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 separately available extra charge companion product.

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 will unzip itself when it is run.