Windows XP Compressed (Zipped) Folder
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If you have upgraded to Windows XP, you have probably noticed that it has its own built-in zip support. This means you no longer need third party software to open compressed files. You’ll notice when you right click a folder or file and point to Send to: that there is a Compressed (zipped) folder option. A nice feature if you do not use other software for compression. To compress an existing folder simply right click, point to Send To, and click Compressed (zipped) folder.
Windows XP has a compression feature built-in so you no longer need to use a third party utility to compress your folders and files. If you want to compress an existing folder or file, simply right click the appropriate one, point to Send to, and click Compressed (zipped) folder.
Normally people compress their folders and files after they are created. However, you can create an empty zipped folder to store future files. You can create a new compressed folder using the following steps:
- Open Windows Explorer.
- From the File menu, point to New and click Compressed (zipped) folder.
- Type in a name for the folder that includes the ‘zip’ extension.
- Press Enter.
You can easily add your files to the existing compressed folder. Just double click the compressed folder you just created. Now drag and drop the appropriate files into the folder. Keep in mind that this does not move them into the compressed folder, but copies them. If you want to actually move the files, hold down the Shift key as you drop them into the folder.
For those of you who are concerned about security and do not want others viewing the contents of your compressed folder, rest assured there is a way that you can secure them. To increase security, you can assign a password to a compressed folder. This way any user that wants to view the contents must first supply the correct password.
You can assign a password to a compressed folder using the following steps:
- Open Windows Explorer and My Computer.
- Locate the compressed folder you want to assign a password to.
- Double click the compressed folder to open it.
- From the File menu click Add a password.
- Type in the password twice and Click OK.
If you need to remove the password simply open the compressed folder again and select Remove password from the File menu.
Now, if you are using third party software for compression, such as Winzip, you may find that this feature of Windows XP just gets in your way. If this is the case, you do have the option of disabling it and just using your favorite third party software. Keep in mind as well that the zip feature included with Windows XP is very basic and does not give you the functionality of other programs.
You can disable the built-in zip feature using the following process. Open the Run command from the Start Menu and type: regsvr32 /u %windir%\system32\zipfldr.dll. You can re-enable this feature at anytime using the same command without the /u switch (regsvr32 %windir%\system32\zipfldr.dll).
[tags]xp,zipped folder,compressed folder[/tags]
19 Comments
Nasir Khan
January 9th, 2007
at 7:48am
how do i download the windows compressed folder. i did get it with my computer but it got deleted somehow and doesnt com in the option of right click and new
Reginald
March 9th, 2007
at 12:06pm
Thanks for the writing article on windows built in zip utility. You should check out my wifes book at http://www.traciechoates.com. I think you would enjoy it. It deal with women in technology. The title is “Playing the Game as a MAN!”. Thanks
Reginald
March 9th, 2007
at 12:07pm
Thanks for the writing article on windows built in zip utility. You should check out my wifes book at http://www.traciechoates.com I think you would enjoy it. It deal with women in technology. The title is “Playing the Game as a MAN!”. Thanks
Joel
May 25th, 2007
at 4:51pm
Thank you. The information on re-enabling the built-in zip feature of Windows XP was very helpful to me.
Paolo
September 3rd, 2007
at 12:03am
Great info about Windows XP’s built in Compressed (zipped) folder option
Francis Johnson
January 10th, 2008
at 10:44am
How do I prevent searching compressed (zipped) folders while searching for files/folders in Windows XP? The feature is automatically turned on, yet many times I know the file I seek is not in a Zip file.
darell
January 15th, 2008
at 11:00pm
how do i download the windows compressed folder. i did get it with my computer but it got deleted somehow and doesnt com in the option of right click and new
Forrest
April 8th, 2008
at 1:03pm
Hi there. Is there a way to programatically access the send to zipped folder feature? I work with some large files on a daily basis and it would be nice to be able to refresh the files (50MB or so) and ’send to compressed folder’ that I then could have uploaded, all programatically. I hate tedious manual work… lol
thanks for any ideas..
D Sheth
April 14th, 2008
at 10:21am
Use regsvr32 zipfldr.dll to restore windows compressed folders
Meg
April 29th, 2008
at 9:42pm
Help!!!! I went to save a file and hit the zip compressed and now i cant find my images how do i get them unzipped
jen
May 15th, 2008
at 1:27pm
How do I get the files to be compressed even smaller than what they are in the folder? Is that possible or do I need to use another software?
Animesh Paul
June 13th, 2008
at 2:50am
I have a problem in my system.When I create a new profile in my system and login in system using that profile I use to get that Compressed (Zipped Folder) option. Once i compress any file or folder the option is got vanish. I can only able to compress one time. After that the option is not used to present over there.Can any one please help me to get it resolve.
Thanks,
Animesh
TCS-New Delhi
Elian
July 1st, 2008
at 6:12pm
where, and, how can i download compressed (zipped) folder!
Atul
August 14th, 2008
at 5:28am
i am unable to open a .zip(zipped compress) folder because
i dont know the password of that folder…
mohamad
October 6th, 2008
at 12:29pm
i have download a printer saftwar the softwar was download as a zipped folder i want to know how can i open or download my printer using thes zipped folder
thx for help
Stocky
December 3rd, 2008
at 4:48am
Here is a question….
Can you send a file to a zip folder without using the right click menu at all or the file menu from within internet explorer. I really need to create zip files but the security is so tight i cant seem to find a way.
Any help would be great.
pete
oleg
March 18th, 2009
at 11:08pm
what is the compression type of the default windows compression? to what degree does it compress folders? how much percent of the original?
Compress A Folder In Windows 7 ~ Windows Fanatics
August 13th, 2009
at 2:17pm
[...] Yep, just like it was in Windows XP! [...]
help her
October 7th, 2009
at 3:25am
i don’t get the option of compressed zip folder in the new folders “option”
PLZ REPLY ME AT ayeshaahmed2009@live.com