There are many ways to create ZIP files on Windows 10 or 11. You can use the context menu, do it through Command Prompt, use third-party applications, etc. - it depends on preference or your personal situation.
Today's article will show you all the different ways and methods to do this.
1. Create a ZIP file using the Windows context menu
One of the easiest ways to create ZIP files on your Windows 10 or 11 is to use the context menu. This menu has an option that allows you to add selected files to a ZIP archive (you can add and remove items from the Windows context menu).
You don't need to install any extensions or apps to use this feature. This feature works out of the box and is available in many versions of Windows.
You can use this option to add single file, multiple files and even folders to the new ZIP archive.
1. Open the folder containing the files you want to add to the ZIP.
2. Select individual files by clicking once on them or CTRL + A to select all files.
3. Right-click any file and select Send to > Compressed (zipped) folder.
4. Windows will create a new ZIP archive containing the files you selected.
The application will compress a new file for you immediately.
The only drawback is that this method is poor in terms of additional features. So if you want to use some complicated stuff like password protecting your ZIP files and the like – you'll have to try other methods.
2. Use the File Explorer option to create ZIP files on Windows
Another integrated way to create ZIP files on Windows is to use the File Explorer ribbon option. This option works quite similar to the context menu option, and you can use it to add both files and folders to a new ZIP archive.
1. Open a File Explorer window and access the folder containing your files.
2. Select the files you want to add to the ZIP archive.
3. Click the tab that says Share, located at the top of your File Explorer window.
4. You will see an option that says Zip in the Send section. Click this option.
Windows will go ahead and create a ZIP archive for you.
That's it - there won't be any prompts or confirmations, but your file will be compressed in no time. Unzipping these files on your Windows 10 and 11 is quite easy; just a few clicks away.
On Windows 11
To compress files via File Explorer on Windows 11, the steps will be a little different.
Open File Explorer and go to the file or folder you want to compress.
Select the file, click the three-dot ribbon from the top, then select Compress to ZIP file.
As soon as you do this, your file will be created and compressed right next to the original file.
3. Use Windows Command Prompt to create a ZIP file
Are you running out of space on your Windows PC? The best thing you can do to free up some space is to compress big files through zipping. There are plenty of third-party tools that can come in handy in this situation.
However, if you prefer to use Command Prompt or Windows PowerShell over anything else, there are commands you can use in these utilities to zip or unzip files. So, let's check out how to zip or unzip files using Command Prompt and Windows PowerShell.
A. How to Zip Files Using Command Prompt
You can zip files through Command Prompt using the tar command. It's a command line tool that helps you to extract files and create archives. However, this command only works in Windows 10 or later.
Here's how to zip files using Command Prompt:
1. Open the Start Menu by pressing the Win key.
2. In the search bar, type Command Prompt and Run as administrator from the right pane.
3. In the console, type the following command and press Enter. Replace 'Place' with the location of the file.
cd Place
4. Type dir and press Enter. It'll show the files inside the selected folder.
5. To zip all the files inside the selected folder, type the following command and press Enter. Replace 'Compressed' with the name you want to give your folder where the zip file will be stored. Also, replace 'FileExt' with the extension of the file you're zipping.
tar -a -c -f Compressed.zip *.FileExt
6. To zip a single file, execute the following command. Again, replace Compressed with the name you want to give your folder where the zip file will be stored, FileExt with your file's extension, and FileName with the name of the file you want to zip.
tar -a -c -f Compressed.zip FileName.FileExt
B. How to Zip Files Using Windows PowerShell
There are several viable ways to create zip files on Windows. One of these is through Windows PowerShell. However, the tar command doesn't work in Windows PowerShell; we'll use another command to get the work done.
Here's how to zip files using Windows PowerShell:
1. Open the Start Menu, type Windows PowerShell, and choose Run as administrator from the right pane.
2. In the console, type the following command and press Enter. Ensure to replace file destination and target location with the location of the file and the place where you want the file to be zipped, respectively. Also, replace file name with the name of the file you want to zip and destination name with the destination folder name.
Compress-Archive -LiteralPath 'file destination\file name' -DestinationPath 'target location\destination name'
If you want to zip multiple files, execute the following command. Replace file destination and file destination 1 with the location of the first and second files, respectively. And replace file name and file name 2 with the first and second file names.
Compress-Archive -LiteralPath 'file destination\file name', 'file destination 1\file name 2 -DestinationPath 'target location\destination name'
C. How to Unzip Files Using Command Prompt
There may be situations where you want to unzip files on your Windows computer. Fortunately, you can do that as well using Command Prompt. Here's how:
1. Launch Command Prompt with admin privileges.
2. Use the cd command to head toward the zip file's location.
3. Type the following command and press Enter. Replace 'Name' with the name of the zip file.
tar -xf Name.zip
You've successfully unzipped the file.
D. How to Unzip Files Using Windows PowerShell
Windows PowerShell lets you quickly unzip files on your computer. Here's how to do that:
1. Open Windows PowerShell with admin rights.
2. Type the following command and press Enter. Make sure to replace <filedestination> and <targetlocation> with the location of the zip file and the place where you want the file to be unzipped, respectively.
Expand-Archive -LiteralPath <file destination> -DestinationPath <target location>
Save Up Space on Windows 11 by Zipping Your Files
As a Windows user, you will always come across situations where you want to zip or unzip files. However, if you don't want to use a third-party tool, you can use Command Prompt and Windows PowerShell to quickly zip and unzip files on Windows using the above methods.
Meanwhile, you might be interested in learning a few important Command Prompt commands.
4. Use a third-party application to create ZIP files on Windows
Windows 10 and 11 allow you to create ZIP archives without any applications, but the features are quite limited. So if you want more options, such as the ability to choose compression levels and split your archive into parts, you need to use a third-party archiving application.
To use 7-Zip to create ZIP files on Windows 10 or 11, follow the steps below:
1. Install the 7-Zip application on your PC.
2. Open the app and your files will appear. This is the application's very own file manager.
3. Using this file manager, access the folder containing your files.
4. Select the files you want to add to your ZIP archive.
5. Click Add in the top toolbar.
6. Specify the output folder, archive format, compression level, and password options for your ZIP archive. Then, click OK at the bottom.
7. 7-Zip will create and save the archive in the folder you selected.
That's it - your files will be compressed to your liking.
As you might have guessed, as a Windows user, you don't need to put in much effort to create ZIP archives on your PC. Whether it's Command Prompt or File Explorer, you can compress files quite easily.
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