A Brief Tutorial About Zip Files
A zip file acts as a container for other files. When a zip file is saved, the files inside the zip file are compressed making the saved zip file smaller than the sum of the original files. Zip files are a popular way of exchanging files on the internet.
Zip files are created by a zip program such as WinZip. A shareware version of WinZip can be downloaded from http://www.winzip.com.
After installing WinZip you should be able to see the WinZip shortcut on your Desktop.
When you click on the shortcut, WinZip opens with the main dialog box.
Choose NEW to create a new zip file (archive).
Select a folder where you would like to store the zip file and give the zip file a name. In this example, the zip file will be created in an existing folder called "WinZip" and the file will be name "demo". You might want to create the zip file in a more convenient location such as the "Desktop" or "My Documents".
When you click "OK" you will be able to add files to the zip file. Locate the files you want to add to the zip file. You can add an individual file by clicking on the filename. You can add all the files in a folder by clicking on "Add with wildcards".
In the example above, we opened a folder called "Cartoons" and added all five of the files to the zip file by clicking on "Add with wildcards".
Below, you will see that a file called "demo.ZIP" has been created and the five files have been added to this zip file. Note that the files were only compressed by 2%-5%. In other cases the compression can be quite significant.
At this point, the zipping is complete and we can close the window. The "demo.ZIP" can now be sent to others as an attachment to email.
In the illustration below, you will see that we have used "My Computer" to display the files in the WinZip folder. Our demo.ZIP file appears in the list of files.
To "unzip" a zip file, double-click on the zipfile name. When we click on the "demo.ZIP" file we get the following panel. At this point, we can click on "Extract" to unzip all the files or select specific files before clicking on "Extract".
That's all there is to it. Clicking on WinZip's "Help" button will provide more information.
Happy Zipping!
