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Add to SafariWhen comparing 7-Zip vs Multi Commander, the Slant community recommends 7-Zip for most people. In the question“What are the best free file managers for Microsoft Windows?” 7-Zip is ranked 4th while Multi Commander is ranked 7th. The most important reason people chose 7-Zip is:
7-Zip is licensed under GNU LGPL, and the *.7z format has support across all major operating systems. There should be no trouble opening the archives under any operating system, and no need to deal with messages bugging you to register or pay for the app. Source code can be found [here](http://www.7-zip.org/download.html).
Specs
Question Ranking
Pros
Pro Free and open source
7-Zip is licensed under GNU LGPL, and the *.7z format has support across all major operating systems. There should be no trouble opening the archives under any operating system, and no need to deal with messages bugging you to register or pay for the app. Source code can be found here.
Pro High compression .7z format
Their own file format .7z that ships with 7-Zip is one of the best compression formats. 7z file format is usually more compact than Zip.
Pro Lightweight
Starts quickly.
Pro Explorer right-click menu integration
Makes it easy to open any archive file, or create new archives, without having to go open another program first.
Pro Very fast compression/decompression
7z is muli-threaded, allowing it to do very fast compression and decompression.
Pro Unobtrusive
No nag screen.
Pro Separate tree for each panel
Pro Both 32 bit and 64 bit versions available
Pro Free
Pro File coloring based on filters
Including optional background coloring.
Limitation of this pro: text and background color cannot be taken from 2 different filters and thus combined but on the positive side: it provides coloring profiles, which can be switched (supposedly easily).
Pro Full of features
A hundred different options: multi-rename, convert line break of files (CR, LF, CRLF), double panel, folder tree, tabbed interface, colourized tabs, etc.
Pro Portable version available
Pro Heavily customizable
Besides many customizable on-board options and features, one can also write his/her own scripts and even full plug-ins.
Pro Written in C++
The program launches fast.
Pro Support for FTP, Registry, and OneDrive
Pro Powerful scripting system
You can easily write powerful scripts even without knowledge of programming.
Cons
Con GUI looks dated
Could use a new fresh user interface.
Con XZ/LZMA2 format inadequate for long-term archiving
LZMA2 is unsafe and less efficient than the original LZMA. Use: 7Z LZMA Non-Solid, RAR 5 LZSS/PPMd Non-Solid, or ZIP Deflate. See here.
Con Does not support data recovery
It's not possible with 7-zip to add data recovery records to the archive which could repair minor integrity errors.
Con Slow Right Click Response
Con Settings are a bit complicated
Con Tree cannot be displayed on the right side
