- Like XP and Vista, Windows 7 can handle zip files without third-party software, both to open them or create them. It calls them "Compressed Folders".
- To create one, right-click on an empty area of your desktop, or a folder in Windows Explorer: choose "New" from the context menu, and select "Compressed (zipped) folder":
- Type a name for the archive, and hit Enter to accept it: if it is visible, keep the "
.zip" intact at the end of the name. (Rename your zip file at any time by clicking on it and pressing F2.) - You can now start dragging and dropping to add files or folders: let the mouse button go when the cursor shows a "+" plus sign - Windows' way of saying that a copy of the file will be added to the zip file (the dropped file remains in its current location). Now drop the files:
- To prevent adding or deleting files in the compressed folder, right-click on it and choose "Properties": check the "Read-only" checkbox and click "OK".
- Unfortunately, Windows 7 doesn't let you do much more with zip files: to password-protect it, you either need to download a utility like WinZip, or use network / sharing authentication.
Tech note: you can't zip or unzip files or directories from the command line;
zipfldr.dllonly has two custom entry points: "RouteTheCall" to open a zip file as compressed folder, and "RegisterSendto" to re-add zipped folders to the SendTo menu.
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