The best programs for working with archives PAK

The original PAK file was developed many years ago for use on computers running the MS DOS operating system. Fortunately, these times are long gone, but modern users are increasingly faced with files with the extension PAK. Many manufacturers from the gaming industry thus archive additional content - video, music or graphic files, any software components of games, and so on. How and what you can open the file PAK, read on.

How to open the PAK archive.

What is PAK extension?

The PAK format is used for game archives (well, or for other, personal purposes) for storing and unpacking media materials. When trying to unpack or even simply open such an archive, it is necessary to take into account that there are several ways of archiving data in PAK, therefore only certain applications can be used to open certain archives. Find out which one is right for you, you can by trial and error.

How to open PAK archives

How to open the PAK archive? To successfully open and use the PAK archive, you must install the appropriate software. On the Internet there are many applications and utilities that will help you in this difficult matter. The only condition is that the utility for opening the PAK extension will most likely have to be selected manually.

IZArc

Unlike the WinZip program, which becomes paid for after a short trial period, there are also free programs for compressing and unpacking files, and their best example is the PAK file unpacker IZArc. The main function of IZArc is file compression and decompression, which can be especially useful for files downloaded from the Internet. It is also worth noting that the process of compressing and unpacking files does not affect their quality in any way. IZArc is a very practical program, as it works with most modern formats, including PAK.

The program is full of various options. In addition to compression, decompression and creating self-extracting files, you can use the program to convert formats, repair damaged files, or even use skins to create a personalized toolbar. In addition, the program allows you to work with different formats of CD and DVD images (ISO, BIN, MDF, NRG, IMG, C2D, PDI, CDI).

Benefits:

  • effective;
  • is free.

Disadvantages:

  • not detected.

The basic version of the program is available in English, but a language pack can be downloaded from the manufacturer’s official website.

FilZip

The FilZip interface does not stand out as something special. You probably saw the function buttons and the tree of files often. A well-written reference manual contains many instructions for working with the program. FilZip will compress and decompress PAK, ACE, ARC, ARJ, BH, XXE, ZOO, ZIP archives and other types of archives. It is unlikely that most users need a format that is not supported by this tool.

As with many modern compression tools, you must first create or open an archive. This will open the Add File dialog box. The left pane of the dialog box is a very fast file browser. To add files, select the file or folder that you want to add to the archive, and click the Add button. The right pane lists the files selected for the archive. Once you're done, just click a button to create an archive.

FilZip offers a simple context menu interface with six options for unpacking files. Options include extracting to this folder, to a new folder, mailing and archive analysis. Using the scan, you can add hidden files, save paths, determine the degree of compression, the range of several disks and perform many other operations. This tool was last updated in mid-2006. FilZip is easy to use for beginners and flexible enough for advanced users. The utility supports approximately 15 types of archives, including ARJ, CAB, RAR, TAR and LHA. Its functions include integration into Windows (dragging, compressing, and extracting files from the context menu), multiExtract, and FastExtract.

The program allows you to:

  • add files to the archive;
  • delete, view and open files from the archive;
  • view ZIP comments;
  • use password-protected ZIP files;
  • test files while extracting;
  • create archives automatically.

It is also easy to convert one archive to another, delete and send archives via the Internet through the built-in email function.

Alzip

ALZip is a free program that reads files compressed in 36 formats and can compress them into one of 8 types of archives. According to the developers of AlZip, the extensive functionality of the program is enclosed in the “most friendly” interface.

Benefits:

  • quickly;
  • No annoying ads or notifications.

Disadvantages:

  • not detected.

During installation, you can choose which files to use in AlZip, and whether you want to integrate this program with Windows. You can specify the default compression format and other advanced options, but the program will be efficient and stable, even if you do not change any settings.

After installation, friendly AlZip quickly and efficiently unzips and archives your files and folders at any time. The program impresses with its speed and reliability of work, does not overload the system during compression. The built-in ALZip format allows you to create an archive of unlimited size, AlZip can also divide the archives into separate packages, which allows you to create ZIP-archives for really large files - for example, movies. AlZip supports encryption of archives, and also allows you to recover your forgotten password. ALZip does its job well — it compresses and unloads data quickly and easily. The software is free and does not bother with constant reminders about the need to purchase a license, so you can choose it as a worthy replacement for WinRAR or WinZIP.

Winzip

WinZip is an application for compressing and decompressing PAK files and other popular extensions for archives. If you need to unzip or create a zip archive, you can do this with WinZip. The program impresses with its speed and ease of use. The utility is compatible with 32-bit and 64-bit systems.

Benefits:

  • easy to use;
  • many functions;
  • reliable;
  • integration with SkyDrive, Google Drive, Dropbox.

Disadvantages:

  • can create archives in ZIP format only.

Every day we drive our hard drives with a huge amount of files. Tables, more and more photos and music files fill our computers to the brim.

WinZip comes in handy when data needs a little more space. It should also be uploaded by users who frequently send files via email and those who want to restrict access to them with a password. WinZip has many advantages. It is very fast in creating archives, and users emphasize ease of use. Going to the WinZip settings menu, we will get access to many interesting options. These include intelligent image compression, the ability to split the archive into smaller parts, encrypt it with a password, and select a compression type.

In addition, the application also offers a built-in PDF converter. It allows you to convert Microsoft Office documents (such as Word or Excel) to PDF. Thus, to convert DOC to PDF, you do not need any other program. WinZip is a program that supports many types of files. These include RAR, BZ2, CAB, LHA, 7Z, IMG and ISO. In addition, the program allows you to synchronize files with popular cloud storage services, such as Google Drive, SkyDrive and Dropbox.

The application allows you to conveniently share documents in social networks, for example, on Facebook, LinkedIn or Twitter. It is a comprehensive tool that allows you to take full advantage of the possibilities offered by file compression. If you need to save space on your computer, on a virtual disk in the cloud, or make a smaller email, WinZip will undoubtedly be the most useful application.

7zip

7Zip is a free program to open PAK files and compress data. Nothing special, but it has advantages that competitors lack. The default compression format 7Zip is not very popular - 7z. This format reduces files by 50% more efficiently than regular ZIP. Of course, the program can also handle other compression methods: ZIP, CAB, RAR, ARJ, GZIP or TAR. The program integrates with the Windows system (both for Windows Vista and Windows 7), you can select a file or folder for packing or unpacking with one click. 7Zip also has a command line mode that can be useful for programmers creating archive unpacking. This is an interesting alternative to the popular WinRAR and WinZip programs in Windows XP, Vista and Windows 7.

Winrar

WinRAR is a 64-bit file compression and decompression program. It allows you to unpack and create new archives in various formats, including RAR and ZIP. The latest version of the program also supports the RAR5 compression algorithm. The 64-bit version of WinRAR compresses files, after which they take up even less disk space. Because of this, they are easier to send by mail or share on the Internet. The program allows you to choose the degree of compression and its type of 15 available formats. The most popular of these are ZIP, RAR and ISO, and, in addition, a completely new RAR5 with a high compression ratio was introduced.

WinRAR is not free, like other archiving programs such as ZipGenius or 7Zip, but it offers many additional features, such as protecting the contents of a file with a 256-bit password. You can also create self-extracting files, which are especially useful when you send them to less experienced users. The program is very useful when compressing multimedia files. Pictures, movies and music are packed in WinRAR using a special algorithm, which significantly reduces the size of the archive. WinRAR integrates with the Windows system and is accessible from the context menu. Simply select the files or folders, right-click the context menu, and WinRAR will pack them into the archive.

There are many free decompression programs on the market, but WinRAR offers many other features and configuration options. Compared with its competitors, it also provides a very high compression ratio with fast action. The program is also available in the 32-bit version of WinRAR. The latest innovation in WinRAR is the introduction of a new RAR5 compression format. However, you should take into account that such files can only be opened by users who also have the latest version of the archiver.

Unpacking game resources

The PAK format has gained popularity precisely in the gaming industry - manufacturers of modern games pack multimedia files into it - videos, screensavers, background music and other components of a computer game. In order to access hidden resources and to enable data editing, computer “craftsmen” have come up with a way to change them in such archives - special gaming resources unpacking programs.

They work on the same principle as regular archivers - an archive can be viewed and modified as in an explorer. The best applications unpacking game archives are Extractor, Dragon unPACKer, Game Audio Player pro (a kind of audio player for music from games), Resource Hacker and many others. To open the PAK archive using any of these programs, you can use the standard script: start the software, in the upper left corner click File - Open (or click the button with the image of the opening folder in the program interface), specify the path to the PAK archive. Done! Now you can extract from the archives any available data.

Why PAK and what are its merits

The advantages of PAK are the compression algorithm, which allows you to achieve the maximum value of this indicator. At the same time a huge number of files can be placed in the archive, which is especially useful in the gaming industry, where various files of textures or music can amount to thousands.