Manage ACE archives in
PeaZip
PeaZip offers read-only
support
(open and extract / unizp ace files) for WinAce's ACE
archive format, providing a free
WinAce alternative utility to original closed source application for
opening
(list/browse content) and extracting .ace archives (unace) under Windows
and Linux operating systems - including password protected ace archives.
The software can also convert ACE files to any other write-supported
format (i.e. re-pack and convert existing ace file into zip, 7z, etc).
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PeaZip
free unace utility supports extraction of ACE archives trough
Unace.dll, provided
by WinAce author as royalty free (but closed source) component - note
for Linux users: UNACE is a 32 bit x86 executable, so on Linux 64 bit
systems it requires ia32-libs to extract ACE files.
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Due to the closed source nature of the unace
tool, it is provided as separate
add-on for PeaZip (other PeaZip project packages only feature Open
Source software released under OSI approved licenses), please refer to UNACE Plugin page for instructions
about downloading and installing the add-on.
ACE file format should no
longer be employed
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On
Windows platform UNACE plugin is based on abandoned closed source
unacev2.dll, the last made officially available from WinAce team, which
is known to be not longer safe to use due unpatched vulnerabilities.
Out of the box, PeaZip does not come with
unacev2.dll (which requires separate manual download and installation
from user) so it is immune to said vulnerabilities. No version of
PeaZip will attempt to automatically download or install UNACE plugin,
nor will use UNACE plugin (even if installed) to open ace files
disguised for other formats.
UNACE
plugin for Windows is offered as legacy component with the sole purpose
of supporting trusted ace archives (with the recommendation of converting existing ace files to a
better supported format); untrusted ace archives should not be opened
using tools based on unacev2.dll.
Help > About screen reports if UNACE plugin is installed and
features a button for quick removal of the plugin.
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Create
/ update ACE files
PeaZip
support
for ACE files is read-only, the application cannot write
to .ace file format to create
a new archive or update
an existing archive.
No royalty free Open
Source archiving tool is known to implement creation or
modification / update of existing ace files.
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How
to
convert ACE
files
As ACE format is
proprietary, and not update in recent years, it is a
good practice to convert legacy .ace archives in a mode modern, widely
supported, and actively maintained format, possibly not encumbered by
patents, like 7Z and ZIP.
To convert ACE files
to any
write-supported archive format is possible using the
integrated file conversion procedure, which extracts and then re-pack
input archive files,
optionally keeping
or deleting original
ace archives.
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Work with
encrypted ACE archives
To extract an
encrypted
.ace file, enter
the password in PeaZip clicking the padlock icon in the status bar
(in the file/archive browser) or below output address
field (in extraction or archiving interfaces), or click Tools >
Enter
password / keyfile in main menu, or press F9 accelerator key.
Encrypted
archive content is marked by * sign after filename in PeaZip
archive browser.
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Open ACE
files
Open ace
files in PeaZip free archiver with double click, or context menu "Open
as archive"
entry,
that
will attempt to read any user provided file type regardless file
extension associations.
Read more about how to
open and browse archives with PeaZip.
Extract ACE
files
Decompress
ace files from the system
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Context
menu PeaZip > Extract... shows archive
extraction screen, to set
output path, password (if needed) and other decompression options
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Select one
or more archives and use
context
menu Extract here or Extract
here (to new folder) for quick extraction with no further
confirmation
Decompress ace archives from PeaZip
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Extract
button shows archive
extraction screen providing access to all decompression (unace) options
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Extract
all to... button starts
simplified
unpacking procedure, only asking for output path
- As alternative, simply drag & drop
from
the
application to the system the items you want to extract
How to preview
files in ACE archive
Doubleclick
on
an archived file to
open
it in
preview
mode, to inspect its content before real
extraction.
How to extract
spanned ACE archives
To
browse or extract a spanned (split) ACE file, save all the parts in
same
directory, and open the first volume - usually .C00 or .C01 extension -
with PeaZip free ace archive manager.
Read more about how to
extract single or multiple archives at once and how to extract
selected objects from archive.
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What is an .ace file
ACE extension designates a
file archiving and
compression format developed by Marcel Lemke
for WinAce, a
shareware closed source software released as GUI program
for Microsoft Windows platform only (unace de-compressor is available
as command line tool both for Windows and Linux platforms) developed as
early alternative to
PKZip / WinZip ZIP format.
Features of .ace file
format
ACE standard features a compression ratio higher than ZIP file
format (similar but usually
inferior compared to RAR format and 7Z format)
and supports quite robust 160bit Blowfish encryption, implementation
based on Bruce
Schneier's Blowfish
symmetric-key block
cipher, developed by Schneier before AES process candidate finalist
Twofish cipher.
Read more
about .ace file type: WinAce
software , Blowfish
cypher, and ACE file
extension Wikipedia
pages.
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SPEED 
Ace format features average speed. Compression and decompression are
more computing intensive
than in ZIP format.
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COMPRESSION
RATIO
Ace archives features an average compression ratio. Provides better
compression than Deflate-based ZIP, but
inferior to modern formats as 7Z and RAR. |
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ADVANCED
OPTIONS
Ace format features a reasonable choice of advanced options. Developed
as capable all-around replacement for ZIP format,
but not updated in recent years.
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Synopsis: How to work
with PeaZip free ace files opener and extractor. Freeware utility to
open, extract ace files, WinAce archive format extension. Free unace
software. Decompress ace archives free.
How to convert legacy ace file format to modern formats, e.g. convert
ace to 7z, ace
to rar, ace to zip conversion. Specs and features of WinAce archive
type.
Topics: open and
extract ace files, convert ace archives to other formats. ace extension
specs and security issues
PeaZip > FAQ > Open,
extract ACE archives (unace)
 WORK WITH
SUPPORTED
FILE TYPES
Create, open, extract 7Z files
Open and extract ACE files
Create, open, extract ARC files
Create, open, extract Brotli files
Compress, decompress Bzip2 files
Open and extract CAB files
Compress, decompress GZip files
Open and extract DMG, ISO, UDF disk images
Create, open, extract PAQ, LPAQ, ZPAQ files
PEA: Pack Encrypt Authenticate
Open
and extract RAR files
Create, open, extract
TAR, TGZ, TBZ files
Create, open, extract WIM disk images
Create, open, extract ZIP files
Create, open, extract ZIPX files
Create, open, extract
Zstandard files
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