Applies to: Windows 10, Windows 8.1. Should your Operating System lack native file compression, 7-zip can help you out. It's open-source software.
Zipped (compressed) files take up less storage space and can be transferred to other computers more quickly than uncompressed files.
To zip (compress) a file or folder
- 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.
To unzip (extract) files or folders from a zipped folder
- 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.
- 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.