You can compress files in special folders that use compressing software to decrease the size of the files they contain. Compressed folders are useful for reducing the file size of one or more large files, thus freeing disk space and reducing the time it takes to transfer files to another computer over the Internet or network. A compressed folder is denoted by a zippered folder icon. You can compress one or more files in a compressed folder by simply dragging them onto the compressed folder icon. When a file is compressed, a copy is used in the compression, and the original remains intact. You can uncompress, or extract, a file from the compressed folder and open it as you normally would, or you can open a file directly from the compressed folder by double-clicking the Compressed File icon. When you open a file directly, Windows extracts the file when it opens and compresses it again when it closes . Compress Files and Folders -
| Select the files and folders you want to copy to a compressed folder. | -
| Right-click one of the selected items, point to Send To, and then click Compressed (Zipped) Folder. | -
| If you want, rename the compressed folder. | -
| To copy additional files or folders to the compressed folder, drag the files onto the compressed folder. | View Compressed Files -
| Double-click the compressed folder to open it. | -
| Double-click an item in the folder to open it using its associated program. | Decompress Files -
| Double-click the compressed folder to open it. | -
| Select the files you want to decompress. | -
| To decompress a single file, click Copy This File, and then select the destination folder. | -
| To decompress all the files, click Extract All Files, and then step through the Extraction Wizard. | For Your Information Compressing Files and Folders on an NTFS Drive If your hard disk is formatted as NTFS, you need to use a different method to compress existing files and folders. NTFS is an advanced file system that provides additional performance, security, and reliability over the standard file system FAT (File Allocation Table) or FAT32. To display the file system, select your hard disk icon in My Computer in the left pane under Details. To compress an existing file or folder on an NTFS drive, right-click the file or folder you want to compress, click Properties, click Advanced on the General tab, select the Compress Contents To Save Disk Space check box, and then click OK twice. In the Confirm Attribute Changes dialog box, select the option you want, and then click OK. | |