Zip a File
Here is a tip that I learned this week. Zip a file. Zipping a file creates a compressed version of the file that is considerably smaller than the original file. The zipped version of the file has a .zip file extension. File types that are reduced the most as a result of zipping are text-oriented file types, such as .txt, .doc, .xls, and graphics files that use non-compressed file types such as .bmp. Some graphic files, such as .jpg and .gif files, already use compression; therefore, the file size is reduced very little by zipping. Also, a Word document that is full of graphics files does not get reduced as much as a document that is mostly text. Some advantages of zipping files are:
You save storage space. Zipping large files can save up to 80 percent or more in hard disk space.
Smaller file size drastically reduces e-mail transmission time.
The smaller file size of e-mail messages that you want to keep is useful when your mailbox has a space limit.
Many zip utilities allow you to encrypt files and protect sensitive data, especially when you send it in e-mail.
You can send and receive e-mail attachments, such as .exe files, that would otherwise be blocked by Outlook for security reasons.
Many zip utilities support disk spanning, which means when you create a .zip file on a removable disk and run out of disk space, the utility prompts you to insert additional disks as needed and then continues the process.
Many zip utilities allow you to create a self-extracting archive. These are archives that compress and package the files that you specify as an executable (.exe) file. When you click the executable file to open it, the .exe
If you're running an operating system newer than Windows 98, browse to the folder where the files you want to zip are at. (If the files are in different places, you should copy and paste each one into a new folder. You're going to need them all together to do this.)
Now highlight the files by either drawing a box around them or by holding the Ctrl key and selecting each of them. Once you have all of the ones you want to zip up highlighted, Right-Click one of them, go down to Send to and choose Compressed (zipped) folder.
Its that easy. Your highlighted files are now one zipped file and if you don't like the name Windows gives your zipped folder, just highlight it and press F2 to rename it!
If you don't want to use the built-in Windows zip utility, there are also third-party programs like WinZip and WinRar, that have more features, like the ability to set the compression size and file extension.