ConeXware has released the latest edition of its comprehensive archiving tool, PowerArchiver 2012 13.00. And it’s seriously impressive, with a stack of new and interesting features to explore.

Security sees several enhancements, for instance. We like the new password policies, which allow you to set rules for password length and the use of upper and lower case characters, numbers and symbols. And the program’s temporary files can now be securely wiped using US DoD-approved methods to ensure your confidential files stay private.

New file list colour coding varies the background colour of an archive’s file list columns according to file size, type and compression ratio. We like this – it’s a great way to get a feel for an archive at a glance, literally – and it’s fully customisable (or you can even turn it off entirely, if you prefer).

The new colour-coded interface makes it easier to understand what's in an archive

Performance has been improved again, with RAR extraction speeds 5% faster than before.

Launching Help now takes you to PowerArchiver’s Wiki-based online system. And it’s a good one, with capable search tools and YouTube-based tutorials, but this does highlight the only problem we’ve noticed with the update, so far: offline help isn’t yet available.

And elsewhere PowerArchiver’s already excellent interface has been further revised and updated to make it even easier to use.

Put it all together and this is a major upgrade. If other archiving tools never quite have the power you need then PowerArchiver 2012 13.00 is definitely one to try, and the 30-day trial build is available now.