Description:
Having a compression program is essential in these days of bandwidth conservation--e-mailing a 100 KB compressed file instead of a full 1 MB version over a dial-up connection preserves sanity as well as throughput. Since its debut, ZipMagic has been known as one of the easiest-to-use compression applications. What sets ZipMagic apart is the "magic" inside: ZipMagic's neatest trick is allowing compressed--or zipped--files to act like normal folders within Windows. Double-clicking a file compressed with ZipMagic opens it like any other Windows folder, allowing you to browse the contents without unzipping it. You can rename individual files, open zipped files from within applications, and even run zipped programs without uncompressing them first. Of course, you'll see some slowdown when running larger program files compared to their uncompressed versions, but it's definitely a handy feature. ZipMagic also compresses any folder on your hard drive if you add a .zip extension to its name, an excellent feature for storage. While this can save a lot of space, you'll want to be careful which folders you compress. Compressing everything on your hard drive can slow performance substantially, and some folders, such as the Windows or system folder, won't work properly when compressed. The latest 4.0 version of ZipMagic also offers e-mail attachment enhancements, automatically compressing files attached to Outlook (but not Express) messages if you choose. In addition, the ZipMagic plug-in for Outlook, as well as for Microsoft Exchange, Eudora Light, and Eudora Pro, allows you to manually compress attached files from within your e-mail client. ZipMagic 4.0 also offers 56-bit encryption--more than strong enough for the average user--but you'll need to register for this level of encryption as it's only available to users in the U.S. and Canada. For basic handling of zipped files, ZipMagic works as well as any compression application out there. The compression ratios of different types of files, such as .doc and .bmp, are as high or higher than Niko Mak's WinZip or PKWARE's PKZIP. Like these other zip programs, ZipMagic allows the spanning of zipped files across multiple floppy diskettes, it can create self-extracting compressed files, and it integrates with your currently installed virus program to scan compressed files for viruses before you open them. ZipMagic features an intuitive interface for file compression and manipulation, but the features you'll most enjoy are the ones working in the background that you never even see. --J. Curtis
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