PowerZip's Compression and Extraction Wizards make working with archives (such as Zip files) quick and easy. In two or three simple steps, they will guide you through the process of zipping and unzipping files. PowerZip's Welcome screen also includes quick instructions on how to use the most common features to help you get started.

With PowerZip, you can easily create password-protected Zip files to secure your confidential files and documents for storage or communication. You can either use the standard Zip encryption or, for extra protection, use 256-bit AES* which offers a high level of data security. You can also quickly encrypt files directly from Windows Explorer (My Computer) - just right-click on a file and select "Encrypt".

PowerZip allows you to create and unzip Zip files and other archives directly from Windows Explorer (My Computer). Zipping files is as simple as right-clicking on the files or folders you wish to compress and selecting "Zip" from the menu. Similarly, files can be unzipped by right-clicking on one or more archives directly in Windows Explorer (My Computer) and choosing one of the "Unzip" options. This feature also allows for multiple archives to be unzipped with only 2 clicks.

You can create PowerZip Macro Files to automate common compression tasks, such as routine backup. PowerZip Macro Files are quick and easy to record and allow you to repeat the recorded task with one double-click or even include it as part of an automated script.

As well as Zip files, PowerZip can handle eleven other types of archives - Cab, Ace, Rar, Arj, Jar, Tar, Gz, Z, Bz2, Lzh and Ha. This means you'll never run into a file you can't unzip with PowerZip. As well as being able to unzip these archive types, PowerZip can also create Cab, Arj, Tar, Tar.Gz, Tar.Bz2 and Ha files.

You can unzip files quickly by dragging them from the PowerZip window and dropping them into a folder of your choice. You can also drop compressed files directly into an application. Compress files by dropping them into the PowerZip window.

PowerZip can create and unzip archives types common under Unix (Tar, Gzip, Bzip2), making sharing files with Unix / Linux systems quick and easy. PowerZip lets you create a .tar.gz or .tar.bz2 file in one go - perfect for when you need to transfer multiple files to a Unix machine.

PowerZip lets you create fully customizable self-extracting archives to have all the advantages of Zip files without the need for the recipients of your files to have an unzip program. You can choose the start-up message, specify a command to be executed after extraction and specify the default extraction folder (you can use built-in path variables so that that the self-extracting archive will work flawlessly on all versions of Windows). Several other options are also supported.

You can view any file stored in an archive by simply double-clicking on it in PowerZip. You can also edit the file and update the archive.

If an archive contains folders, PowerZip displays them in a Windows Explorer-like manner, instead of simply listing all files in a "flat" list. This feature can be turned off.

Choose between Large Icons, Small Icons, List and Details views, just like you would in Windows Explorer / My Computer.

PowerZip can be completely customized to suit your tastes and habits. You can customize the toolbar and menus, appearance, options and defaults.

The Welcome screen helps you get started quickly by providing shortcuts for the most common tasks and has links to the User Guide and the "Getting Started" section. And if you get stuck, you can simply point your mouse to a button or control you are unsure about and a helpful explanation will pop up.