Converting Archives

If you frequently manage archives from different programs, you will often need to convert an archive to a different format (e.g., if most of the other programs can't handle the existing format). PeaZip gives you a Convert button for fast conversion of an archive to a different format.

The corresponding dialog has very similar settings to those used for creating and extracting archives. After selecting the archive to convert in the file browser, you can select a format from an impressive list. Press OK to start converting. Note that the software cannot convert archives of different formats in a single action. Moreover, password protection prevents conversion (Figure 5).

Figure 5: PeaZip can convert archives to other formats if needed.

You might find yourself faced with a situation in which a computer does not save an archive correctly, particularly in the case of faulty media. To make sure that your archive will work fully and without error on external media, you can use the test routine that PeaZip provides for this purpose. Select the archive in question and – in the button bar in the program window – press Test. The software then intensively tests the archive and outputs a report in a separate window (Figure 6).

Figure 6: If needed you can test your PeaZip archives' integrity. The settings offer various algorithms for doing so.

Secure Deletion

If you want to remove archives securely so that they cannot be reconstructed, first select the desired entry in the list by clicking on Securely delete. PeaZip treats archives, unpacked files, subdirectories, or hidden directories and hidden files in the same directory in the same way, showing you all of the objects marked for deletion in a safety prompt and listing the names. You first need to click OK for the objects to be deleted permanently by overwriting with randomly generated numbers and letters (Figure 7).

Figure 7: PeaZip securely deletes existing data by overwriting.

Conclusions

PeaZip is a very useful tool – especially for power users who frequently need to handle a variety of archives from different sources. The software offers a feature scope that is well beyond the norm and typically requires only a short learning curve. In our lab, testers were also impressed by the speed at which the program works. Our only points of criticism were occasional signs of instability that occurred when several instances of the software were open at the same time. That said, the developers do put a great amount of work into maintaining PeaZip and regularly release updates, so these bugs are likely to be fixed in the near future.