Compressed Archives

Probe handles a number of common compressed file formats, such as ZIP, ARJ, RAR, TAR, Z, GZ, CAB, etc. Most compressed file formats have three features in common:

• They can store many files inside a single 'archive file'.
• They may have a subfolder organization within them, just as local disks have.
• They apply some sort of compression algorithm to the files stored in the archive file.
• They have some command line tool for file expansion/extraction, which syntax varies with each format.

These features are useful, for example when storing files for long term backup, or when transferring a file using some network connection. It's a lot simpler to transfer a single large file than to transfer many small files and having the receiver recreate the folder structure.

Probe has a lot of features to simplify handling of compressed files. The way such files are handled in Probe is quite different compared to the command line style handling of the same files. Fortunately, the process is much simplified when using Probe.

• Reference
• Which Format to Use

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