RAR files. Why?

[PaulG.]

Or any other non-zip compression utility for that matter ... Once in a great while somebody makes a (expletive here) rar file I have to deal with. I don't care if it's 1 psec faster than zip compressing a 1G image file. I can go 6 months without ever seeing one. It's so rarely used, again I ask: why?

[RavensFan]

Yeah.  That is annoying.  Or when they post 7z files.

I don't care if 7zip is a better file compression utility.  I don't want to have to download it to my PC.  Zip format is the defacto standard.  Even Microsoft built it into windows so you can just double click on a zip file and will treat is like a regular folder.

[Hooovahh]

You won't find me posting RAR or 7z files on the forums...but...

MPEG was the defacto standard for video files, doesn't make it the best choice.  MP3 was the defacto standard for audio (with 64K claiming CD quality), doesn't make it the best choice.

And what about when you need to split an archive, or file into multiple files where each one is less than some size.  If I am emailing some EXE that is 20MB and the limit on a single attachment is 10MB, I can use 7zip to break that archive up into multiple zips, or rars, or 7zips.

Basically what I'm getting at is in the industry I've been working in 7zip (the program not the archive) is the defacto standard, and is installed on every computer in the office.  So I don't really care what archive format it is in.

[Sam_Sharp]

I was curious to find out why other file archiving standards were created - it looks like RAR has some features that make it better over zip files (apart from compatibility/proprietary-ness) - ZIP has a 2GB file size limit whereas it's almost unlimited in RAR, the support for multivolume archives as well as the ability to reconstruct broken archives (apparently). Of course...when servers/disks/networks were smaller/slower - the better compression definitely helps.

Not saying your point is invalid - but I was curious to see if there was a sensible reason behind it.

[crossrulz]

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@Hooovahh wrote:

Basically what I'm getting at is in the industry I've been working in 7zip (the program not the archive) is the defacto standard, and is installed on every computer in the office.  So I don't really care what archive format it is in.

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I started using 7zip at my last company and never turned back.  It is way better than the WinZip I had to use at the company before that.  Yes, I still find it annoying when people post 7z or RAR files, but it does not really slow me down.  Microsoft chose to use the zip compression standard, so that is what people should use for compatibility reasons.  But that is just one man's opinion.

[altenbach]

I still prefer *.tar 😄

Yes, zip should be used as compressed file format, but the choice of tool can still differ. I use 7zip to compress large hierarchies into zip format because it is orders of magnitude faster that the windows built-in function on my 32 core machine. For small files, it does not matter.

(Also, if you have 7zip installed, you can open anything else, incl. rar. I often use it to extract *.iso files.)

[Hooovahh]

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@altenbach wrote:

Also, if you have 7zip installed, you can open anything else, incl. rar. I often use it to extract *.iso files.

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I found this very useful in the past too, but I think starting in Windows 8 you can right click an ISO and mount it.  

[PaulG.]

My IT guy told me to just buy Winzip so I wouldn't have to hassle with the different formats anymore. I understand the need, but very seldom needed from where I sit. So now I have a registered copy of Winzip. Whoopdeedoo. I just hate the idea of spending $50 on something I might use 1-2x a year. 

[altenbach]

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@PaulG. wrote:

My IT guy told me to just buy Winzip so I wouldn't have to hassle with the different formats anymore...

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Hmmm....

[crossrulz]

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@PaulG. wrote:

I just hate the idea of spending $50 on something I might use 1-2x a year. 

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Especially since you can get 7Zip for FREE!  That is unless your IT people are completely against open source applications.