WinRAR 6 UPDATED REVIEW

[tarekma7]

 WinRAR is a powerful windows archiver software that can create compressed files in both RAR and ZIP formats. It can also unpack most known file formats such as RAR, ZIP, ISO, CAB, 7ZIP and many more. 

WinRAR is easier to use when compared to other archivers available on the web. You can do many operations using the right context menu. You can also select the context menu options you need to add.

 The built-in special "Wizard" mode uses a simple question and answer procedure to allow instant access to the basic archiving functions. WinRAR offers you the benefit of archive encryption using AES with a key of 256 bits. This adds to the security of your data and archives

You can use the program in your own language and change the user interface using many themes available. 

Homepage: 

http://www.win-rar.com

The current version is 6.00 final, released on 07/12/2020


 
System Requirements:
 
WinRAR is compatible with all windows versions including windows 10.

For all Android users, the RAR for Android App is available on Google Play.

The command line version of WinRAR is also available for Linux, FreeBSD and MAC OS X.

Download: 

https://www.win-rar.com/download.html?L=0
 
Free Trial: 

The program offers you 40 days free trial with all features available. After the trial is over, you can continue using the program with a popup window that remind you to purchase a license for the program.  

User Interface 

The user interface is very friendly, intuitive and easy to use. There is menu bar with buttons which include all the program features (such as file, command, options, tools...)

You can change the program look using your favorite themes. 

The program can be used in one of two modes 

Archive view: for compressed/archived files 

 

File view: for any file /folder on your computer similar to the windows explorer 

The file list view options can be changed using simple right click on the upper toolbar. You will be able to select any options or remove others according to your wish 



Multilingual support:  

WinRAR is available in more than 50 languages. This will let you enjoy your favorite app in your own language  

WinRAR Menus: 

 

Features: 

Supports all popular compression formats such as RAR, ZIP and non RAR archives including; CAB, ARJ, LZH, TAR, GZip, UUE, ISO, BZIP2, Z and 7-Zip.

Using solid archiving; it can raise compression ratio by 10% - 50% over more common methods

Combine files split to multiple parts with .001, .002, ... extensions.

Efficient, secure, fast and save disk space

Split archives into separate volumes which is useful in many conditions as large sized files and save on several disks.

Shell Integration.

Support for drag and drop feature and wizard tool

Create self-extracting archives through the built in SFX tool

Available in two forms; graphic interactive interface and command line interface

Recovery record and recovery volumes allow to reconstruct even physically damaged archives

Fast email transmission and send many attached files in small size

Support multimedia files: automatically recognizes and selects the best compression

Uses CRC32 and BLAKE2 checksums to check the integrity of each file in the archive

Backup your data

Supports encryption (256-bit password) to secure your files against unauthorized access

Small size with easy to use with friendly, skinny user interface

Minimal system requirements, Compatible with windows 10 and available in both 32 and 64 versions 

New Features in WinRAR 6.00:      

1. "Ignore" and "Ignore All" options are added to read error prompt. "Ignore" allows to continue processing with already read file part only and "Ignore All" does it for all future read errors. It can help to avoid interrupting lengthy archiving operations, though be aware that files archived with "Ignore" are incomplete. If switch -y is specified, "Ignore" is applied to all files by default.

Previously available "Retry" and "Quit" options are still present in read error prompt as well. 

2. Exit code 12 is returned in the command line mode in case of read errors. This code is returned for all options in the read error prompt, including a newly introduced "Ignore" option. Previously more common fatal error code 2 was returned for read errors. 

3. If several archives are selected, "Extract archives to" option group in "Options" page of extraction dialog can be used to place extracted files to specified destination folder, to separate subfolders in destination folder, to separate subfolders in archive folders and directly to archive folders. 

      

It replaces "Extract archives to subfolders" option and available only if multiple archives are selected. 

4. New -ad2 switch places extracted files directly to archive's own folder. Unlike -ad1, it does not create a separate subfolder for each unpacked archive. 

5. "Additional switches" option in "Options" page of archiving and extraction dialogs allows to specify WinRAR command line switches. It might be useful if there is no option in WinRAR graphical interface matching a switch. 

 

 

Use this feature only if you are familiar with WinRAR command line syntax and clearly understand what specified switches are intended for.

6. Compression parameters in "Benchmark" command are changed to 32 MB dictionary and "Normal" method. They match RAR5 default mode and more suitable to estimate the typical performance of recent WinRAR versions than former 4 MB "Best" intended for RAR4 format. 

 

Latest "Benchmark" results cannot be compared with previous versions directly. New parameters set produces different values, likely lower because of eight times larger dictionary size.   

7. When unpacking a part of files from solid volume set, WinRAR attempts to skip volumes in the beginning and start extraction from volume closest to specified file and with reset solid statistics. By default WinRAR resets the solid statistics in the beginning of large enough solid volumes where possible. For such volumes extracting a part of files from the middle of volume set can be faster now.

 It does not affect performance when all archived files are unpacked. 

8. Previously WinRAR automatically resorted to extracting from first volume, when user started extraction from non-first volume and first volume was available. Now WinRAR does so only if all volumes between first and specified are also available. 

9. Warning is issued when closing WinRAR if one or more archived files had been modified by external apps, but failed to be saved back to archive, because an external app still locks them. Such warning includes the list of modified files and proposes to quit immediately and lose changes or return to WinRAR and close an editor app.

Previous versions issued a similar warning while editing a file, but did not remind it again when quitting. 

10. "Move to Recycle Bin" option in "Delete archive" options group of extraction dialog places deleted archives to Recycle Bin instead of deleting them permanently. 

 

11. New "Clear history..." command in "Options" menu allows to remove names of recently opened archives in "File" menu and clear drop-down lists with previously entered values in dialogs. For example, these values include archive names in archiving dialog and destination paths in extraction dialog. 

   

12. "File time" options in "Advanced" part of extraction dialog are now available for 7z archives. Additionally to modification time, WinRAR can set creation and last access time when unpacking such archives. 



13. ""New" submenu items" options group is added to "Settings/Integration/Context menu items..." dialog. You can use these options to remove "WinRAR archive" and "WinRAR ZIP archive"  entries in "New" submenu of Windows context menu. 

 

New state of these option is applied only after you press "OK" both in "Context menu items" and its parent "Settings" dialog. 

14. <Max>, <Min> and <Hide> commands can be inserted before the program

      name in SFX "Setup" command to run a program in maximized, minimized or hidden window. For example: Setup=<Hide>setup.exe

15. It is possible to specify an additional high resolution logo for SFX module. If such logo is present, SFX module scales and displays it in high DPI Windows mode, providing the better visible quality compared to resizing the standard logo.
  
    

Use "High resolution SFX logo" in "Advanced SFX options" dialog to define such logo. In command line mode add second -iimg switch to set the high resolution logo.

Recommended size of high resolution logo PNG file is 186x604 pixels. 

 16. If archive currently opened in WinRAR shell was deleted or moved by another program, WinRAR displays "Inaccessible" before archive name in the window title. Also, it flashes the window caption and taskbar button. 

  17. "Total information" option in "Report" dialog is renamed to "Headers and totals". Now it also adds headers of report columns additionally to total information about listed files and archives. 

   

 18. If archive processing is started from Windows context menu in multiple monitor system, WinRAR operation progress and dialogs use the monitor with context menu.

 While basic multiple monitor support was present in previous versions shell extension for mouse driven commands, now it is extended to operations initiated from keyboard and to dropping files to archives. 

 19. New -imon<number> switch allows to select a monitor to display WinRAR operation progress and dialogs in the command line mode. Use -imon1 for primary and -imon2 for secondary monitor. For example, "WinRAR x -imon2 arcname" will start extraction on secondary monitor.

It works only in the command line mode and does not affect interactive WinRAR graphical inteface also as console RAR.

 20. Switch -idn hides archived names output in archiving, extraction and some other commands in console RAR. Other messages and total percentage are not affected.

You can use this switch to reduce visual clutter and console output overhead when archiving or extracting a lot of small files.

Minor visual artifacts, such as percentage indicator overwriting few last characters of error messages, are possible with -idn.

21. Former "-im - show more information" switch is changed to "-idv - display verbose output" for consistency with console RAR -id[c,d,p,q] message control options and avoid a potential name conflict with newer -imon switch.

While WinRAR still recognizes both -im and -idv, in the future -im support can be dropped.

22. It is allowed to add an optional %arcname% variable to compression profile name. Such variable will be replaced with actual archive name. It might be convenient when using with "Add to context menu" profile option. For example, you can create ZIP compression profile and set its name to "Add to %arcname%", to display it with actual      ZIP archive name in context menu.

23. Ctrl+C and Ctrl+Ins keyboard shortcuts can be used in "Diagnostic messages" window to copy contents to clipboard.

24. More text is allowed in tray icon hint before a lengthy text is truncated. Also such text is now truncated in the middle of string, so both command type and completion percentage are still visible.

25. In case of clean install, if previous version compression profiles are not present, "Files to store without compression" field in newly created predefined compression profiles is set to:

        *.rar *.zip *.cab *.7z *.arj *.bz2 *.gz *.lha *.lzh

        *.taz *.tgz *.xz *.txz

 
You can change this field and save a modified value to compression profile later.

Previous versions set this field to blank for clean install.

26. Destination path history in extraction dialog treats paths like 'folder' and 'folder\' as the same path and displays only 'folder' entry. Previously they occupied two entries in the history.

27. "Enable Itanium executable compression" GUI option and -mci command line switch are removed. Optimized compression of Itanium executables is not supported anymore. WinRAR still can decompress already existing archives utilizing Itanium executable compression.

28. Bugs fixed: 

      a) "Lock", "Comment" and "Protect" commands could not be applied to several archives selected in WinRAR file list at once; 

      b) SFX archive process did not terminate after completing extraction in Windows 10 if archive comment included "Setup"and "SetupCode" commands, did not include "TempMode" command and setup program was running for more than 8 minutes; 

      c) compression profiles with quote character in profile name could not be invoked from Explorer context menu. 

Key Features: 

Open and Extraction of an archive: 

 

Using the program, you can open and decompress any supported archive format using many available options. If WinRAR was associated with archives during or after installation, double-click or press enter on the archive name in the Windows shell (Explorer or Desktop). Alternatively, you can double-click or press enter on the archive name in the WinRAR window; drag-and-drop an archive to the WinRAR icon or window or run WinRAR from the command line with a single parameter the archive name.

 

Archiving (Compression):

 

Archiving is very useful feature. It will save you disk space, transmission costs and valuable working time as well. 

You can quickly add any files or folders to an archive. The process is very easy and can be completed using the right context menu or from within the application using the built-in browser. You can also add files to an existing archive using drag and drop feature

WinRAR supports all popular compression formats (RAR, ZIP, CAB, ARJ, LZH, TAR, GZip, UUE, ISO, BZIP2, Z and 7-Zip). It supports files and archives up to 8,589 billion gigabytes in size. The number of archived files is unlimited. In addition; WinRAR is also ideal for multimedia files and it automatically recognizes and selects the best compression method.

 

Compression options: 



General options: save location, archive name, split size and encryption with password.  

In addition, the program has many compression methods that can be specified by the user. These include normal (default), good, best, fast and fastest. You can also specify the profile, update mode, archive format and many advanced options, for example test archive, lock archive, delete after archiving and so on.  

Advanced features,

 

 

Options: (delete mode, archive features and quick open information) 

Files: for example add, exclude, store without compression, file path 

Backup options 

Time: file time to store, file time to process and archive time 

Comments: You can add any comment to your archive, either manually or from a file 

RAR5 Default Archive format: 

When users archive or share files, they will benefit from an outstanding compression ratio and fast compression rate to save space and bandwidth. WinRAR and command line RAR use RAR 5.0 archive format by default. The user can change it to RAR 4.x compatible format with "RAR4" option in archiving dialog.  

Drag and Drop Feature 

This feature helps users to easily add files to an existing archive or extract some of the archive contents outside 

Split archives: 

WinRAR allows you to split archives into separate volumes easily, making it possible to save them on several disks for example. It will be easier to send via email attachments 

Encryption and Security: 

You can encrypt your files with 256-bit strong encryption feature. It is available with RAR5 format. This feature which offers good protection of your files against any unauthorized access. Simply use password button during creation of archives or for any existing archive on your computer. RAR passwords are stored in password manager “organize passwords button” and protected using master password. You will need the password to decompress your protected archive. The decompression dialog of password protected archives has been improved. If a wrong password has been entered when unpacking an encrypted RAR5 archive, WinRAR now proposes to enter a valid password for the same file instead of aborting extraction. 

The security of other compression file formats has also been improved. WinRAR uses AES-256 by default in CTR mode to encrypt ZIP archives as it is significantly more secure than the ZIP 2.0 legacy encryption algorithm.  



Secure your passwords with master password:

 

Shell integration: so that you can use most of the program features via right context menu options and you can specify the options you want using the program settings. For example: You can extract, add to archive and many more  

 

SFX tool :  

This tool was created aiming to prepare self-extracting archives which lets you send compressed files to any user with no archiving software. The user can extract the contents easily with no archiving software installed on his computer. 

 

 

Wizards Feature:  

This is a built-in tool which offers you a simple dialogue to start any of the archiving features you need in a simple easy way. Users can create new archive or unpack (extract) any archive on your computer or add files to already present archive. Simply; select one of the three options available and go with simple steps to complete.  

 

Recovery record and recovery volumes: 

This feature allows to reconstruct even physically damaged archives. When you compress data, for example music files, into .rar files, you can choose the option add “Recovery Record” to the .rar files. You can choose from 1 to 10 percent. The number indicates the percentage of the Recovery Record size of the archive. 

Integrated virus scan: 

 

With the growing threats, ransomware and viruses, you need to scan any archives downloaded or received from a friend against viruses. This is easy to do using the integrated virus scan available in WinRAR. All you need to do is to specify security software to automatically scan compressed files for any threats 

Search feature:  

You can easily find any files you need whether in an archive or in folders, drives or whole hard drive

 

Test and repair of archives: 

This tool is very useful specially if you have some corrupted or damaged archives that include important information and data. You can repair these archives and get your information back. You will not lose any important information.

Import and Export: 

 WinRAR allows the user to import and export configuration; settings using Options menu then click Import and Export 

Convert archives into other supported formats and to SFX format which allows you to extract the archive with no need to use the program 

Get information about the archive:  

You can get all information you need about the archive thanks to this feature.  

 

 

Add comment: 

You can add any comments to your archive. 

 

Settings:

 

Settings are located under Option Menu. These are categorized under 7 buttons: 

General settings include the options that control toolbar, buttons, system, history, interface, logging 

 

Compression: include the options for file compression such as compression profiles, split volume sized, default folder for archives, default folder for extracted files, 

Path: include folder for temporary files (used with removable disc) and start up folder 

File list: list type, style, files, selection and set font 

Viewer: Viewer type (Internal or external or associated program or ask), internal viewer options, external viewer name. 

Security options as file types excluded from extraction, wipe temporary files and virus scanner 

Integration options include the file types associated with the program, shell integration, Interface (add to desktop, start menu or create program WinRAR group) and context menu items. 

 

Conclusion: 

WinRAR is the most popular archiving software that offers many professional easy to use tools and features to compress and extract files, efficient and secure file transfer, faster e-mail transmission. It provides complete support for RAR and ZIP archives.  It is compatible with most formats you will need. You can use it to unpack CAB, ARJ, LZH, TAR, GZ, UUE, BZ2, JAR, ISO, 7Z, XZ, Z archives. It is small size with friendly user interface. In addition; you can use it to backup your data and reduce the size of email attachments, decompress RAR, ZIP and other files downloaded from Internet.
 
Important Links: 

Support:
 
https://www.win-rar.com/support.html?L=0

New Features: 

https://www.win-rar.com/whatsnew.html?&L=0
 
FAQs:

https://www.win-rar.com/faq.html?&L=0

WinRAR Encryption FAQ:

https://www.win-rar.com/enc_faq.html?&L=0