FILE COMPRESSION & ARCHIVING

ZIPPING AND UNZIPPING FILES


There are several different types of file compression in use, and the most commonly used is zip.

Zip compression and archiving has been around for many years, but until recent times archived files had to be decompressed in DOS. This can still be acheived using pkunzip.

Winzip is now the most commonly used compression and archiving software, and even topped the ZDNet list for Top Downloads of 1999, which must go to show just how popular it is.

A large percentage of files stored on servers for download on the internet are compressed using zip compression, and, once installed, Winzip will automatically unpack these files when you double-click on them in your file manager (Windows Explorer).

Further to this, you can use Winzip for compressing all those seldom-used files on your hard drive that may be taking up too much room. Some files pack down to 10% of their original size once compressed. Winzip is also handy for packaging a whole bunch of loose files as one item.

You can download Winzip from here.