Unzip Them All
5/10

Unzip Them All as a program is free and a little on the basic side, I found that it did take a few minutes of fiddling around in the menus to get it setup to be easily used, but it does an efficient job of extracting multiple zip and rar files to the folder of choice.

The big negative, aside from the tweaking during the setup process, is that the FAQ is not very consistent or helpful unless you speak both French and English very well otherwise you're likely to find the support pages confusing.

In my opinion this program could get quite irritating pretty fast for opening single zips so its value really is, as the name suggests, for dealing with multiple zip or rar files - trouble is there are programs which do that particular job better as well as being less hassle for extracting single archives and that is why it has been given a less than flattering 5 out of 10.

 

Setting Up Unzip Them All
Once you have downloaded Unzip Them All, double click on the install file to start the installation process. The installation part of the setup is straightforward, simply follow the on-screen instructions.

Unfortunately organizing this program so that it can be used efficiently for routinely extracting custom content takes quite a lot of steps:- 

  • Run the program by double clicking on a shortcut or selecting it via the Start menu. In the View menu select the Options Tab
  • In the Options I would suggest choosing the following settings:-

  • Before you close the Options first click on the 'Select startup directory' button. It is up to you where you choose to point this to, but as you can see in the image below I've told this to always default to my Downloads folder with the idea that I could download my zips directly into that folder, extract them where they are and they will be installed.
  • Still in the Options, click on the 'Extraction options...' button and I would suggest choosing 'Extract files into current folder' - this appears to be the only setting that prevents it from making individual subfolders for each extracted item.

  • You can now close the options window and in the main program window click through the top window until you find the directory where your zips or rars are located.
  • Before selecting any of the files in that folder, go to the Favourites menu and choose 'Add to Favourites' - you can have lots of different favourites which is one of the positive points about this program.

You are now set up and ready to use this for extracting zips and rars

 

Using Unzip Them All
Once it is installed you need to EITHER run the program, choose the folder you download your zips to from the Favourites menu and then hit the Start button to extract them to that folder. OR if you choose to associate zip files with Unzip Them All - you can select a zip or rar file, right click, choose 'Open with...' > Unzip All Files in a directory to run Unzip Them All

Unfortunately it does not sensibly allow you to drag and drop files on to it, neither does it load in selected files if you choose to open them with Unzip Them All and every time you close the program it will default back to the C: directory so you will need to choose from the favourites list each time. 

 

Get Support for Unzip Them All
For help and support for Unzip Them All please go to the Unzip Them All Frequently Asked Questions Site - for additional support you can contact them directly via the Support page:-

http://www.herve-thouzard.com/.../index.php

If your question is not covered there or you have additional problems using Unzip Them All please contact their support service - we cannot provide technical support for Unzip Them All as we did not create the program.