Installing Optional External Programs

WinZip® includes built-in support for the Zip, CAB, Microsoft Compress, gzip, TAR, UUencode, XXencode, BinHex, BZ2, RAR, and MIME formats, so no other programs are required for most WinZip operations. However, operations involving ARC, ARJ, and LZH files require external programs. These optional external programs are not distributed with WinZip. You must tell WinZip where to find these programs as described in the section titled Program Locations. The following sections provide step-by-step examples of how to install LHA and ARJ.

Remember: the use of these external programs is optional. If you are just getting started with WinZip you will probably want to skip this section and work without the external programs until you encounter a need for them (and are more familiar with WinZip).

These instructions assume you are comfortable working with My Computer or Windows Explorer, know how to use standard Windows features such as dialog boxes and menus, and have a little experience using WinZip. See Quick Start for introductory information and how to quickly become familiar with WinZip.

Note: The first step in installing an external program is to acquire the external program. See System Requirements for information on obtaining these programs.