# WinRar - what is it and how do you use it\> **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 29, 2012, 1:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/winrar-what-is-it-and-how-do-you-use-it/611081 "2012-01-29T13:51:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![jakesteele](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ed8c4c/32.png) [@jakesteele](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jakesteele)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2012, 1:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/winrar-what-is-it-and-how-do-you-use-it/611081/1 "2012-01-29T13:51:09Z")
> **[shop.html](https://www.win-rar.com/shop.html)** > > WinRAR - the data compression, encryption and archiving tool for Windows that opens RAR and ZIP files. Compatible with many other file formats. I’ve been downloading ebooks and there are a number of programs and formats that you are required to use, such as Adobe, HTML, etc. This one gives a free trial and mine is coming to the end and I was wondering if you know anything about this? A ---
**Author:** ![srzss05](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/898d66/32.png) [@srzss05](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/srzss05)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2012, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/winrar-what-is-it-and-how-do-you-use-it/611081/2 "2012-01-29T13:54:04Z")
7zip can extract .rar files, and is free. There is no reason to use the winrar program. ---
**Author:** ![leahcim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/b4bc9f/32.png) [@leahcim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/leahcim)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2012, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/winrar-what-is-it-and-how-do-you-use-it/611081/3 "2012-01-29T15:07:03Z")
I don’t know why this is involved in your eBook process, but RAR is a compressed file format (like ZIP) from the 90s which some people still like for some reason. Win-rar is a utility which compresses and decompresses RAR files. As \*\*srzss05 \*\*points out, there are other options, depending on what you are doing. ---
**Author:** ![Yorikke](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yorikke/32/4335_2.png) [@Yorikke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yorikke)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2012, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/winrar-what-is-it-and-how-do-you-use-it/611081/4 "2012-01-29T15:25:46Z")
> [@srzss05](#): > > 7zip can extract .rar files, and is free. There is no reason to use the winrar program. I downloaded Winrar a million years ago, never paid up, but still can use it. It just pops up a note asking me to pay, which I ignore. Joe ---
**Author:** ![srzss05](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/898d66/32.png) [@srzss05](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/srzss05)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2012, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/winrar-what-is-it-and-how-do-you-use-it/611081/5 "2012-01-29T15:35:38Z")
> [@wheresgeorge04](#): > > I downloaded Winrar a million years ago, never paid up, but still can use it. It just pops up a note asking me to pay, which I ignore. I know the old versions did that, but I recently (comparatively, it was about 2-3 years ago) downloaded a version that stopped working after the trial date. I may still have an old version on a DVD-R somewhere, but as I said 7zip works better anway. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2012, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/winrar-what-is-it-and-how-do-you-use-it/611081/6 "2012-01-29T15:47:31Z")
> [@wheresgeorge04](#): > > I downloaded Winrar a million years ago, never paid up, but still can use it. It just pops up a note asking me to pay, which I ignore. > > Joe > [@srzss05](#): > > I know the old versions did that, but I recently (comparatively, it was about 2-3 years ago) downloaded a version that stopped working after the trial date. I may still have an old version on a DVD-R somewhere, but as I said 7zip works better anway. Try right-clicking and using the context menu. I have an fairly old version and I get no nag screen doing that . ---
**Author:** ![Dog80](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/6bbea6/32.png) [@Dog80](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dog80)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2012, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/winrar-what-is-it-and-how-do-you-use-it/611081/7 "2012-01-29T15:56:57Z")
> [@leahcim](#): > > […]RAR is a compressed file format (like ZIP) from the 90s which some people still like for some reason. One reason is that zip has a limitation of 1024 files IIRC. Another reason is that you can split a RAR in several smaller files, useful for example when you want to send something over email and there is attachment size limitation. ---
**Author:** ![yabob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yabob/32/2821_2.png) [@yabob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yabob)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2012, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/winrar-what-is-it-and-how-do-you-use-it/611081/8 "2012-01-29T16:31:01Z")
> [@](#): > > One reason is that zip has a limitation of 1024 files IIRC. Not true. I just checked some zip files I regularly make, and found one with 4854 files in it. Java .jar files are also just zip files with some metainformation included in them - you can open them with zip if you like. Java distributions and java based products might provide provide examples of very large zip archives. Looking at a java 6 JRE, I note that one of the lib files, rt.jar, is 43 meg and contains 17059 files. ---
**Author:** ![johnpost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f17d59/32.png) [@johnpost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnpost)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2012, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/winrar-what-is-it-and-how-do-you-use-it/611081/9 "2012-01-29T16:45:03Z")
both rar and zip could span files for destination size limitation or use. rar is faster and seemed to be favored. ---
**Author:** ![yabob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yabob/32/2821_2.png) [@yabob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yabob)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2012, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/winrar-what-is-it-and-how-do-you-use-it/611081/10 "2012-01-29T16:50:23Z")
A bit of research reveals that the limits on zip are 65535 files, and various 4 GB size limits. There has been a “zip64” extension to the format since 2001, extending these limits to unsigned 64 bit integer - 2^64 - 1. ---
**Author:** ![HMS\_Irruncible](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hms_irruncible/32/7394_2.png) [@HMS\_Irruncible](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HMS_Irruncible)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2012, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/winrar-what-is-it-and-how-do-you-use-it/611081/11 "2012-01-29T17:16:06Z")
WinRAR doesn’t just open RAR files, it opens pretty much everything. I started using it instead of WinZip after WinZip hobbled itself with that annoying nag screen, as it turns out I actually prefer WinRAR. Sounds like 7zip is the same sort of thing, but I haven’t really had a need to try it. Perhaps if WinRAR starts with the nag screens… ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2012, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/winrar-what-is-it-and-how-do-you-use-it/611081/12 "2012-01-29T18:13:40Z")
> [@leahcim](#): > > I don’t know why this is involved in your eBook process… I’m betting that the OP’s ebooks are being illegally shared through Bittorrent or other file-sharing sites. Many things you find on those sites, including ebooks, are placed inside RAR files. ---
**Author:** ![Reply](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/reply/32/15952_2.png) [@Reply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reply)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2012, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/winrar-what-is-it-and-how-do-you-use-it/611081/13 "2012-01-29T19:36:59Z")
RAR gained popularity in the days when bandwidth mattered. People were still on modems when the compressor wars started. RAR was typically assumed to have a better compression ratio than ZIP at the expense of compression speed. That, and the pirate scene was probably too “leet” to cater to mainstream tastes in compressors. When it comes to ebooks, it’s hard to imagine either format having a file size advantage (since the books are usually easily-compressed ASCII text or scanned PDFs that are already compressed using an image compressor), but tradition dies hard. Eventually ZIP won that war from sheer popularity and ease of use, not due to any significant technical advantage. (For a while, you had to pay to create RAR archives while zipping was usually free on a shareware basis.) ZIP is pretty much integrated into every operating system today, even ones that have other native compression formats. ---
**Author:** ![leahcim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/b4bc9f/32.png) [@leahcim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/leahcim)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2012, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/winrar-what-is-it-and-how-do-you-use-it/611081/14 "2012-01-29T19:56:09Z")
> [@Reply](#): > > RAR gained popularity in the days when bandwidth mattered. People were still on modems when the compressor wars started. > > RAR was typically assumed to have a better compression ratio than ZIP at the expense of compression speed. This is what I recall about RAR, too. And the “split across several files” made posting uuencoded porn to alt.binaries easier. I’d assumed that it had died out when bandwidth increased, hard drives expanded, and porn became so available no one had to put up with usenet for it any more… …until I saw some of my colleagues using to get around an e-mail system that unilaterally blocked all zips in a ham-fisted attempt to block stupid-people-exploiting viruses. ---
**Author:** ![Baron\_Greenback](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baron_greenback/32/48_2.png) [@Baron\_Greenback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baron_Greenback)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2012, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/winrar-what-is-it-and-how-do-you-use-it/611081/15 "2012-01-29T20:28:00Z")
> [@mhendo](#): > > I’m betting that the OP’s ebooks are being illegally shared through Bittorrent or other file-sharing sites. Many things you find on those sites, including ebooks, are placed inside RAR files. Yup, and that’s usually because the original pirate upload was in small chunks of data to a Usenet newsgroup. WinRar joins the chunks back together. Edit: D’oh well beaten ---
**Author:** ![Measure\_for\_Measure](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/measure_for_measure/32/557_2.png) [@Measure\_for\_Measure](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Measure_for_Measure)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2012, 9:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/winrar-what-is-it-and-how-do-you-use-it/611081/16 "2012-01-30T09:15:44Z")
The downside of Winrar is that its algorithm is proprietary, though they do license it out. One upside is that it has an option for recovery records. If the file becomes damaged or corrupted, say via email or disk error, there’s the possibility that it can be fixed. So .rar is preferable for archival purposes. 7z has a somewhat better compression algorithm, but it doesn’t as yet support recovery records. zip has the nontrivial advantage of widespread use. ---
**Author:** ![srzss05](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/898d66/32.png) [@srzss05](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/srzss05)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2012, 11:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/winrar-what-is-it-and-how-do-you-use-it/611081/17 "2012-01-30T11:01:49Z")
I think the point is if you want to **make**.rar files, you need winrar and it is not free. If you simply want to uncompress .rar files, you can use free programs to do so, which is what the OP wants to do. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2012, 1:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/winrar-what-is-it-and-how-do-you-use-it/611081/18 "2012-01-30T13:12:16Z")
> [@Measure\_for\_Measure](#): > > If the file becomes damaged or corrupted, say via email or disk error, there’s the possibility that it can be fixed. So .rar is preferable for archival purposes. But not if you accidentally all 93MB of your .RAR files. ---
**Author:** ![Swords\_to\_Plowshares](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b38774/32.png) [@Swords\_to\_Plowshares](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Swords_to_Plowshares)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2012, 1:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/winrar-what-is-it-and-how-do-you-use-it/611081/19 "2012-01-30T13:34:48Z")
Winrar’s compression of text and PDFs is vastly superior. I noticed this when I was doing a project that requires sharing hundreds of mb of text files over the Internet. ---
**Author:** ![johnpost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f17d59/32.png) [@johnpost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnpost)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2012, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/winrar-what-is-it-and-how-do-you-use-it/611081/20 "2012-01-30T15:09:01Z")
rar does not save much space on already compressed file types. it does offer some value even with compressed files in that you can put multiple files and directories in a single (or multipart) package. zip could do this as well. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/winrar-what-is-it-and-how-do-you-use-it/611081.md?page=2)