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freeware RAR program?

afaik 7-zip will UNRAR, but doesn't create RARs.

Not much free software out there will create RARs except for Roshal's own programs e.g. winrar et. al.

Frankly I think the semi-closed and limited algorithms / source codes for packing and unpacking are enough to disqualify it as a compression format that one should use since it is hard for people to find free software choices to extract any achives you may make with it.

Also its compression / speed isn't really any better than 7-zip's own free algorithms in most cases, so I see little reason why RAR is popular as compared to truly open/free alternatives.

http://www.7-zip.org/
# Supported formats:

* Packing / unpacking: 7z, ZIP, GZIP, BZIP2 and TAR
* Unpacking only: RAR, CAB, ISO, ARJ, LZH, CHM, MSI, WIM, Z, CPIO, RPM, DEB and NSIS

# For ZIP and GZIP formats, 7-Zip provides a compression ratio that is 2-10 % better than the ratio provided by PKZip and WinZip
Click to expand...
 
ya I'm not even worried about created RAR archives, I'm just interested in opening them! A lot the freeware downloads I get are in RAR archives. I see RAR a lot more than ZIP these days for some reason. I have created a few RAR archives just because it was handy and was sending tiny exe files to friends, gmail won't send exe files.

Anyhow thanks for the heads up I'll try out 7zip
 
afaik 7-zip will UNRAR, but doesn't create RARs.
Click to expand...
Most, if not all, packing software supports ZIP files though. WinZIP, WinRAR, and 7z all support it and to my knowledge are the most popular compression utilities, so if you really need to get something compressed to someone, .ZIP is always an option.

Also its compression / speed isn't really any better than 7-zip's own free algorithms in most cases, so I see little reason why RAR is popular as compared to truly open/free alternatives.
Click to expand...
I did some testing a while back and, if I recall correctly, WinRAR turned up marginally smaller packages when compressing from larger files. The lead did go over a few MB at some point. That was years ago though, I still chose 7z and have been with it since. In summation: +1 7z.


Edit:
Just noticed QuixoticOne was the person I was responding to... short post for you, Quixotic. Normally, while I'm interested in what you have to say, I can barely make it through your posts without taking at least one nap and a short break to stretch out. XD
 
Originally posted by: mentalcrisis00
ya I'm not even worried about created RAR archives, I'm just interested in opening them! A lot the freeware downloads I get are in RAR archives. I see RAR a lot more than ZIP these days for some reason. I have created a few RAR archives just because it was handy and was sending tiny exe files to friends, gmail won't send exe files.

Anyhow thanks for the heads up I'll try out 7zip
Click to expand...
Yeah, 7zip is great. I still use WinRar though and never see any messages when I uncompress something. I just us the right-click context menu to open things and it works without ever seeing a trial period over message.

 
Originally posted by: Pabster
I bought WinRAR years ago. It's worth every penny.

7-Zip is fine but IMHO a subpar product in comparison.
Click to expand...

Why do you say that? I'm not a heavy user of archives, but it seems to me 7Zip does everything needed, plus it's available as a free download so people aren't stuck downloading shareware to open a archive you've sent them.
 
Originally posted by: lxskllr
Why do you say that? I'm not a heavy user of archives, but it seems to me 7Zip does everything needed, plus it's available as a free download so people aren't stuck downloading shareware to open a archive you've sent them.
Click to expand...

It's personal preference, hence the IMHO 🙂
 
to nova2, I usually google problems first but in terms of programs I like to ask here because you guys have experience with these programs. I don't like to install googled software willy nilly without getting recommendations for it. Thanks for the suggestions, I'm using 7zip and it's a great program.

Hah and I now realize that 7zip is listed on the freeware sticky, it's kind of hard to see in there. I'm also using open office now to 🙂
 
RAR is dominant for large files, particularly on usenet, 'cause it was a significant improvement over ye olde ZIP. Later formats could not offer 'nuff additional improvement and just came too late. I still use WinRAR lo these many years. I do install 7-Zip for nubs who just need to extract schtuff though.
 
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