Does anyone know anything about the 7-Zip beta?

Moondoggy · Nov 3, 2015

I'm fed up with WinZip and was about to uninstall it and install 7-ZIP instead but I noticed that there's a beta version out there in addition to the stable GA version. Does anyone know anything about the beta version? For example I would like to know what's different between the beta and the GA version? Also I would like to know if there's a timetable for the beta becoming the stable version? If anyone knows anything about this can you provide me with some input? Thanks

Laxer · Nov 3, 2015

I use 7zip very frequently.

I am on the stable version but I am not exactly sure what the difference is between the stable and beta.

Luckily, there is a devlog for that here: http://www.7-zip.org/history.txt

Cheers.

niemiro · Nov 4, 2015

I use the beta and find it perfectly stable. If I were you I'd go with the beta for the new bugfixes (and a few rare use case features), and in the very unlikely scenario that you experience a problem, drop down to the stable.

Moondoggy · Nov 4, 2015

niemiro said:
I use the beta and find it perfectly stable. If I were you I'd go with the beta for the new bugfixes (and a few rare use case features), and in the very unlikely scenario that you experience a problem, drop down to the stable.

Thanks for the reply. I've read the DevLog for the beta and alpha versions and from what I saw it seems like most of the stuff in these prior versions is stuff that most occasional users would rarely use. Is that a fair statement? Also can you tell me if there has been any changes to the GUI interface and are you aware of any proposed date when the author might decide to make a beta version the GA version? Also, can you tell me whether your running your beta version on Windows 10? If so are you running the 64-bit version of the Beta on a 64-bit Windows machine or some other combination?

My gripe with WinZip is that they are constantly nagging me to pay upgrade insurance to keep current with the latest version they are offering. Although the upgrade insurance isn't that expensive, all I've seen in their releases is what I will refer to as "Product Bloat" which adds some feature that I, myself, would never use and only adds to the size and complexity of the product. I basically need a product that can zip and unzip a standard .ZIP formatted file and occasionally create an encrypted, self-extracting zip file when I need to send confidential data to someone and I'm guessing that either the Beta or GA version of 7-Zip will be adequate for my needs and will get me off the "upgrade for nothing" bandwagon. Right now I have WinZip installed and I'll uninstall it when I install a version of 7-Zip but if the developer is nearing the end of a development cycle I might want to wait until he comes out with a GA version? Does this sound like a reasonable course of action or is this the kind of developer whose releases are almost always in beta mode and seldom GA? My other main concern is compatibility with Windows 10 if that's an issue with this product as I had a lot of problems with getting a stable version of Windows 10 with stable versions of software running on that platform.

Thanks again for your reply and I look forward to your next reply.

Laxer · Nov 4, 2015

Seeing as the last stable version is from 5 years ago I think it is safe to say that they do not update it frequently. (Probably because nothing major has been fixed)

Honestly I don't think it will really matter if you use the beta or stable version as both of them should be for the most part stable.

I am running the stable version on Windows 10 on my laptop without issue but, I have not tested it extensively.

Note: 7-zip is opensource and will never ask you to purchase anything. Also, it can be installed at the same time as WinZip and will not cause any issues so you can test it easily if you would like.

Digerati · Nov 4, 2015

Actually, if you look at the change history in your previous post, they update it a lot but for some reason, don't want to bring the updates out of beta. ???

I used WinZip for many years, but stopped many years ago (I think with WinZip 5) because the so-called "Lifetime" license was not a lifetime license at all! They wanted me to pay again for WinZip 6.

I tried several others but settled on 7-Zip with no regrets.

Tekno Venus · Nov 4, 2015

7-zip beta here. Just go for it, it's perfectly stable

niemiro · Nov 4, 2015

Don't overthink this too much. 7-Zip beta works flawlessly on Windows 10 64bit for me. The difference between stable and beta version is negligible and only exists in features you'll likely never use. So it doesn't matter in the slightest which you choose. So go for the latest one - the beta, and all will be good :)

Honestly, just go with the beta. It'll do everything you need it to just fine. Plus, if for any reason at all you're not completely 100% happy, just uninstall it. It'll only take two minutes and won't leave any remnants behind. So just go with the beta and everything'll be fine.

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Does anyone know anything about the 7-Zip beta?

Moondoggy

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Laxer

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niemiro

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Moondoggy

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Laxer

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Digerati

Moderator
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Microsoft MVP (Ret.)

Tekno Venus

Senior Administrator, Developer

niemiro

Senior Administrator, Windows Update Expert

Does anyone know anything about the 7-Zip beta?

Member

Co-FounderSenior Administrator

Senior Administrator, Windows Update Expert

Member

Co-FounderSenior Administrator

ModeratorHardware ExpertMicrosoft MVP (Ret.)

Senior Administrator, Developer

Senior Administrator, Windows Update Expert

Co-Founder
Senior Administrator

Co-Founder
Senior Administrator

Moderator
Hardware Expert
Microsoft MVP (Ret.)