Compressing folders and files can free up that extra space that was missing from the pendrive, or even your hard drive, to store more data. It also helps you organize your documents better and even prevents things from being deleted by mistake. The procedure of how to zip a file is very simple and can be done, natively, on a Windows PC.
Table of Contents
How to Zip a File or Folder
1. Choose the folder (or file) you want to compress;
2. Right -click the folder. Slide the mouse pointer to the “Send To” option ;
3. Then click the “Compressed folder” option;
4. If you want to rename the folder, just right click on it and then select “Rename”.
How to Unzip a File or Folder
1. Find the folder you want to extract all or just a few files;
2. If you want to extract all the files at once, right-click on the zipped folder. Then click “Extract All” and choose where the files will be saved;
3. If you want to extract only a few files separately, open the zipped folder with a double-click of the mouse, and then drag the file you want to another location. The original file, dragged out of the zipped folder, will not be deleted.
Important Tips
1. If you want to add more files, or even folders, to a folder already zipped, just drag them there;
2. If you add encrypted files to a zipped folder, they are decrypted when they are unzipped. So beware of your most sensitive information;
3. Certain types of files, such as JPEG images, are already in very compact mode. So adding multiple JPEG photos to a zipped folder will not make that much difference.