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:
- Open WinZip and click one of the items in the Files pane, in order to locate the folder you want to zip
- 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
- 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
| Note: The context menu entry Replace files with Zipped files creates single, individual Zip files in the same location as the selected files, even when a folder is selected. It does not save folder information inside the Zip files. |
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:
- Locate the folder you want to zip in Explorer
- Right-click the folder
- 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:
- Starting with WinZip 22.0, a dialog displays giving you options for unzipping to:
- The My WinZip Files folder
- The My Documents folder
- A folder you choose
- Find your target folder in the Files pane, click on your folder in the Zip file pane, and then drag and drop it on the target folder
- Click Unzip to in the Actions pane (you can click the arrow to the right of Unzip to if you want to select a different target folder)
- Without selecting any files in the Zip file, browse to and open the folder where you want files to be unzipped in the WinZip Files pane; then click the Unzip to folder button at the bottom left area of the Zip file pane.
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:
- Find your Zip file
- Right-click on the Zip file
- Choose an "Unzip" option from the WinZip submenu of the context menu
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