What is a ZIP file and why should you care about them.

If you are going to pursue finding free software on the web, then you are going to want to download some of the software you find onto your own computer's hard drive. Some files are executable and usually look something like this: myprogram.exe. When you download an executable file you simply need to click on it and it will install the program onto your computer.

Not all downloads are going to consist of an executable file for installing on to your computer. Sometimes that executable file is compressed into a ZIP file.

What is a ZIP file? ZIP files are containers of data; they are an easy way to package one or several files into one smaller package. Files in ZIP file containers are compressed, thus making them smaller and saving download time.

In order to use the files contained in a ZIP file they need to be unpacked with a ZIP utility. You could go out and buy Winzip for $29.95 or use a FREE utility for doing the same thing. I would recommend 7Zip. 7Zip is a program that can be used to unpack files that have been packaged up. The unpackaged files can be placed into the directory of your choice and then used.

To unpack a ZIP file with 7Zip: Open 7Zip, select the ZIP file of your choice, click on Extract (the - button), choose where you want the files extracted to, then click OK. 7Zip will unpack all of the files into the directory of your choosing.

7Zip can also be used to package up multiple files to be shared with others. Simply select the files you want to add to a ZIP file then click on add (the + button). Select archive format ZIP then click OK; you have now created a ZIP file.

Happy Zipping!

Dan