Zip Files - The best way to
send most files by email
by: Jeremy Trogg
Zipping files is a process that
most people don't understand. The are two reasons that people
will zip a file:
- Make files smaller - By
zipping files up, you compress them and make the file size
smaller. The file cannot be read until it is unzipped but
zipping it up will often times make a file possible to attach
to an email because it will be a smaller file than the original.
- Send multiple files
simultaneously - ZIP files can hold more than one file
inside, yet be only one file to the user. In other words,
it's like taking many papers and putting them into an
envelope. You are only sending one envelope, but many
papers. This can be an advantage if you routinely have to
send the same files to people, if all the files add up to a very
large byte total, or if you or the recipient uses
AOL.
If you or the other person uses
AOL, AOL will zip up the files for you into one big MIME file that
most people don't know how to handle. It can be unzipped like
ZIP files but it can be a pain and fewer people know how to handle a
MIME file than a ZIP file.
To either create a ZIP file or
unzip it, you will need WinZip. There are similar programs but
none that operate any better. Best of all, WinZip is
free! Click
here to go to the WinZip site. Download the
application and follow its installation instructions.
Newer version of Windows now have
their own built in unzipper but we have not found them to be nearly
as reliable.
Unzipping a file
Once used to it, unzipping a file will be quite easy but you will
have to pay attention the first couple of times through. There
are two WinZip methods but for the purposes of these instructions,
we will only talk about Classic. If you are set on Wizard,
press the button to go to Classic.
After going to the Classic view,
you will see a list of all the files in the zipped file. Do
not click on any file unless you only want to unzip that one
file. Otherwise, you will unzip them all.
Click on
Extract and then specify the location where you want the files
put. Many people use Desktop for this as it is easy to find
and easy to clean up afterwards. You might even create a file
folder on the desktop and then extract the files to that folder.
After extraction, you can then open
up any of the files, just as you would normally do. You have
just completed your first extraction or file unzip.
Zipping files
Let's say that you have multiple files to send to someone...
let's say pictures. First, put all your pictures into one
folder. This will make it easier for you and easier for the
person that you are sending them to.
After putting them all into the
same folder, right click on that folder and click on Add to
Zip. WinZip will launch by itself. Click on Add and
WinZip will put all the files into the Zip file and put the
completed Zip file in the same folder where your original folder is
located. After completion, you are ready to send the Zip file
as an attachment.
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