What is a Linux equivalent to pkzip or winzip or the GUI version of 7zip?

Question

GUI-based applications like PKZIP and winzip (and the GUI version of 7z/7zip) let us browse around our directories and create a compressed file that contains lots of different directories and files, complete with [partial or full] paths.

What is the equivalent on Ubuntu Linux (specifically, 64-bit Ubuntu 12.04)?

Solution 1

The default archive manager for Gnome is called file-roller, that should be installed in your distribution. Otherwise you can install it typing in a terminal:

sudo apt-get install file-roller

For 7z archives you'll need p7zip package installed too:

sudo apt-get install p7zip*

With those two tools you can also encrypt, put a password to your compressed files.

Alternative: xarchiver

sudo apt-get install xarchiver

Solution 2

PeaZip

I can't believe I learn about this program only now, after using ubuntu for a year, reading omgubuntu.co.uk, webupd8.org etc. :) As you can see it has all one would need.
It is installed via deb package. For me it installed without errors but I didn't get a Dash shortcut for it. Since the portable version (no installation required) works fine, I won't bother troubleshooting it. Right click > View Image for higher resolutions.

Solution 3

http://code.google.com/p/k7z/wiki/Screenshots

k7z is an alternative 7-Zip GUI. It was designed by Xavion.

a.k.a. Q7zip, Q7Z, J7Z and what not :) Unfortuunately there are no deb packages nor a PPA.

I do not consider File Roller a 7zip or WinZip equivalent as it has some serious limitations. For example File Roller does not feature compression level selection for newly created archives. I can't imagine using an archiving tool without the feature which, IMO, can hardly be labeled as a 'power user feature'.

Solution 4

The default and essential compression utility for Ubuntu is gzip, a powerful highly configurable command line utility.

To make things easier for us you can invoke compression utilities by simply right click from the file browser Nautilus on selected files/directories choosing the context menu Compress....

Other compression methods like e.g. p7zip, or rar have to be installed first.

For viewing the content of a compressed file simply double click it for opening in file roller.

View more solutions

Comments

[Bucic]

Why someone tosses in a CLI tool when OP asks for a GUI application is beyond me. And a plague on askubuntu.com.

[Takkat]

@Bucic A Nautilus right click option is not really CLI, is it? Obviously it's beyond the imagination of many users that essential tools are already installed in Ubuntu. No need to direct people to possible harmful external sources, .deb files or a ppa.

[Bucic]

For the reason I mentioned above I got alergic to CLI in questions specificaly about GUI and while quickly reviewing the answers I made a mistake of not reading the entire answer. I apologize.

[Martin R.]

The link is obsolete. The project is hosted here now: peazip.org