To create a zip file, right-click in a blank area on your desktop or in explorer, go to new, and select Compressed (zipped) Folder. Windows has the ability to zip and unzip files without any extra software, so don’t download any programs just to create basic archives or to unzip them. How to Zip and Unzip Filesīefore we get to the more complicated topics, let’s go back to our example and show how we would zip those 20 files that we need to email, and then show how the receiving user would unzip them. What you may not realize is that you can do much more than just compress and combine files with zip archives. This is where the definition of a zip file ends for most people. Along with the convenience of having all those files in a single zip archive, they’ll also be compressed to reduce storage and make transmitting them across the internet that much easier. That’s where zip files become really useful, because you can “zip up” those 20 files into a single zip archive, and then email it. What if you have a folder that contains 20 files, and need to email it to someone? Well, you can’t email a folder to someone, so you’d have to email the 20 individual files. Zip files work in a similar way, except the contents inside the “folder” (zip file) are compressed to reduce storage use. You drop contents into a folder to organize your files, and then you can transport that folder to any location on your computer, and the files inside of it go with it. Think of the way a folder works in Windows.

Zip files programs