How to Zip/Unzip Files in Windows 11 – Guide
Windows 11 includes a built-in utility to unzip files, or you can use 7-Zip, a free third-party file archiver. Zip files are files that are compressed to reduce the space they consume on your hard drive. It can be a single file or a group of them. Compressing a file does not result in data loss. ..
Why should you compress your files?
There are a few main reasons to Zip files and folders:
- To make them quickly portable to other computers, cloud storage or email addresses.
- To reduce the amount of data that needs to be transferred over the internet or through email. ..
Some organizations will not allow certain file extensions on their computer. For example, many organizations will block emails with an .exe file attachment for security reasons. In that case, you can simply zip the .exe file and send it as a .zip file. The recipient can easily download and unzip the file on their computer.
Email and file sharing services allow sharing of individual files. However, you may have multiple files in one folder for your project or other reasons. Unfortunately, it is not possible to send a folder containing multiple files in an email or share it over the internet. You need to attach or upload separate files, although they are all in a single folder. The best option is to archive the entire folder that contains multiple files into a single file and send it. This will be super helpful for the recipient as the structure of the content inside the folder can be maintained when unarchive.
Large files are not easily shareable, and if you want to share the file using an email service, it may take more time and storage to deliver the file from one computer to another. This can lead to a waste of time and effort. Additionally, compressed files are easily shared due to their smaller size even if your internet connection is slower. ..
ZIP and unzip files and folders in Windows 11
In Windows 11, you can zip/unzip files and folders using the built-in method or with any third-party tool like 7-Zip or WinZip. Here’s how:
- Open File Explorer.
- Right-click on the file or folder you want to zip/unzip and select “Zip or Unzip.”
- Select the “Use default settings” option and click OK.
- The file/folder will be zipped/unzipped according to the default settings in Windows 11. ..
Built-in Methods in Windows 11
Right-click on the folder you want to compress and in the context menu click on the option “Compress to Zip file”. You will get a zip icon immediately after zipping the folder.
To zip a file, open the File Explorer app and locate the file you want to zip. Click on the file and then press “Win+E” to open the Zip command. In the Zip command window, type in a name for your zip folder and click on “Zip.” The zipped file will be placed in your zip folder. ..
To compress multiple files at once, hold down the left mouse button and drag the mouse cursor over the files to select them. ..
After selecting the files, right-click on the selected group and select “Copy.” ..
When the context menu appears, click on the “Compress to Zip file” option.
Windows will create a zip file including all selected files and will automatically highlight the zip file name so you can change the name. ..
Unzip the file/folders in Windows 11
The good part is that you can unzip or unarchive the zip files using the utility built into Windows 11. All you have to do is right-click on the file you want to unzip and click on the “Extract All” option from the menu.
You can extract files from a zip file by choosing the “Extract All” option from the context menu or the top menu of File Explorer. After selecting the option “Extract Compressed (zipped) Folders”, pop-up will open. By default, Windows will show the same location as the zip file. You can click the “Browse” button and select a different location where you want to extract the files.
Unzip just a few files from a zipped folder in Windows 11
To extract files from a zipped folder, double-click the folder to view the files in it. Then, right-click on the file you want to unzip from the folder and select “Copy” from the context menu.
Please enter a valid filename.
Zip files using the 7-Zip application
7-zip is a powerful file archiving app that can be used to compress files. It is open source and you can download it for free from the official website. 7-Zip software allows you to compress files using 4 different formats – 7z, tar, wim and zip. So even if you are blocked from sending .zip files, you can change the compressed file extension to .7z and send emails. Additionally, you can choose different compression levels, encryption to protect archived files and compression speed time.
How to add a new folder on the desktop
The seven popular file formats are 7z, ZIP, GZIP, BZIP2, TAR, and RAR. The four additional formats that can be used to archive your files or folders are 7-Zip, GZIP, BZIP2, and TAR.
When you open the “Add to File” pop-up, you’ll find all the compression management options. You can change the location, rename the file, and more. ..
The file format for this article is PDF.
You can change the compression level from four options. ..
If you want to password protect the archived folder, enter the encryption password and select the “Encrypt filenames” option. Make sure you remember your passwords, otherwise there will be no way to open the archived folder.
Unzip files using 7-Zip application on Windows 11
To unzip a zipped folder using the 7-Zip application:
- Click on the zipped file and by right clicking on it, an option will appear in the Menu with “Show more options”.
- Among the options provided, select “7-Zip” and click “Extract here” if you want to extract the files to the same location as the original file.
- The files will be automatically extracted to the same location. ..
If you want to extract the files to a different location, you can do so by clicking on the three dot ellipsis button and selecting a new location. After clicking on the “OK” button, the files will be extracted to that location. ..
Unzip selected files using 7-Zip application
7-Zip is a powerful application that can be used to extract files from zipped folders. To extract a single file or group of files, right-click the zipped folder and select “Show more options…”. By hovering your cursor over 7-Zip, you will see more options and click on “Open file” from the list of options provided.
After opening the zipped folder in the 7-Zip application, select the files to be extracted and click on the “Extract” option from the top menu. Now to change the location of the extracted files, click on the three dot ellipsis button and after selecting the location, click “OK” to continue.
Final note
How to Zip/Unzip Files in Windows 11 In order to zip or unzip files in Windows 11, you will need to use the FileZilla software. FileZilla is a free and open source file management application that can be found on the Microsoft Windows platform. To start FileZilla, open the Start screen and type “filezilla”. If you are using an older version of Windows, you may need to click on the “Help” button on the top left corner of the screen before you can start FileZilla. If you are using a recent version of Windows, you will see a blue “FileZilla” icon on your desktop. Once FileZilla is open, click on the “Files” tab. This will show all of your current files and folders. You can drag and drop files and folders into or out of FileZilla, or use the arrow keys to move files around. If you want to zip or unzip a file, simply click on the “Zip” button next to the file’s name. If you want to extract a file from a zip archive, simply click on the “Extract” button next to the file’s name.
