!!

I have been using Winzip since the nineties, and actually my current license dates back to the 2000’s.

However, I have used 7Zip too. It is open source if you are looking for a free solution.

About CNet, beware their junkware ridden installers ; always make sure to download from the author’s web site.

Some tips for you:

User Guide -> Desktop Deployment

If that is all you want to do is bundle it up and you’ll be the end user, a lot of people use 7-Zip as an alternative to WinZip (I personally prefer WinZip).

If you are going to distribute your application for other users, on Windows, take a little time and get an installer like Inno Setup. Everyone knows how to click a link, but asking some users to unzip a file into a certain location is going to be trouble for some users.

NOTE TO MICHELE: Didn’t you have some other Windows installer you liked? I thought I recalled that?

Thank you!
7 Zip will be a good solution for now.
These users know how to deal with Zip-files. No worries!

I actually got the impression that WinZip was a part of Windows… Well, it’s not the case, I now understand! :slight_smile:
I don’t mind to purchase a license, if that’s what it takes!

In the future, I’d love to get a proper installer! Thanks for the Desktop Development link!! Very informative! :slight_smile:

Doesn’t Windows generally open a zip file without needing any additional software ?
It seems to here and I’ve not installed 7Zip etc

Yes.

[quote=262452:@Norman Palardy]Doesn’t Windows generally open a zip file without needing any additional software ?
It seems to here and I’ve not installed 7Zip etc[/quote]

7Zip or Winzip are necessary to prepare the archive. Then Windows can extract it without any additional software.

I hate being ‘that guy’, but…

If you have a folder containing your stuff, you can right click on the folder name in Explorer, and choose
Send To / Compressed Folder

Tada!
Instant zip file.

But Inno Setup IS a proper installer. And it’s free.

[quote=262523:@Jeff Tullin]If you have a folder containing your stuff, you can right click on the folder name in Explorer, and choose
Send To / Compressed Folder[/quote]

I had not noticed that feature. Old habits die hard, Winzip has become a reflex for so long. That is indeed quite convenient. Just the same as Compress in Mac OS X.

7Zip remains interesting in some cases as it manages many more compression methods.

As I wrote above, linking to a naked exe will trigger warnings from antiviruses as well as Internet Explorer (“this file may damage your computer” !), so it is always batter to package the installer in a zip archive for distribution.

A third party for Zip per se is no longer necessary as @Jeff Tullin pointed out. However, I like 7Zip because it supports a very large veriety of archives. It happens that I come across less common archives. 7Zip usually handles them nicely.

7Zip is soooo much faster than the Windows built-in archive handler. I deal daily with multi-GB zip-archives (database dumps) and 7Zip just zips through them :slight_smile:

I love 7zip. It’s the first thing I install when I set up a new Windows installation.