Compress the contents of a folder and later restore it

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The steps you take to zip folders and their contents will vary according to your preference. For additional information on this subject, please see Related Articles at the top of this article or learn more about how to zip files.

Zipping a folder from the Default view

You can easily zip a folder from the Default view. To do this:

  1. Open WinZip and click one of the items in the Files pane, in order to locate the folder you want to zip
  2. After you select your folder, you can do either of the following:
    • Drag the folder to the Zip file pane and drop it
    • Click the Add to Zip button
  3. The Zip file pane now shows the folder you added. You can deselect the folder in the Files pane and add more to the Zip file, or you can make choices in the Actions pane to convert, save, and/or share your Zip file.

If you have configured WinZip to use the Classic view, you will need to work with the ribbon, and you may need to have a Windows Explorer folder window open. 

Using the context menu to zip a folder

If you are working in a Windows Explorer folder window, you can quickly create a Zip file using the context menu. To do this with a folder, you would:

  1. Locate the folder you want to zip in Explorer
  2. Right-click the folder
  3. Choose Add to filename.zip or use another "Add" option from the WinZip submenu

You also have the option to click Zip and Share (WinZip Express), which will open WinZip Express for Explorer. This also will zip your folder, but will give you many additional options for naming, converting, saving, and sharing.

Unzipping a folder from an open Zip file

You can easily unzip your folder from an open Zip file. Here are 4 ways to do that:

Note: If you do not see all of the icons pictured in WinZip as in the picture above, you will need to move your cursor until it is on the line separating the two WinZip panes. When it changes as pictured below, you then should click and hold your left mouse button and move it a bit to the left.

In Classic view, you can click 1-click Unzip to get the same results as number 2 above. However, before using this method in the Classic view, click the Settings tab and make sure Use folder names is checked in Unzip Settings.

Using the context menu to unzip a folder

If you are working in a Windows Explorer folder window, you can quickly unzip a folder from a Zip file using the context menu. To do this:

  1. Find your Zip file
  2. Right-click on the Zip file
  3. Choose an "Unzip" option from the WinZip submenu of the context menu

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