Zip and unzip files

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.

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.

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.

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.

How to Unzip a File

Why do I need to unzip files?

Zip files are single files that contain one or more compressed files. People zip files to keep related groups of files together and to make files smaller so they are easier and faster to share by email or via the web.
Zip files are ideal for archiving since they save storage space. And, they are also useful for securing data using encryption.

WinZip allows you to archive zip file(s) so that you can organize, store, and save space on your computer.

How to unzip files with WinZip

1. Launch WinZip from the start menu or Desktop icon. Open the compressed file by navigating to the folder using the WinZip Files pane and double clicking on the compressed file.
2. If you only want to unzip some of the files, click on a file in the zip file pane and then check the box to unzip the files or unzip a folder by selecting the checkbox next to it.
3. Click the on the Unzip to button in the Actions pane
4. Choose the destination folder to place the uncompressed files and click «Unzip» button.
5. Your extracted files will appear in the WinZip file pane in the selected destination folder.

3 quick ways to open a Zip file

1. Right-click in Windows Explorer and choose «Open with WinZip»
2. Double-click to launch WinZip
3. Open WinZip and choose the file using the File pane

As you can see, it’s as easy as 1-2-3 to unzip files.
Try it for yourself – download the trial.

Copyright ©2021 Corel Corporation. All Rights Reserved. WinZip is a Registered Trademark of Corel Corporation

How to zip and unzip files in Windows 10 using the built-in feature

I am sure that you have heard about ZIP files. It is a compressed file format that can be used to compress & pack one or more files or folders together, to save disk space, as its size is smaller. It is one of the most common file formats enabling you to compress files to save hard drive space, store rarely-used files, send documents and images via email or make it a lot easier to transfer or share them over the network. You can also compress them to zip format for making them available for download on websites or via FTP servers.

In this article, we will walk you through the simple steps to zip and unzip files and save storage on the hard drive of your computer, using the built-in ZIP functionality.

How to zip unzip files in Windows 10

To zip files in Windows 10 using the built-in feature:

1. Open File Explorer and navigate to the file/s and/or folder/s that you want to compress to the .zip format.
2. Press the right-click and select all the desired items.
3. A blue selection rectangle will be seen.
4. Right-click on it and select Send To > Compressed (zipped) folder
5. The .zip file will be created.

Name it as required, and you are done with zipping the selected files to save the hard drive storage.

How to unzip files in Windows 10

To unzip files in Windows 10, follow this procedure step by step:

1. Locate the compressed folder which you want to unzip.
2. Right-click on it and click the Extract all option.
3. By default, the path would be of the same location as the zipped folder. But you can change the destination by clicking the Browse button.
4. Then click the Extract button and the files will be unzipped to the selected destination.

By following these procedures, you will be able to zip and unzip files in Windows 10.

How to unzip a file using the command line? [closed]

Want to improve this question? Update the question so it’s on-topic for Stack Overflow.

Closed 8 years ago .

Which commands can be used via the command line to unzip a file?
Preferably something built into Windows or open source/free tools.

10 Answers 10

If you already have Java Development Kit on your PC and the bin directory is in your path (in most cases), you can use the command line:

or if not in your path:

Complete set of options for the jar tool available here.

7-Zip, it’s open source, free and supports a wide range of formats.

Firstly, write an unzip utility using vbscript to trigger the native unzip functionality in Windows. Then pipe out the script from within your batch file and then call it. Then it’s as good as stand alone. I’ve done it in the past for numerous tasks. This way it does not require need of third party applications, just the one batch file that does everything.

Use it like this:

As other have alluded, 7-zip is great.

Note: I am going to zip and then unzip a file. Unzip is at the bottom.

7-Zip Command Line Version

You can put the following into a .bat file

I’ve shown a few options.

-r is recursive. Usually what you want with zip functionality.

a is for «archive». That’s the name of the output zip file.

-p is for a password (optional)

-w is a the source directory. This will nest your files correctly in the zip file, without extra folder information.

-mem is the encryption strength.

There are others. But the above will get you running.

NOTE: Adding a password will make the zip file unfriendly when it comes to viewing the file through Windows Explorer. The client may need their own copy of 7-zip (or winzip or other) to view the contents of the file.

EDIT. (just extra stuff).

There is a «command line» version which is probably better suited for this: http://www.7-zip.org/download.html

So the zip command would be (with the command line version of the 7 zip tool).

Now the unzip portion: (to unzip the file you just created)

As an alternative to the «e» argument, there is a x argument.

How to zip and unzip files on a Windows 10 computer using built-in tools

• Zipping is a popular method for compressing files, and you can zip and unzip files on Windows 10 in several ways without installing any additional software.
• You can zip files by using Windows’ right-click menu to «send» them to a zipped folder.
• You can unzip quickly by double-clicking the zip file and dragging the individual files out to the desktop.
• Visit Business Insider’s homepage for more stories.

Zipping is one of the oldest, most commonly used methods for compressing files. It’s used to save space and transmit them more quickly.

In fact, it’s so common that zip compression and decompression is built into Windows. Here is how to zip files, plus two methods for unzipping them.

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How to zip files in Windows 10

1. Put all the files you want to zip in the same location, such as the same folder.

2. Select all the files. An easy way to do this is to drag a selection box around them with the mouse pointer.

3. Right-click one of the selected files.

4. In the drop-down menu, choose «Send to» and then click «Compressed (zipped) folder.»

5. A new zip file will appear in the same folder. You can identify a zip file visually because the icon has a zipper on it.

How to unzip files in Windows 10 with drag-and-drop

1. Double-click the zip file you want to unzip. You can identify a zip file visually because the icon has a zipper on it.

2. The zip file will open a folder, showing you the individual files inside.

3. Select all the files, or just the ones you want to use, and drag them out of the folder to another location on your computer. You can drag them into a folder or place them on the desktop.

The files have now been unzipped and can be used normally. You can now delete the zip file, if there’s nothing left in there that you want.

How to unzip files in Windows 10 with the zip wizard

1. Right-click the zip file. In the drop-down menu, click «Extract All…» The zip wizard will appear.

2. If you want to unzip the files to a different folder, click «Browse…» and choose a location.

3. Click «Extract» and the files will be unzipped and copied to the folder indicated.

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