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Help with ZIP Files

What is a ZIP File?

A ZIP file is a compressed computer file. Special software compresses a file by deleting repeating pieces of information. The computer keeps track of what was deleted and replaces that information when the file is unzipped (extracted). ZIP compression is lossless; that is, there is no quality loss; the expanded file is identical to the original file before it was compressed.

Zipping a folder bundles one or more files into a single file. The ZIP file itself is really just a container; it holds the files inside it for easy transporting and storage. This makes ZIP files valuable to file sharers and downloaders.

You can zip a single file, or you can zip many files into a single ZIP file. You can zip a file or multiple files directly, or you can zip a folder containing a file or multiple files.

ZIP files have the .zip extension. In Windows XP, by default, a zip file has an icon of a folder with a zipper on it. In any operating system, if you associate the ZIP file type with a utility, then your ZIP files will have that utility's icon.

When you open a ZIP file (extract the files), you can choose what folder you want the files to be extracted to.

A ZIP file is sometimes called an "archive" file. Creating a ZIP file is sometimes called "archiving."

A zipped file can be considerably smaller than the original file, but some types of files are reduced very little by zipping.

The following are some advantages of ZIP files:

  • You can zip many files into a single file, making it easier to send multiple files over the Internet (for example, as an e-mail attachment or as a download from a file-sharing site);

  • When zipping reduces file size, e-mail-transmission and download time is reduced;

  • When zipping reduces file size, hard-drive and mail-box storage size is reduced;

  • Many ZIP utilities allow you to encrypt files and password protect sensitive data;

  • You can send and receive e-mail attachments such as .exe files that might otherwise be blocked for security reasons;

  • Many zip utilities allow you to create a self-extracting archive. This is an archive that you specify as an executable (.exe) file. When you click on the executable file to open it, it has the ability to extract the files from within itself and produce the original files.


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Help with ZIP Files

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