PAK (file format)

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PAH
File extension : pak
Magic number : PACK

( ASCII-C notation )

Developed by: NoGate Consulting
Current version: 2.51 (as of October 8, 1990)
Type: Data compression
Container for: any files
Contained in: PC Tools for Windows File Manager / Xtree for Windows 4.0

PAK (PAcKed archive file) is a proprietary file format of the data compression program of the same name from NoGate Consulting. The last version was 2.51; published on October 8, 1990. The compression rate is between ARC and ZIP . The high speed was bought at the price of poor compression rates, especially for images. PAK supports encryption of the compressed data. The identifier bytes in the file header ( magic number of each archive - here the first four bytes) consist of the string PACK .

To edit the contents of this special archive, which is used by game manufacturers etc. a. is used for sound and level data , there is a shareware tool called QPed II by Pete Callaway, which has not been maintained for a long time.

The IZArc format opens under Windows . Under Windows 3.x, Xtree was able to edit the format completely and achieved a considerably higher speed than the original program.