Bandizip 6.0 is out with new interface
Bandizip 6.0, a new version of the archive software for Windows, has been released featuring a new user interface, and other changes.
I switched to Bandizip in 2014 as it supported features that 7-Zip, the program that I used up to that point, failed to introduce much needed features quickly enough.
The company responsible for Bandizip released beta versions of the program in 2016, and you may want to check out the first look article that I wrote back then as things have not changed all that much since then.
Bandizip 6.0
Bandizip 6.0 is offered as a portable version for 32-bit and 64-bit versions of Windows, and as an installer. The latest version is not compatible with Windows XP. Only option that you have is to keep on using Bandizip 5.x on devices running the operating system.
Installation is straightforward. Please note that the option to send usage statistics and crash reports is enabled when you install the program. You can disable it during setup on the same page that you can change the installation path on.
The installer changed, and it appears that it requires an Internet connection during installation. You can still download and run the portable version instead which does not have the requirement.
The program opens with a new start screen if you start it without loading archives at the same time. You can disable this new screen with a click on View > Start Screen.
The program interface has changed, but not dramatically. You get a new color scheme and icons, but the general layout and look and feel remained the same.
Note that you may change the color scheme used by the program under Settings > Color.
The menu icons in the toolbar offer the same features, and the archive listing uses the traditional two-pane interface. You may also change the toolbar's look and feel to the classic design by selecting View > Toolbar Old from the menu bar at the top. The result looks like this when you do:
Another option that you have is to reduce the size of the toolbar menu to small. This is only possible for the new design though. You find the option under View > Toolbars > Small.
The left side of the interface lists the folders, if available, and the right the actual file content. You may run operations using the toolbar menu, the right-click context menu, or keyboard shortcuts.
As far as new features are concerned, there are a handful. Bandizip 6.0 supports the new archive formats ZPAC and LZIP, and you may notice that extraction and compression tasks perform faster in the new version. The beta version history listed support for MS Compound and ARC formats as well. Another new feature that is not mentioned in the final release history is support for creating GX/XZ archives.
A quick test with fairly large archives revealed that this is indeed the case, at least when it comes to extracting archives on the system.
The release history page lists a new console program, and a new command line command as well, but fails to go into details. The new console program is bc.exe which you find in the program folder. You may use it to run commands directly without opening the program UI. The application replaces the 7z.exe program that Bandizip used in previous versions.
Changes not mentioned on the release history page include a new listing of recently opened files under File > Recent Files, and an option to change the file listing from the details view to icons or list view instead.
These replicate the two Windows Explorer view styles. The icon view mode displays files as icons with the name listed underneath the icon, the list view file names and icons as a list instead. Both modes don't display other information such as the file size.
Closing Words
Bandizip 6.0 ships with additional features, and better performance when it comes to extracting archives and creating new archives. Some users may not like the new interface, but you can adjust it somewhat using the View menu, for instance by enabling the classic look of the toolbar there.
Now You: What's your take on the new Bandizip 6.0?
A very nice software, my default software.
I believe Banzip the best, clean and free compressed archive manager out there, but is underestimated since no top list includes it in the review.
In the past I used to use Haozip as well, which an exact copy of Winrar (without the rar compression engine) but these Chinese guys messed the language interface in their latest update. So Bandizip is the best choice for me.
I’m still sticking with WinRAR since I rather like it very much.
However, the developer for BandiZip also programmed HoneyView which is just excellent. It may not be extensible like Irfan but it’s definitely leagues better than other image viewers out there (and even commercial ones like FastStone MaxView). It will automatically cache the next and previous images to make loading faster and is able to browse images in archives. Quite customizable too and the bookmark feature is useful for my use. GUI looks good too. Which is one thing I have an issue with. Why is that the GUI for HoneyView is relatively simple yet nice and does not take up that much space while his/her other programs like Bandizip uses big icons and takes up lots of unnecessary space? Kind of wished the developer used HoneyView’s style and applied it to the other programs. Unless of course, you like Bandizip’s looks then you can ignore my rant.
However, for on the go, Bandizip and Peazip are my preferred archive viewer since they work great. I am leaning more towards Bandizip since I encountered a few issues with Peazip in the past with certain Unicode files whereas Bandizip had no issues with the same files.
EDIT: Oh. After updating the Bandizip on my flash drive and testing it, it seems like the developer is now starting to make the interface across all the programs more consistent and uniform. At least in the settings dialog. Good!
Installed installable version. Still no ads in the start window (did they take a clue from your review ?).
The EULA says : “The Software automatically communicates with the Software servers on the Internet. Automatic communication functions are used for the software version check and update notice, etc.” There’s a box for “Automatically send usage statistics and crash reports” you can uncheck, but it’s not clear whether that stops all telemetry. See that nice “etc”. Korean software.
Sticks shortcuts in the start menu without asking. The default install is very rude relative to the context menu : without asking, it adds 3 to 6 Bandizip items, depending on the type of file, plus separators. This changes completely the look and length of the menu. Ticking the Cascaded Context Menu box in Settings changes that to 1 Bandizip item only, which is much more tolerable. Nice preview feature in context menu.
Unsettling archive icon which suggests an ordinary file, not an archive.
Well, I’ll give it a shot. Having the folder open after extraction alone is handy over 7zip.
I don’t know about you guys fretting over the looks.. I use other elements to initially compare programs (here BandiZip vs 7zip).
– disk size … 10.7mb vs 4.8mb
– memory load … 26kb vs 13kb
– compression … same average 88% to 92%
Then I check portability, cost, platform, not to forget encoding something different than boring Latin characters for those who navigate more than one language.
Martin points out differences that matter to him also: archive formats, command line flexibility, and then some.
Oh, did I forget about speed?
If you don’t have huge data sets to work with every day, a second here or there won’t matter while you happy campers stare in the void.
Surf’s up, dudes and dudettes.
P.S. interface and help do matter a lot, also, in different languages.
PS. Oh yes, interface and help matter in different languages.
Let’s all not forget Bandisoft makes one of the best (and fastest) free image viewers ever: Honeyview. Worth checking out.
In terms of compressing to archives, I’ll stick with FOSS(7-zip and/or PeaZip). Bandizip is quite nice though.
“Installed” the portable version. Up to now I like it very much. No ad bar on the start window. At last, a sensible interface on an archiving program. I hate archiving programs because their logic is so twisted, and their interface is from the 1960’s. Yeah, 7-zip, I mean you.
At least, this one seems to behave normally, with normal conventions meant for human beings, not programmers. And it seems to be high DPI-aware, which to so many freeware developers is an overlook nowadays. And it has beautiful, modern icons. Yeah, that would be for you too, 7-zip.
Also, I have just discovered that 7-zip does not even have an update function. So I’m one year late with it.
I switched to Bandizip one year ago, after trying dozens of similar compression software. Bandizip is excellent – in a class by itself
I feel exactly the same way after having tried and tested all the usual suspects. Bandizip is the most fluid of the bunch and personally I happen to love the interface.
Impressive software for sure. Does what it’s meant to do, nothing more, nothing less and does it quite well. In these days of freemium and spyware parading as useful “apps”, simply doing the job well is a rare commodity and thus makes this software even more valuable than it is as a standalone tool.
Congrats to the devs. Hope they find a way to keep writing such software without butchering it in the name of ‘monitzation’.
I was impressed by the 15 default color choices, but then I found the color picker! Kudos to the devs for going all the way on this tiny bit of customization.
(I prefer the old file icons though, maybe we should get an option toggle for that?)
I wanted the old style icons, but small. But if you choose small, seems you are stuck with the new icons. Not a big deal though.
Who can ask a question? What’s the point?
I think 7zip and Universal Extractor under Windows can be better alternative of this. They’re open source.
Also you can use p7zip-rar and p7zip-full under Ubuntu.
sudo apt-get install p7zip-rar p7zip-full
And arj, unace, rar, lha, unarj.
Where can I find the latest release of Universal Extractor? I know there were several “hacked versions” of it over the last few years but not a “formal” release? Help?
No way is 7zip better IMHO. It wasn’t updated for a long time, it has a mediocre interface and most of the formats you list are ancient/irrelevant to me. Most of all, what annoys me about 7zip is it’s always pushing it’s own format: 7z. I don’t need dozens of different zip formats. Arguably compressing files would be better if it was like media: a few, or even just one ‘container’ and the compression algorithms used could vary much like codecs in media files. System A might compress/decompress format X faster than Y whilst System B might work better with format Y but regardless, all systems should be able to universally (de)compress a common format (container) either faster or slower, no matter, as long as they can do it, and the specifics of the algorithms used become invisible to the end user who most of the time just doesn’t care.
Bandizip isn’t available on Linux? That’s disappointing. Hopefully they will compile it for ‘linux’ at some point but I coudn’t blame them if they didn’t considering the mad fragmentation involved.
@pd
This is false. 7zip was last updated 5 months ago. Interface looks like other archiving applications including Bandzip. There’s no pushing about 7z format, you can set your own default format. In the other hand, LZMA2 still is the smallest compression format.
Compared to PeaZip, is Bandizip better?
PeaZip is another great program. I guess you need to test Bandizip on your system to find out if you like it better.
https://i.imgur.com/4uGGp6F.gif
BandiZip’s ArkLibrary is truly fast as lightning hell..
First screen looks quite nice. I’m used to 7zip, but maybe I’ll give a try?
try modifying 7zip gui, looks awesome
“Many users of the excellent file archiver 7-Zip criticized its nostalgic appearance.”
Make that many + 1. That’s exactly what I had in mind. Thanks for the tip, Corky. Nice archive icons, too…
I think meeee is referring to 7zip’s ability to use themes.
http://www.7ztm.de/
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