Barry MacDonnell's Toolbox for WordPerfect for Windows

Barry MacDonnell's Toolbox for WordPerfect

Macros, tips, and templates for Corel® WordPerfect® for Windows® © Copyright 1996-2024 by Barry MacDonnell. All Rights Reserved.		Page updated Nov 15, 2020

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What is a "zip" file?	What is it? How do I use it? A zip file is a single file containing one or more files inside it, temporarily compressed to a smaller size while inside the zip file. Generally it will have a .zip filename extension (although the term "zip" has become somewhat generic, so this is not always true on some sites). It is sometimes called an "archive" file since it's very god for storing various files in one group. It's an extremely popular file format (there are other similar archive formats) in both business situations and general computing. The zip file format has been around since the 1980s, and there are now many programs (some free or low cost) that can zip a collection of files. In fact, most versions of Windows (XP and later) have a basic zip/unzip function built in. See, for example, "How to Zip (and Unzip) Files on Windows 10". In Windows you can extract files from a ZIP file by merely double-clicking on the ZIP's filename. Why is it used so much on this site? Compressing files into a zip file makes a transfer of the component files across a network or the Internet much faster and more secure, since all files in the archive are kept together until the user "unZips" (i.e., uncompresses) them. In fact, some downloads on this site contain several related files, such as both a macro file and a text document. Many people do not delete the original zip file immediately so that it can be kept as a back up in case they need to use the files stored in it later. It is always a good idea to extract zipped files into an empty folder on your computer to keep just those files together and give you the chance to read any text file or instructions that may be included in the archive. You can then move the files to a more appropriate folder. Other ZIp/Unzip options If you wish to use a more robust third-party ZIP program, you need only install and start the program, and then select one or more files from a folder on your system. The program will then ask for a name to give to the new Zip file, optionally allow you to add a password or specify the degree of file compression, and then "zip up" the files in a single file. The same software program -- or almost any other Zip program -- can unzip the archive file, restoring the individual files. Available Zip/unZip programs include the well-known WinZip program ( http://www.winzip.com ), now owned by Corel, and free programs such as 7-Zip (https://www.7-zip.org/). These programs will have instructions on how to select (i.e., choose) files for inclusion in a zip file, how to add a password, how to extract all (or just some) files from a zip file, and so forth. In most cases the resulting file created by a Zip program will have a .zip filename extension (hence the common name, "zip file"). Sometimes it will have a .exe extension, if the sender set it up that way; in this case the file will self-extract into its constituent files, automatically, when you double-click the filename in File Explorer or My Computer. If it has the more typical .zip extension, you will need to use the unzip portion of the program to extract the files, or, if the Zip program has been properly installed on your Windows system and you can find the zip file with File Explorer or My Computer, double-clicking the file's name will bring up the Zip program and allow you to extract the files immediately.