You know from your surfin' on the Web, that larger files take longer to download, and they're more prone to corruption than smaller ones.  WinZip is a compression/decompression utility often used on the WWW to first decrease the size of files, then rebuild them at their destination.  Exactly how it does this is somwhat beyond the scope of what we need to know, but the fact is it works, and it works well.  There are other schemes out there (PKZip, and others), but WinZip seems to have the inside track.

As far as we are concerned, WinZip has one other major advantage:  It has a fully functional free evaluation version.  Once installed, you can carry out zip and unzip operations, create self-extracting zipped files that automatically decompress when you double-click them, crunch all those word processing files down into a useable size for storage, build archives of compressed files where more than one file is included in a single zipped file,  and lots of other neat stuff.  For the purposes of this document, however, we'll only address getting WinZip, installing it, and using it to create an archive containing acompressed file.  As far as actually buying the program, I wouldn't be without it.  It is, in my opinion, an essential part of your WWW toolbox.

Getting WinZip

You could point your browser to: http://www.winzip.com/ddchome.htm, and select "Download WinZip 8.0".  Or, you could on the WinZip icon on the right side of the page. That's the easiest way.  You will be downloading the Evaluation Version.

Once there, follow the following steps:

1. When you select the option to download, Windows asks you where you want to save your file.  Write down both the filename and the location to which it's being saved.
2. Select "Save" to begin the download.
3. When finished, close out your browser and disconnect from the Net.
4. Close all open applications.
5. Open Windows Explorer and locate the file you just downloaded.  This is a self-executing file, and double clicking it will begin installing WinZip on your machine.
6. Follow the steps to install WinZip, taking all of the defaults.  When given a choice of which WinZip screen to start from, choose WinZip Classic.
7. This may not be annoying to you, but it is to me.  The WinZip install process puts icons all over the place.  You'll probably want to delete at least two of them.  First, delete the icon placed on your desktop by right clicking on it and selecting "Delete", then, right click the "Start Button", select "Open", and select the WinZip icon you see outside the Programs Folder by left clicking it.  Delete it with the delete key.  These are simply shortcuts you're getting rid of, not the program itself.  If you go to Start-->Programs and look toward the bottom of your Start Menu, you'll see an entry for WinZip.

Using WinZip to Create a Compressed Archive

Perform the following steps to create a compressed archive:

1. Start WinZip.  Accept the agreement (if you haven't purchased the program), and keep going until you get to the WinZip application window.
2. Click the "New" button on the toolbar to begin building a zipped archive.  An archive can have one or many files in it, but WinZip still refers to it as an archive.  Write down the location where WinZip will save your zipped file.  On my machine, the default directory is C:\WINDOWS\TEMP.
3. Enter a name for the archive.  If you have only one file in the archive, you can give the archive the filename.  If you have more than one, pick a name that indicates the general contents of the archive.  Like, maybe, "Tutorial?", where the question mark is the number of the tutorial that the archive contains.
4. Click "OK".  This brings you to the place where you will add files to the archive.
5. Click in the "ADD" box at the top of the screen to open a dialog screen that allows you to browse your hard drive.
6. Locate the first file you want to place in the archive.
7. Click it to highlight/select it, then click the "Add" button on the right hand side. This returns you to the WinZip Main Screen.
8. If you wish to add more files to the archive, click the "ADD" button in the toolbar, and repeat Steps 5-7.
9. When finished adding files to the archive, simply click the Close Button in the upper right hand corner of the WinZip window.  WinZip creates a compressed file in the location you chose in Step 2 with the filename you gave the archive in Step 3.  The extension on the file will be .zip.

Using WinZip to Extract (Decompress) an Archive

Perform the following steps to unzip (decompress) a file (archive):

1. Browse until you find your file.
2. Double-click to select it and start WinZip. Accept the agreement (if you haven't purchased the program), and keep going until you get to the WinZip application window.
3. Click "Extract" on the toolbar.
4. Using the Folders/Drives window on the right hand side of the screen, select the location in which you wish the decompressed file(s) to be placed.  Make sure that the "All Files" radio button is selected if you wish to extract all the files in the archive.  If you are extracting a structure that has folders and sub-folders in it, make sure the "Use Folder Names" box is checked.
5. Click "Extract".

Creating and sending a WinZip archive with v8.0+ is simpler than ever!

1. Open Windows Explorer (not to be confused with Internet Explorer) or My Computer.
2. Navigate until you can see all of the files you wish to send.
3. Hold down the Ctrl. key, and click each files.  As you do, they will turn blue to indicate that they are selected.  This process is called "multiple select".
4. When all files have been selected, right click anywhere in one of the blue files.  A selection menu opens.
5. Near the top of the menu, you'll see a choice that says: "Zip and E-Mail.......", with the archive file name automatically being the name of the folder where the first selection in the archive is located.  This will automatically create a temporary zipped archive with that file name and open up the compose window of your email client.  Note that sending the files in this way does not change the names of the individual files contained in the archive.
6. Fill in the address of the person to whom you wish to send the file, change the subject to more closely reflect the contents, and add any message you might wish to send.
7. Send the message.