Winzip context menu missing

Winzip is a popular file compression tool and being used by many people since decade. Many of us encountered an annoying problem where Winzip commands are not populated or visible in Windows explorer context menu. In this article learn how to solve this problem.

What is the error?

The Winzip explorer Shell extension not enabled:

Identify the problem:

At a high level, there are two possible reasons for this problem, as mentioned below.

Solution:

From the above explanation, you have seen that there ate two possible reasons identified. In this section, you will find the solution for the same.

Reason 1:

Usually, the Winzip shell extension gets installed and enabled through Winzip installer. Winzip installer wizard provide two options of installations named as Typical and Custom.

1. In the Typical installation option, the Winzip shell extension menu is installed and enabled by default.
2. In the Custom installation option, the user is allowed to choose between required Winzip features.

The Custom installation wizard has an option  Explorer Shell Extension that install/enable Winzip Shell extension. You should select the option Explorer Shell Extension to inform the installer to include shell extension during Winzip installation. Otherwise, the installer will ignore the shell extension.

Solution 1:

Shell extension can be enabled using the Winzip setting screen. Follow the below listed to solve the problem.
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Please Note The solution provided is applicable for Winzip 19.5 or later versions.
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2
On the Winzip Options window, select the Explorer tab. and then select/check the ‘Enable Explorer enhancements (including additional drag and drop features)‘.

4
Now select any .zip file and perform a right mouse click on the file and see that Winzip commands are populated on the Explorer context menu.

Reason 2:

The Shell extension library files are missing for the target platform:

The Shell extension will not work if there is a mismatch between the downloaded Winzip supported platform and the target platform where it is going to be installed. For instance, if a 32-Bit version of Winzip is installed on a 64-bit Windows operating system, then the WZSHLS64.DLL, WZSHLX64.DLL files are not included in the 32-bit version of Winzip. Hence 32-bit extensions do not pop up on a 64-bit machine.

Solution 2:

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