Ashampoo Zip Pro 2 for Windows

A heavy-duty, easy to use file management suite

Ashampoo ZIP Pro 2 is a complete file management suite. It's not a file manager, per se, though it does integrate with Explorer to allow you to zip and unzip archives or use its various other functions. It provides features ranging from simple archive management, to sending files directly from Word or Excel to be zipped, to powerful forms of encryption and integration with cloud storage services.

Functionality, both basic and advanced

When you hear "ZIP Pro", you hear two things: first, this is probably a product for enterprise or power users. And second, that it provides functionality to match that. All of the basic functions you'd expect out of an archive extraction program are here: there's more than 40 archive formats, and you can both create and extract archives in all of those formats. Certainly, every archive format commonly in use today is available here. And the app has multi-core support, which translates directly to faster zipping and unzipping. It's very noticeable with large archives.

But even aside from that, there's a lot to like. The app comes with a portable version included that has most of the same functionality, obviating the need for any other archive management app while on the go. You can use virtual drives, like Google's Drive or Microsoft's OneDrive, seamlessly with the app. For ease of use (and for others who don't have this app), you can create self-extracting archives – excellent for reducing the overhead others might otherwise incur by learning to use this or another app. Perhaps most innovatively, it includes the ability to sign documents with OpenPGP. PGP is a powerful form of encryption that uses a pair of keys (public and private) to not only encrypt or decrypt the contents of a file, but ensure that it hasn't been tampered with. This usually requires a separate app, but not here!

As clutter-free as can be

If most of this sounds irrelevant to you, Ashampoo ZIP Pro 2 might be overkill. The interface is well-designed, and resembles the operating system it was designed for: various large panels give easily-clickable access to each of the app's functions, and include blurbs describing how each function works. But with an app that does so many different things, it's all but inevitable that some users might find the amount of options and information that Ashampoo ZIP Pro 2 provides overwhelming. In other words, there's nothing bad to be said about the interface itself. So long as you can see yourself using some of the tools this swiss army knife provides you, it'll do its job and do it well.

All laid out

Basically, small businesses alike will find the most benefit from Ashampoo ZIP Pro 2, since the overhead for learning its advanced functions is smaller and the payoff (particularly in some industries) could be enormous. Large businesses benefit, too, and security-conscious individuals or power users might also find a lot to like. If all you need is to unzip a RAR file or two, look elsewhere. But for anything more than that, this app is a fantastic choice.