- How To Open A Compressed Zip File In Windows 7 File
- How To Open A Compressed Zip File In Windows 7 Windows 10
- How To Open A Compressed Zip File In Windows 7 Free
Since Windows XP, you can create zip files on Windows, without having to own a special kind of software like WinZip or WinRAR; this remains true in Windows Vista and Windows 7. Microsoft took the magic away from creating zip files (compressed folders), and now anyone can do it. This tutorial will go over the creation process, and explain how to add files and even folders to a compressed folder. As a side note, zip files you create in Windows 7 will be compatible with Windows XP and Windows Vista, as well as Mac OS X and Linux (users on those operating systems will be able to open them).
Create a compressed folder in Windows 7
Windows zip file associations are used to determine how Windows handles the opening of zip files. By default Windows can natively open zip files using Windows explorer. However, there are many software apps available that can also open zip files such as Bitser, 7-zip, WinRAR, Zipware and they may take over as the default program associated with. Note: I used Windows 7 Ultimate for this tutorial. Select the files you wish to compress and combine into a Zip file. Right click on the files and click on Send to to open the menu. Click on Compressed (zipped) folder from the list. The zipped file will automatically appear in the folder where the original files. The compression process helps to reduce file size. View the help page on how to Zip (Compress) Multiple Files if you would like instructions on creating a zipped file. Keywords: Winzip, Win zip, file size, photos, pictures, e-mail, compress, compressed, compressing, condense, condensed, attachment, reduce, reduction, open, unzip.
Windows 7 then opens an Extract Compressed (Zipped) Folders dialog box, where you designate the folder into which the extracted files are to be copied. (Optional) Replace the path and the filename of the compressed folder in the Files Will Be Extracted to This Folder text box with the pathname of the folder in which you want to store the. Open File Explorer and find the zipped folder. To unzip the entire folder, right-click to select Extract All, and then follow the instructions. To unzip a single file or folder, double-click the zipped folder to open it. Then, drag or copy the item from the zipped folder to a new location.
Follow these steps to make a new zip file on your computer:
- First, navigate to the folder in which you want to create your compressed folder: this can be any folder inside Windows Explorer, or your desktop itself.
- Then, right-click on an empty area of the selected folder or your desktop (don't click on a file or folder, otherwise you'll get the 'context menu' for this particular item).
- From the right-click menu, choose 'New'; and from that submenu, click on 'Compressed (zipped) Folder', as shown on the screenshot below:
- As soon as you do, Windows 7 will add a new zip file, and let you choose a name for it; if you hit Enter, it will call it a default name, something like 'New Compressed (zipped) Folder'. Make sure that you use a meaningful name that describes the content of the zip file to you or others with whom you'll share it (on the network, by email, etc.)
So, type a name for the compressed folder, and hit Enter to save it. - This is it! Now that you have created your zipped folder, we will show you how to add files to it.
Add files and folders to a zipped / compressed folder in Windows 7
Microsoft has made it very easy to work with zipped folders, and for the most part, you'll find that they generally behave just like regular folders!
- There are two ways to add files to a compressed folder in Windows 7 - since both amount to the same result, just memorize and use the one you prefer (which is easiest may also depend on the situation).
- Method 1: double-click on the compressed / zipped folder to open it; now, you can either drag files from other folders and drop them inside the compressed folder, or you can copy them from other directories on your computer, and then paste them inside the zip file.
- Method 2: don't open the zip file ↑ just drag the files you want zipped and drop them on top of the compressed folder you just created. Windows 7 will automatically add all these files to the zipped folder, and you are done! Windows 7 will show you a 'Copy' tooltip, indicating when you can drop.
- A copy of all the files and folders you dropped in or on top of the compressed / zipped folder is now inside it, and you can email them, create a backup with it, etc.
Tip: the amount of disk space saved by storing files inside compressed folders depends on the type of files you are archiving; 'binary files' like movies and pictures are often already compressed, and storing them inside a zipped folder won't make much of a difference. Word documents, web pages, and text files, for example, will compress very well, and the amount of hard drive storage saved will be noticeable. See how you can get file sizes.
Regardless of file size, a compressed folder is a very practical way, for example, to email a group of file as a single file attachment - otherwise you'd have to attach one file at a time!
Zipped (compressed) files take up less storage space and can be transferred to other computers more quickly than uncompressed files. In Windows, you work with zipped files and folders in the same way that you work with uncompressed files and folders. Combine several files into a single zipped folder to more easily share a group of files.
How To Open A Compressed Zip File In Windows 7 File
To zip (compress) a file or folder
Locate the file or folder that you want to zip.
Press and hold (or right-click) the file or folder, select (or point to) Send to, and then select Compressed (zipped) folder.
A new zipped folder with the same name is created in the same location. To rename it, press and hold (or right-click) the folder, select Rename, and then type the new name.
To unzip (extract) files or folders from a zipped folder
How To Open A Compressed Zip File In Windows 7 Windows 10
Locate the zipped folder that you want to unzip (extract) files or folders from.
Do one of the following:
To unzip a single file or folder, open the zipped folder, then drag the file or folder from the zipped folder to a new location.
To unzip all the contents of the zipped folder, press and hold (or right-click) the folder, select Extract All, and then follow the instructions.
How To Open A Compressed Zip File In Windows 7 Free
Notes:
To add files or folders to a zipped folder you created earlier, drag them to the zipped folder.
If you add encrypted files to a zipped folder, they'll be unencrypted when they're unzipped, which might result in unintentional disclosure of personal or sensitive information. For that reason, we recommend that you avoid zipping encrypted files.
Some types of files, like JPEG images, are already highly compressed. If you zip several JPEG pictures into a folder, the total size of the folder will be about the same as the original collection of pictures.
