Windows Help & Advice - UK (2020-05)

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How to zip

and unzip files

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f techyearsarelikedog

years,thenzipfileswere

invented 217 yearsago

• anddespitetheiragetheyremain
  incrediblyusefulthingsin2020.
  Zipfilestakea bunchoffilesand/or
  folders,squashthemdownand
  packagethemupasa single,smaller
  filethat’sbetterforsending,for
  sharingonthelikesofUSBsticksand
  forfreeingupharddrivespace.And
  inWindows10,zippingfilesis baked
  rightintoFileExplorer.
  Thefilesweusetodayarea lot
  biggerthantheonesweusedtozip
  backin1989.Backthen,PCswith
  10MBofharddiskspaceseemed
  prettyfancy;today,it’snotunusual
  fora singlesmartphonephototo
  bebiggerthanthat.Andthat
  meanszipfilesremainincredibly
  useful:foraslongasweneedto
  share,sendorstoredigitalfiles,
  we’llwanttozipthemuptomake
  themmoreportable.

1 Findyourfiles

The firstthingyouneedwhenyou’rezippingfilesis tofind

the files youwanttozip.Todothat,locatetheminFileExplorer

and selecttheonesyouwanttozip.Youcanchoosetoselectall

the files ina folder[Ctrl]+ [A]),oryoucanselectsomebutnotall

of the filesbyholdingdown[Ctrl]andclickingthefile(s)youwant.

You can selectentirefoldersaswellasorinsteadoffiles.

2 Find the zip

In this screenshot we’re zipping files we’ve stored in our

OneDrive, so you’ll see the little OneDrive status icons next to

each file name. Select the files you want to zip, then move to the

File Explorer’s menu bar and select Share. You should now see a

toolbar with the usual Share, Email, Print icons on it. The one we

want is the yellow folder that says Zip.

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Step-by-step (DV\]LSVLQMXVWDIHZFOLFNV

Anyonecandoit

Straightforward

Trickyin parts

Windows 10

Windows8.1

Windows^7

At a glance

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38 |^ |^ May 2020