WinZip for Android User Guide

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WinZip for Android

WinZip for Android is available from Google Play and Amazon as a free version with a limited feature set. It can be converted to the full version by an in-app purchase.

In-app purchase

WinZip installed on the Home screen

WinZip for Android can be found (on Google Play, Amazon, and other sites), installed on your android device, and displayed on the home screen, if you wish. After installing WinZip, when you open the app you will notice that ads display at the bottom.

If you wish, you can tap the "x" in the upper right corner of the ad and a dialog for the in-app purchase will display. Purchase is also available on the WinZip menu in the Settings section.

Tap the menu button and Purchase will display

After purchasing, your copy of WinZip will be converted to the full version and ads will no longer display. Additionally, you will be able to:

If you attempt to use any of the file types or features listed above with the free version of the app, you will be prompted to purchase.

Settings

Settings

To open Settings, tap the menu button or swipe to the right and then tap the Settings button (see the picture in the previous section).

In Settings, you can:

Open Zip files

Open a Zip file attached to email

With WinZip, you can open Zip files, Zipx files, RAR files, or 7z files (an in-app purchase is necessary to work with Zipx files, RAR files, and 7z files). These may be files that you receive in an email message, ones that you download from web pages, or ones you have manually saved to your Android device.

The WinZip menu

Access files and features on the WinZip menu

The WinZip menu gives quick access to your stored files in various handy categories, the photo cleaning tool, and app settings.

After you open WinZip, whether directly or by opening a file attachment from an email message, you can browse to find files and perform other actions using the WinZip menu. This menu will display if you tap the menu button at the top left or if you swipe from the left edge to the right. The available entries are:

Clean Photo tool

WinZip can help you save space with its photo cleaning tool. To make good use of this feature, you should start at Settings where you can tap Clean setting. You can then choose whether or not to clean screenshots, repeated pictures, low quality pictures, and/or pictures that are large. If you have Large size turned on, you will also be able to use the slider at the bottom to configure what size pictures must reach before they are affected by this setting.

Clean setting

The Clean Photo tool can remind you to use it. If you tap Notification in Settings, you can turn this reminder on or off and you will also see what your setting is regarding when you will be notified.

Notification setting

If you tap Frequency after turning Notification on, you can select to be notified every day or on any number of the days of the week.

Notification setting

Using Cloud Services

After making the in-app purchase, WinZip will allow you to login to Dropbox, Google Drive, and ZipShare. After doing this, you can directly access files you already uploaded to Dropbox and Google Drive or you can save files to them. (ZipShare is only available for the Access from the cloud feature at this time.) You can login to these cloud services either by tapping the corresponding entry in the WinZip menu or by tapping the desired cloud service name in Settings. When you tap a cloud service in Settings, a menu will display, allowing you to login or logout. When you open files from a cloud service, they must be downloaded and will be in a cache on your device. This menu also allows you to clear that cache to free the used space.

Cloud Service Settings menus

The cloud service entries in Settings also let you know how much of your available space you have used as well as the total space available. After you log into a cloud service account, the WinZip Menu indicates you are logged in.

WinZip gives you file and folder managing features to make working in Dropbox and Google Drive useful and easy. If you open a cloud service from the WinZip Menu and select a file, the action options you will have are:

View files and more

With WinZip you can view the contents of many supported files after you open a Zip file. Files of the types listed below can be viewed. Note: Some of these files may require the installation of a third party app to be viewed.

The steps to view a file are not complicated. To begin you would need to open a Zip file attached to an email message, download a Zip file, or locate one in a folder and tap it.

Open a Zip file

You will now see the list of files and can tap one of them to open it and view the contents. If the files in the Zip file are encrypted, you will need to enter the password before it will open.

After opening a Zip file, you can either tap the check box at thet top to select all of the files in the Zip file, or you can tap one or more of the checkboxes in the Zip file to select particular files. After you do this (see the picture below), you will see the unzip button (#1) and the zip button (#2). If you tap the menu button at the right (#3), you can send the selected files by email (the in-app purchase is required to use Mail).

File options

Additional options are available when you select one or more files that are not inside a Zip file. For example, if you use the Storage category from the WinZip menu to browse to and open a folder on your external SD card and then select one Zip file, the available options will be Unzip, Mail, Delete, Copy, and Rename. If two or more Zip files are selected, there will not be an Unzip option, but there will be a Zip option instead. There also will be no Rename option if more than one file is selected.

You can also use context menus with single files. If you touch and hold a file in a Zip file or touch and hold a file that is not in a Zip file, a context menu will display with the same options as described above. A Cancel option is also included in case you change your mind.

Context menu options

Create Zip files

Here are the steps you would take to create a Zip file with WinZip:

Browsing Storage

  1. Open WinZip; tap the menu button or swipe from left to right (see Access stored files); tap Storage, Photos, Music, Dropbox, or Google Drive; and open the folder containing the files you will use to create your Zip file
    Note: You can also tap My Files if you have unzipped files in this location or if you want to zip two or more of your Zip files
    Zipping steps
  2. Tap the check boxes next to files and/or folders you want to zip, then tap the Zip button (you can tap the check box at the top to select all)
  3. Use the choices that display to locate and open the folder where you want to save your Zip file
  4. Open the folder (or create and open a folder) then tap Zip Here
  5. Type a name for your Zip file, and tap OK (you can also choose to encrypt your Zip file)
    Files are zipping
  6. WinZip will display Zipping while the Zip file is being created depending on size and the amount of files being zipped
  7. You can now find your new Zip file in the folder you selected

Additionally, after opening a Zip file, you can select some of the files inside, tap Zip, and create a new Zip file that only includes what you selected.

Zip files and send them by email

With WinZip for Android, you can select files and/or folders, zip them and attach the Zip file to an email message. To start, the steps are the same as you would use to create a Zip file.

  1. Open WinZip, tap the menu button or swipe from left to right (see Access stored files), and tap Storage, Photos, Music, Dropbox, or Google Drive; and open the folder containing the files you will use to create your Zip file
  2. Tap the check box(es) next to the item(s) you want to zip and email or tap the check box at the top to select everything being displayed
  3. Tap the menu at the top right and then tap Mail
  4. Type a name for your Zip file or use the name given and tap OK (you can also choose to encrypt your Zip file)
  5. If more than one email app is available, you will have to pick which WinZip should use
  6. WinZip now zips your selection(s), and an email message will open with your Zip file attached
  7. Address the email and type a message if desired; then send it

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