After they are installed, many zip utilities integrate with Windows Explorer in Microsoft Windows XP so that when you right-click a file, zip commands are available on the shortcut menu.

Zip a file

To create a .zip file, right-click a file, such as Government Proposal.doc, and then click a command on the shortcut menu, such as Add to Zip file or Add to Archive, to create Government Proposal.zip. Often the zip utility shortcut menu also includes a command such as Configure or Options to access the zip utility’s option settings.

Unzip a file

To unzip a file, right-click the file, such as Government Proposal.zip, and then click Extract on the shortcut menu.

Integration with Outlook

Most zip utilities work with Outlook to facilitate sending and receiving attachments as .zip files.

Send a zipped attachment

If you want to send an attachment, such as a .zip file, do the following:

1. In Outlook, open a new message.
2. Click in the body of the message, and then click Insert File.
3. Do one of the following:
   • If the .zip file, such as Government Proposal.zip, already exists, double-click the file to insert it into the message.
   • If the .zip file doesn’t exist, right-click the file that you want to zip, such as Government Proposal.doc, and then on the shortcut menu, click the zip utility’s command for sending a .zip file in e-mail. Doing this converts the file to a .zip file, such as Government Proposal.zip, and inserts it into the message.
4. Compose your message, and then click Send.

Send all attachments as .zip files automatically

If you want to attach a regular file, such as Government Proposal.doc, in the usual way and always have it sent as Government Proposal.zip, you can configure most zip utilities to do this automatically. See the utility’s option settings and documentation.

Important If you don’t want attachments to be automatically zipped, turn off that setting in the utility. If the behaviour persists, make sure that you not running another zip utility or add-in program. On the Tools menu, click Options. On the Other tab, click Advanced Options. In the Advanced Options dialog box, click COM Add-Ins. In the Add-Ins available list, check to see if there is a utility that is causing the behaviour. If yes, clear the check box next the utility name to disable it or click the utility, and then click Remove.

Open a zipped attachment

To open a zipped attachment, double-click the attachment.

• In the Opening Mail Attachment dialog box, if you click Open, the zip utility automatically unzips the file for you if the utility is configured to do that; typically this is the default setting.
• If you click Save, you can save the .zip file to the location that you want by using the usual Windows Save As dialog box.

Compressed folders in Windows XP

Windows XP has basic built-in zip capability so that you can compress files by using the Compressed (zipped) Folder feature. Folders compressed by using this feature are identified by a zippered folder icon.

You can either create a compressed folder and then move or copy the files to that folder to compress them, or you can right-click a file, point to Send on the shortcut menu, and then click Compressed (zipped) Folder.

Compressing folders by using the Compressed (zipped) Folder feature does not decrease your computer’s performance. Compressed folders can be moved to any drive or folder on your computer, and you can work with a compressed folder and the files or programs that it contains just as you would an uncompressed folder.

You can open files directly from compressed folders, or you can extract files before opening them.

Note You can run some programs directly from compressed folders, without decompressing them. However, to run programs that are dependent on other files, you must first extract them.

You can send a compressed folder in e-mail by clicking E-mail this file in the File and Folder Tasks pane.

If you use the Windows “classic” view, you can right-click the file, point to Send To on the shortcut menu, and then click Mail recipient.

So are you ready to get started with zipping and unzipping files? Keep in mind that the information in this article only covers the basics. Most zip utilities offer many more features than have been described here. Visit some of the Web sites mentioned earlier in this article and see which zip utility will work for you.

Article from http://office.microsoft.com