| These instructions apply to WinZip 18.0 & later only, and assume you are running a supported Windows version or an equivalent server version. WinZip Enterprise users are advised to refer to the user guide. |
The WinZip MSI file
MSI files for the current version of WinZip can be downloaded from the Alternative Download Links page. Separate download links for the 64-bit version and the 32-bit version are available. An EXE file download containing both MSI files is also available. To unzip the EXE file, a version of WinZip would need to be already present, as the default action is to install WinZip.
A WinZip Enterprise license provides many options for customizing WinZip features. Please consider Enterprise when assessing your installation needs.
The WinZip Multi-User Registration File: WinZip.wzmul
Customers who purchase a multi-user license will receive a unique WinZip.wzmul registration file, which must be copied to a WinZip subfolder in the Windows Common AppData folder. This folder contains application data for all users. The typical path for the WinZip.wzmul file is C:\ProgramData\WinZip. If the correct WinZip.wzmul is present in this folder and if the proper version of WinZip is installed, WinZip will open as a licensed, registered version.
The WinZip.wzmul registration file must be downloaded separately from the WinZip installation file(s), and it will need to be copied to the WinZip folder described above. The file can be copied manually to the target folder or users can double click on the WinZip.wzmul file to register.
Requirements to install WinZip
The initial WinZip installation must be done from an account with Administrator or Power User privileges. These privilege levels are required to register WinZip shell extensions and to set file associations. The initial installation configures WinZip both at the machine level (HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Nico Mak Computing\WinZip) and, for the installing user only, at the user level (HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Nico Mak Computing\WinZip). No special privileges are needed for users, as the machine level registry entries will be silently propagated to their user hive (both for administrators and/or limited users) who run WinZip for the first time.
The default installation settings include the creation of WinZip shortcuts and a program group in the All Users folder so that the icons appear on the Desktop and in the Start menu for each logged in user of the machine. The Common Desktop folder is typically C:\Users\Public\Desktop, and the Common Start Menu folder (which contains the Common Programs folder) is typically C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu.
Methods that can be used to install WinZip
Note: Please refer to the user requirements section above.
There are several ways to install WinZip. Here are some examples:
- Grant access to MSI files and license files for each user to manually install
- Create a Software Installation Group Policy
- Distribute WinZip via SCCM
- Install from a command line using common msiexec.exe switches
(e.g., msiexec /i winzipxxx-xx.msi /qn)
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