How to archive an archive in. How to zip a file and send it by email !? How to zip a file or folder in WinRAR

Surely everyone Windows user the concept of "archive file" or simply "archive" is familiar, as well as "archiving". Archiving is the process of compressing a file and placing it in another file with a special extension, from which you can then extract the contents (unzip or unzip).

Archives are a very useful thing. They help save disk space and make it easier to transfer or send large numbers of files. In the modern world, where in any electronics store you can buy for relatively affordable money HDD for 4 TB, the issue of saving space due to archiving is no longer so relevant. The time spent compressing and decompressing a large volume of files often simply does not justify the amount that the user saved on archiving. Of course, for long-term storage of large files, the archiver will help to save a noticeable amount of memory, but in everyday tasks, archives are most often used precisely to simplify the transfer and sending of files. Much easier to copy to a USB flash drive or send by mail 1 large file instead of 200 small ones.

Exists different ways archiving and applications for working with archives. You can even work in them without any additional software at all. Let's take a look at some of these applications.

How to zip a file or folder without programs

Ever since the days Windows Vista a built-in simple archiver capable of working with ZIP archives into the Microsoft operating system. You can either compress files or unpack them, and you do not need to download additional programs for this.

note: not all files are compressed equally efficiently. For example, trying to compress videos will have almost no effect, so there is no point in archiving them to save space.

How to unpack an archive in Windows without programs

Your archive must be in ZIP format, as this is the only format supported by the system without additional programs... You just need to open the archive as a regular folder and copy files from it. Alternatively, click on the archive right click mouse, select Extract all, and then tell the system where to put the unpacked files. As you can see, everything works as simply as possible.

Built in Windows archiver perfect for those who need to quickly archive a file or folder without applications, regardless of the compression settings, archive password, its format, encryption algorithm, and so on. Simplicity decides in this case. Unfortunately, the minus of the archiver in Windows Explorer is the inability to change any of the parameters. The archives will always be in ZIP format, you cannot password protect them or change the degree of protection. If you need to change these parameters, you will have to use third-party applications.

How to zip a file or folder in 7zip

7zip is our favorite archive program. Simple, free, functional, small and efficient. You can download 7zip from the official website for free. The installation procedure takes place in one click and takes a few seconds.

After installation, open the files or folder you want to zip in Explorer, right-click on them and select 7 zip - Add to archive.

A window will open where you can set the backup parameters. As you can see, there are many more options for archiving here than in the standard Windows Explorer. You already have access to the choice of the archive format (7z is used by default), the compression level, the number of streams, the option to split the archive into parts, create an SFX archive (it is also called a self-extracting archive that can extract files without the need for archivers) and even set a password with protection encryption.

If you are a beginner, pay attention first of all to the parameter Compression level... The higher the level, the more space you save, but the computer will spend more time compressing. You can also select one of the formats in the list Archive format... Tip: the 7z format is more efficient at compressing files when archiving.

To then unpack the file on a computer without archivers at all (very old PCs, for example, which do not even have a built-in archiver), use SFX-archiving, which will pack the files into an executable exe-file.

Warning: Be very careful with SFX archives, as self-extracting archives from unknown sources often contain viruses. Make sure you trust the source of the file and also keep your antivirus enabled at all times.

If you need to protect files inside the archive, set a password in the window Encryption... In this case, to gain access to the contents of the archive, you will need to enter a password. By the way, this is one of the methods to put a password on a folder. You pack the files into a ZIP archive, after which you can open the archive like any folder, but the system will require a password to open or copy files.

The disadvantages of the 7zip archiver include the inability to create rar archives, which are very popular among the users of the WinRAR archiver. Although 7zip can handle RAR files (and many other archive formats), it cannot create RAR archives. Otherwise, 7zip perfect application for working with archives, which will satisfy the needs of almost every user.

How to unzip a 7zip file

The principle is the same as for archiving. Press the right button on the archive, select 7 zip - Open archive... After that, just drag and drop its contents onto the folder window where you want to unzip the files.

How to zip a file or folder in WinRAR

WinRAR is essentially the same application as 7zip (if you do not delve into deeper nuances), it only knows how to work with RAR files (but does not support the creation of 7z archives). A big drawback of WinRAR for some will be the fact that this archiver is paid and you need to buy a license for it to work. You can try the demo to see what it can do.

  1. Go to WinRAR official website and click Download WinRAR.
  2. Install the application, after which the same items as for 7zip will appear in the context menu. The principle of working with WinRAR is exactly the same as with its free counterpart. Just right-click on a file or folder, select WinRAR - Add to archive... After that, select the archive format, compression ratio and other necessary parameters.
  3. Wait for the archiving procedure to complete.

In this article, we have only briefly described the principle of archiving files using the example of two applications. Their capabilities will be more than enough to work with the vast majority of common archive formats. If you wish, you can study the possibilities in more detail 7zipor WinRAR(did you know that these applications can be used to benchmark the processor?), but that's a topic for a separate article.

Sooner or later, almost every computer user is faced with the need to archive files or extract data from the archive. It is likely that you can easily do without archiving, knowing nothing about it and not using it. A logical question arises: then what is the purpose of archiving files? Let's say you are about to send a large number of files, such as photographs, to someone over the Internet. You can add them one at a time or several at a time, but it’s easy to get lost and take a lot of time. But zip photos it will be much easier and more convenient, and not only for you, but also for the recipient. This is just one example, the ability to work with archiving programs can be useful in other situations. Now consider directly, how to archive files.

How do I archive a file, folder and other documents?

For this we need an archiver. Personally, I recommend the program to you, as it is completely free, unlike some others, and easy to use. You can download it by clicking on the following link - http://7-zip.org.ua/ru

So, downloaded, installed, it's time to find out how to archive files.
Select the files you want to archive. We call context menu by clicking on them with the right mouse button. We are looking for the 7-Zip program, select the "Add to archive" item.

In the window that appears, you can set the archiving settings.

We will not touch most of the settings, they are set by default as expected. We are interested in the following points here:

  1. Archive - you can enter the name that the archive will have;
  2. Archive format - I advise you to just choose 7z and not bother;
  3. Compression level - here you can choose depending on which you are compressing and their size. For example, if your goal is zip video or other large files to reduce their size and free up some space on your computer, then select Maximum or Ultra. If you just need archive photo for sending over the Internet, it is better to choose Fast, High-Speed ​​or No compression at all, if there are not many photos and the total size is not large.

This completes the settings in this window, it is better not to change the rest of the parameters. The only thing is that you can still put a password on the archive if you are very worried about the confidentiality of the data you send or just want to secure any important documents on your computer.

To do this, just enter your password and repeat it. In order not to get confused and not to be mistaken, you can click Show password - then the characters that you enter will be displayed, and not asterisks instead of them. Just keep in mind that even though you won't be able to open or extract files from the archive without a password, the contents of the archive are still displayed. So an outsider can see the type and name of the files in the archive.

So, set the settings, click OK. After a while, depending on the size of the files, the archive is ready.

If you are interested, how to archive a folder, then everything is exactly the same, only at the very beginning we right-click on the desired folder... Now let's look at the reverse process, that is.

Extract archive.

Since we have several files in the archive, we first create a folder for them by right-clicking on the free area.

This way we can neatly extract the files into one place, otherwise they may be scattered and disordered.

Now open the archive and select all or only separate files and click the Extract button at the top of the panel.

In the window that appears, you can choose where the files will be extracted. To do this, press the button to select the path, then select the folder. As you can see, you can create an empty folder just before extracting files, if you forgot to do this earlier. We confirm the choice, then click OK again.

If you put a password on the archive, now a window for entering it will appear.

As already mentioned, without entering a password, you can see the names, type and size of files in the archive, but you cannot open them or extract them without a password. We write the password and click OK, if there is one, and if not, then the files have already been extracted and are in the folder.

How to check if the archive is intact, if the files are not damaged.

Besides knowledge, how to archive a file, it doesn't hurt to be able to check it for integrity. It's quite simple to do this: open the archive and press the Test button on the top panel.

After testing, a window will appear with the result.

Why and when do you need to do archive testing?

  • Firstly, if during adding files to the archive some kind of failure occurred or the system freezes. So you can find out if the backup was successful, or if it will have to be done again.
  • Testing will also be useful if you want zip documents and make sure they are safe.
  • Or, if you are archiving a large file to free up disk space, then before deleting the original file, it is better to make sure that the archiving was successful. And if an error is found, just pack the files into a new archive and delete the old one.

How do I view information about an archive?

And finally, let's look at how to find out complete information about the archive. To do this, on the program panel, press the Information button.

After that, a window will immediately appear with all the information on the archive that may interest you.

Here, in fact, are all the functions of the program that may be useful to you. Now you know how to archive a file , How to zip a folder and how to extract files from the archive. It remains only to advise you to experiment a little with the compression levels depending on the type and size of the file and determine what compression level is most optimal for your purposes. By the way, as you may have noticed at the beginning of the lesson, access to some functions of the archiver can also be obtained from the context menu.

From here you can add files to a new archive instantly, the default settings will be used, and the archive will appear in the same folder where the files you add are located.

Hopefully lesson on how to archive files was very informative for you and the knowledge gained will still be useful to you in working with a computer. The main thing is not to be satisfied with what has already been achieved, because often ignorance of some little thing significantly complicates the work and requires additional investment of time and actions. Thank you for your attention!

“The shaman takes out a jug and pours a river into it,

Then he takes the sky and rakes it into a bag.

Archives however ".

To create an archive, archiving programs are used. These programs solve several problems:


Reduce the size of the documents to fit on a floppy disk.


If the document is large, then its program "cuts" into separate parts and then transferred to different floppy disks

For storing rarely used documents, but necessary in the future. So that they take up less space on the hard disk.

To store a copy

For guard strong password access to the archived document.

To send an attached document in emails

Thus: an archive is a kind of folder in which documents are stored in a compressed form.

Programs that create archives, add something to them, or, on the contrary, remove documents are called archivers. There are many such programs, depending on the archiving algorithm.

In Russia, the following programs are considered leaders: and WINZIP. A document archive created using the WINRAR algorithm has almost the same size as a WINZIP archive or just ZIP.

The WINRAR archiver has a more user-friendly interface. Moreover, it is Russified. Besides WINRAR is able to create archives in both RAR and ZIP format.

Program- WINRAR archiver is a separate component from Windows programs and is installed on a computer separately.

How to zip a word document

The simplest process of archiving and unzipping documents.

Let's practice a little to make it clearer.

Create a document on your computer desktop, for example, in Word format. Name it. Open up. Type in a few phrases. Close.

To hide the document properties window, click on.

Creating and naming a new archive

Right at a free workplace windows desktop-> "Create" -> left by [ZIP Archive - WINRAR]. In this case, a new icon will appear on the desktop, which will be in the renaming mode. Give it a name.

An archive can be created, if necessary, inside a folder, while the folder must be open. To do this, click on the white field inside the folder.

The document that you are going to archive must be closed.

So you've created an archive, see how much it weighs. Remember that with the right mouse button on the document (in our case, the archive), then go to "Properties",  "General".

Look at the size of the archive you just created. I have it - 22 bytes. That is, an almost weightless shell. Do not forget: - To remove the document properties window, click on.

Archiving process.

With the left mouse button, drag the icon of the document, the size of which you memorized, to the archive icon before changing the color, most often it turns blue.

In our age of high technology users World wide web becomes more and more every day. Many of them are advanced users, and some are just starting their acquaintance with limitless possibilities The Internet. Regularly being online means working with various files... Archiving is one of the main tools for working with files. This article will show you how to zip files and compress the file to a smaller size.

What is archiving?

File archiving is a procedure in which the original size of any file is compressed to smaller volumes, while the quality of the files and the information they contain do not degrade or change. For example, if there is text file(for example, a book) with a size of 1.5 MB, then using a special archiving program, you can easily compress this volume to 150 KB. The benefits are obvious: the zipped file takes up much less space (in this case, 7 times), moreover, it can be sent by mail in one file.

Archiving can also be called packing files into one element (folder or database). Let's give an example: let's say you need to send a large number of photos to a friend. If you send them by e-mail, you will have to attach each photo separately. This process will take a long time, because the download of each image will start only after the previous one is loaded. It will be much easier to send all the photos in one folder, and it is the archiving programs that can pack all the files into one element.

What is it used for?

The main reason for using archivers (programs that compress or pack files) is not only to save time when sending files, hard disk space, but also to save data storage. The advantage is that zipped objects allow you to save a huge number of files in one folder, while the original elements can be safely deleted from the computer's memory, because at the right time you can simply unpack archive folder and use the files. Thus, you can save a significant amount of hard disk space, the main thing is to know how to zip the file.

Overview of archiving programs

The most popular program- this is WinRar, it is built into OS Windows

And it is considered very effective in terms of the ratio of compression ratio to speed. It saves files in RAR or ZIP format. The advantage of this program is the possibility of additional protection in the form electronic signature to the zipped folder, but there is also a drawback: WinRar is paid program... Below will be given effective method how to zip file in zip format.

There is another equally convenient and practical archiver called 7-Zip. Unlike the first program, it is free, you can download it from the official website. 7-Zip is a very simple tool, even for those who are not computer friendly.

What is the difference between archivers from each other?

There are many different programs archiving files. They differ in that they each have their own methods of compressing and saving objects. For this reason, their effectiveness may differ, because one archiver is able to compress a file by 5 times, and the other - by 10. Another difference is the format into which the archiver converts desired file... Also, each program has its own design design, so when adding an element to the archive using one program, we will see an icon that will differ from the icon of any other archiving program.

How to zip a file in zip format?

First of all, you need to clarify which archiver program is installed on your computer. To do this, right-click on any file and find the function of adding to the archiver in the list of actions that opens. If the "Add to arhive" function is present in the context menu, it means that you have WinRar installed.

The next step is to select one or more files to archive. To do this, select all elements with the mouse and right-click to bring up the Windows context menu. In the menu list, find the item "Add to archive" and click on it. This action should open the WinRar archiver program. In the archiving menu, you must select the settings in which you can specify the desired file compression rate. It should be borne in mind that the choice of the "maximum compression" method takes a little more time than the usual or high-speed methods.

After setting the compression settings, you can proceed to the window where you need to specify the name of the folder and the location of the future archived files. Then you need to start the archiving process using the "ok" menu item. V specified location zipped items will appear: a folder or just a compressed file.

How to open a zipped file zip format? It's very simple: you need to select the archive folder by clicking the left mouse button, and then call the action menu of the archiver program itself by clicking the right mouse button. A small window will appear with items, you need to select "extract to current folder" or "extract to ..." depending on where you would like to save the extracted file.

Features of archiving

We answered the question "how to archive a file in zip?", Now let's learn about some of the features of archiving. So, for example, when archiving files in photo, audio or video format, very little compression in size occurs. WITH text formats this is not the case. Let's see how to archive pdf file in zip. You can use a standard archiver, or you can use various online tools to convert a file from one format to any other, including zip.

How to zip files on MAC OS?

The file backup methods are slightly different from those used in Windows. You can create an archive folder on an Apple computer in the following way: select files, then right-click to bring up the action menu and select "compress objects" in the window that opens. In the same folder where the source files were located, a folder with zipped files in zip format will appear.

In order to unpack files, you need to install special software that allows you to unzip files of any format. Then you need to select the archive folder, click on the right mouse button, and using installed program unpack the items you want. One of best programs freely available in the AppStore is the Unarchiver.

In the modern world, data exchange has become an integral part of working at a computer, both for business purposes and for personal. But we all know that the volume of this very data is sometimes quite large and it is simply impossible to send it, for example, by e-mail, therefore, archiver programs come to our aid, which compress our data and thereby significantly reduce the volume of this data, so today we will consider one of such programs is 7-zip... Let's install it, learn how to archive files and unzip their.

And we will start by saying why do we need to archive data? As already mentioned, in order to reduce the amount of this data. But I will immediately make a reservation to get a significant reduction in the size of the data is possible only with certain types of files. For example, it will not work to compress video, music or photos strongly, since these files are already compressed by themselves, so if you are going to archive movies, do not expect that your file size, for example, will decrease from 2 gigabytes to 500 megabytes, it may decrease, but not at all significantly. It's another matter if you are going to archive a large amount of documents in Word, Excel or PDF format, here you will get a decrease in the amount of data several times, for example, I had to archive a large amount of data in PDF format, I don’t remember exactly, but something about 2 -2.5 gigabytes, and with the 7-Zip program, which we will consider a little later, I compressed this data to about 250-300 megabytes! In my opinion, this is just fine, especially since I had to transfer this data via the Internet, and as you know, transferring a volume of 300 megabytes is much faster than 2 gigabytes, even if you have good speed The Internet.

Well, enough of the introduction, let's move on to the topic of the article itself, i.e. the 7-Zip program.

7-Zipfree program for archiving (compressing) data. Download this program can be found on the official website.

And the main advantage of this program is not that it compresses data well, but that it is free, i.e. I want to say that similar programs are paid, although the work is no better than 7-zip.

Installing the 7-Zip software

Note! We will be installing 7zip version 9.20 on Windows 7.

We launch the installer, and on the first window we will be asked to choose the installation path for this program, I leave it by default, and click install

Now let's just run this program to have a look at it and find out where you can change the settings. To do this, click Start-> All Programs-> 7zip-> 7-Zip File manager

And you will see the following window, a kind of file manager, in which you can move on your file system, in order to zip something or unzip something.

Also here you can set the program settings, for example, which file types to open by default 7zip or, for example, the program language, to do this, just go to the menu Service-> Settings

How to zip a file

Here the program offers several options for archiving, for example, through the 7-Zip File Manager, we examined it just above and, of course, through the context menu of a file or folder. In general, as it is more convenient to whom. Let's consider the option without launching 7-Zip File Manager, but simply zip the file through the right button.

Let's say we have Excel file 35 megabytes in size

We right click on this file i.e. call the menu for working with this file, and select 7zip-> Add to archive

Then a window will open in which we will set some compression settings. Since we are beginners, we will not go into particular details, the only thing is let's compress the file with the maximum compression ratio and for this we select “ Compression level» « Ultra", You can also set the name of the future archive, I will leave it as it is

After you click OK, the archived file will appear in the same folder (if you have not changed the path).

As you can see the file is compressed several times which, in my opinion, is very good.

And if you need to send the zipped file by e-mail, and if you have installed any mail program(for example Mozilla Thunderbird) then you can immediately select the item “ Compress and send by email"And in this case the compressed archive will be immediately attached as a file to the message being sent.

How to unzip an archive (extract data)

In order to unzip the archive, we right-click on the archive file (in our case, Test file. 7z) select 7zip-> unzip here this is if you want to unpack in the same folder as the archive itself

And if you want to unpack to another folder, then just select “ Unpack", And in this case you will be presented with a window for selecting the location where you want to unpack.

Also, if you just need to just look at the data in the archive, you can, as usual, open the file with the archive by double-clicking the left mouse button, and in this case you will open 7-Zip File Manager, where you will see all the data in this archive. You can also extract them here.

This is enough for the basics, the program is not complicated, so even a novice computer user will not be difficult to understand it. Good luck!