WinZip Self-Extractor Personal Edition

Overview

WinZip^® Self-Extractor Personal Edition is included with WinZip under the terms of the WinZip License Agreement. It makes it easy to create files that unzip themselves. The following information applies to both WinZip Self-Extractor Personal Edition and to WinZip Self-Extractor, a separate companion product which is available for an additional charge.

What is a Self-Extracting Zip File?

A self-extracting Zip file is an executable program file (.EXE file) that includes a Zip file and software to extract or "unzip" the contents of the Zip file. Users can run (execute) a self-extracting Zip file just as they run any other program.

When a self-extracting Zip file created by WinZip Self-Extractor Personal Edition is run, a dialog box is displayed. This dialog box makes it easy for the user to change the Unzip to folder before starting the extract or "unzip" operation.

Self-extracting Zip files created by WinZip Self-Extractor are 100% compatible with the Zip 2.0 file format so they can be unzipped by a standard unzip utility like WinZip.

What are the advantages to Self-Extracting Zip Files?

Users can extract or "unzip" files from a self-extracting Zip file without running a separate unzip utility or knowing how to use an unzip utility. Thus, self-extracting Zip files are particularly suited for distribution of software to beginning users who are not familiar with the concept of Zip files.

Self-extracting Zip files created by WinZip Self-Extractor are native Windows programs so they are easy to use.

How Does it Work?

There are two parts to the process:

The WinZip Self-Extractor program creates self-extracting Zip files.
When WinZip Self-Extractor creates a self-extracting Zip file it includes part of itself in the self-extracting Zip file. The part of WinZip Self-Extractor included in the self-extracting Zip file is what makes it possible to unzip the files by simply running the self-extracting Zip file.

The person who creates the self-extracting Zip file runs WinZip Self-Extractor once, specifying the name of the Zip file. The resulting self-extracting Zip file can be distributed to many people, and it will unzip itself when it is run.