If you're looking for an alternative compression format to ZIP, ACE is a worthy challenger to the throne. Though the format is not as widely distributed as ZIP, ACE generally offers higher compression rates at comparable speeds.

This compression tool is actually so functional that you can use it as a file manager shell. WinACE supports a number of compression and decompression formats as well as multi-volume (disk spanning) archives, including ACE and ZIP.

You'll be able to browse archives and extract items as if you were using Windows Explorer. WinAce provides truly seamless file management, providing complete drag and drop support, virus checking and encryption.

The program's viewing options make it easy to navigate directories and access archives. WinAce features an integrated viewer that lets you check out documents, HTML, ASCII and graphics without having to extract and load them in another application.

The program also presents detailed file statistics and archive information, and features a recovery option for corrupted data.

You can then move items via drag and drop or the right-click context menu. There are tools that make it very easy to create custom archives in the format of your choice. You can also make archives that are self-extracting for user-friendly distribution.

Download WinAce 2.5 RC2
Source: SoftNews