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I need a command line unzip program

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10 replies

by mark

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I have been using pkunzip for years now. unfortunately it can't handle unzipping files with long names and really can't handle files with multiple periods. I tried unzipping using RAR.exe command line tool but it will not unzip anything that was not zipped using rar. These are files created by Medicaid and I don't know what program they are using to zip the files. Does anyone know of a command line utility that will handle this? I need a command line tool so I can perform it using a program that will automatically unzip, rename and place in the correct folder.

10 replies

by thumbsup2

... returned several hundred thousand possibilities. The first one I checked looks promising:

http://www.7-zip.org/

However, I'm almost willing to bet that you'll encounter the same types of problems as you do with pkunzip (long file names and multiple extensions) while using any command line program simply BECAUSE they're all doing it at the command line.

by mark

I didn't realize winzip did this. I was hoping to avoid having our clients purchase another product but this may be a good option. I just don't want to buy a licensed version to test the add on.

by mark

Not sure if I have the 2.5 for dos edited. do you know how I would know this? In this version, I can unzip a file which contains long filenames, however it will rename them to short filenames which can be a problem if the files are similarly named. It will not touch files with multiple periods.

by ic-it

I posted then Edited my post because I discovered the 2.5 version does not play nicely under an NT system. The second link was added because it allegedly will handle the long file names and pkzip files. Plus it is free.
Sorry for the initial mis-direction.

by mark

I tried 7.zip and copied the exe to my server and it didn't function. I was hoping it would work as a stand alone exe. I also downloaded a trial version of the pkzip for windows with the add on command line which worked great for 39.00. I was hoping for a freeware unzip.

by older mycroft

Have you considered emailing Medicaid and asking them what program they are zipping their stuff with?

According to this site:

http://www.cms.hhs.gov/AboutWebsite/11_Help.asp

their proprietary software conforms to the following:

[b]ZIP / Self-Extracting ZIP Version N/A: ZIP files are used to simplify the download process by wrapping a number of separate files into a single "wrapper" and compressing the original files by a significant amount. ZIP and UNZIP software is available from a variety of vendors. Freeware packages available include StuffIt Expander from Allume Systems and Unzip. See the links in the Related Links Outside CMS section below. Each runs on Windows, MacOS, and Linux systems. Linux and other UNIX systems include ZIP and UNZIP software in the base installation.[/b]

Link for Stuffit Expander from Allume Systems:
returns a 404 Not Found error

Link for Unzip:
http://www.info-zip.org/UnZip.html

[u]Blurb includes:[/u] [b]UnZip is an extraction utility for archives compressed in .zip format (also called "zipfiles"). Although highly compatible both with PKWARE's PKZIP and PKUNZIP utilities for MS-DOS and with Info-ZIP's own Zip program, our primary objectives have been portability and non-MSDOS functionality.[/b]

Perhaps your adherence to the command line is the main crux of your problem? ;)

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