Hello! I am with you again, Alexey Antropov. How often have you encountered the need to back up data on your phone, tablet, laptop or PC? What programs have you used more often for this?

So today we will talk a little about archiving files and find out in what cases it is needed and how to archive files for sending by mail.

Archivers: what is it and what are they used for

The primary task of these programs was to compress electronic information for easy storage and transfer to other devices. Capacity hard disk at that time it did not differ in "size", a 10 GB screw was a "pink dream" of many PC users.

As removable media, we used floppy disks ("floppy disks") of funny capacity - up to 1.44 MB, so a few high-quality photos could completely occupy the entire floppy space. Later, CDRs appeared, the free space of which often "ran out" at the most inopportune moment. And such disks were not "read" on every machine. The Internet "squeezed" only 56 Kb / s and large files could be downloaded for several days.

The very essence of archiving, the basis of which is preliminary data compression, has pleased users all over the world. Until now, we use the services of archivers for storing electronic information, sending it in electronic form or transferring it to another device. With their help, for example, today it is possible to “pack” a folder with files into an archive without any problems big size and send it by email.

Archiver Is a special-purpose program, the functions of which include not only compression, but also convenient packaging of a package of information data.

It is not entirely correct to believe that the archiver compresses files, thereby reducing their size, since it has a special mode - "no compression". It performs file consolidation of information according to some principle in one archive. For example, if you combine all the photos on your device into one such file, then it will quickly fold onto a USB flash drive than all the same photos separately. In addition, in this mode, the size of the final file will still be somewhat reduced, albeit not very significantly.

Popular archiving software

The choice of the program depends on the goal that you set for it. Usually in test versions archivers, the manufacturer pays a lot of attention to the main quantitative parameters - speed and data compression ratio. He doesn't think too much about the usability of the program. For us, this question is very relevant. We, the users, care how the application interface will look, how simple the process of its management and its functions are available.

Modern PC users are offered a large selection of archivers. Some of them are absolutely free, some are paid, and there are also "shareware" programs. In the latter case, you can use free of charge only for a certain period of time or with the restriction of some functions. In addition, they all differ in interface, basic package of functions and other capabilities for the user.

Today we will not dwell on the "top 10" of the most popular of them, comparing their degree of "usefulness". Let's proceed from the fact that regular user does not rush to the "front line" of modern software technologies in an effort to try all the proposals. He is content with old, kind and well-tried programs.

Winrar- the program belongs to the shareware category of archivers, in practice the user works with the "eternal" trial version. Within 40 days after installation, the application can be used freely, after which, each time the program is launched, a recommendation to purchase a license for its use will appear. Restraining irritation, once again close the window with a reminder and continue working, that's all and business ...

In the main window of the running archiver, you can see:

Menu bar;
Archiving format selection panel;
File / folder compression method;
Panel with additional options;
Button for setting the password for the archive.

The archiver packs and compresses packets of files in Zip and Rar formats, opens almost all existing formats and, in terms of compression ratio to speed, occupies one of the leading positions in the "top 10". Intuitive interface, maximum useful functions, the flexibility and reliability of the program is highly appreciated by users all over the world.

Download WinRar

Zip archives the most common. You can open them without help. third-party programs since in windows system has already ready-made solutions... All you need is to double-click the archive icon with the left mouse button. If you already have an archiver, then of course you can open the archive using it.

7Zip Is the most popular archiver today, which packs data into archives of various formats and unpacks archives more more formats. Most often, users use formats such as tar / gzip / 7z to compress files. The most remarkable thing is that it is allowed to nest one format in another. For example, you may encounter double-packed tar and gzip files, which is especially common on Unix systems.

This packer is characterized by a higher compression density than WinRAR, but it is significantly inferior to it in terms of speed. In the working window of the application, the user can see:

Options panel for the created archive;
Panel for forming multivolume archives with volume markup;
Ability to archive files / folders;
Set the file path type - relative, full, and absolute;
Additional functions panel;
Options panel for data encryption with a password to open the archive, a choice of encryption method and the ability to encrypt file names.

Download 7zip

Some users archive data using programs such as:

CAB - a program required to work with archive files in installation packages for "serious" applications - Windows or Microsoft Office etc.
ARJ is one of the many archivers that pack data into archive directories of its own type (with the ".arj" extension). True, it works in DOS mode and is in demand among users working in DOS. As an alternative to this DOS packer, the RAR archiver, which also functions in DOS mode, is often used.
WinAce is a "multi-format" packer with a clear and user-friendly interface.

An important factor is that most modern archivers already "understand" files with long names. If for Windows packers this is more of a rule, then for DOS packers it is an exception. The data packed by them gets "strange" names when unpacking.

Most modern archivers are universal, quick programs working with archives of various file systems and designs.

Online archivers

On the Internet today you can find interesting services for archiving documents. They do not require preliminary installation of the program on the user's computer. Most of them don't even keep a copy of your zip file on the server. Photos, text, graphic and other data formats can be archived in a couple of clicks directly in the browser.

Take, for example, the zip archiver service located at this link. The service interface is so simple that even a small child can easily figure it out:

In the top panel, we see the name of the service. Below is a line with a warning that the files will be compressed in the browser and their copy will not go to the server. Even lower, you can use the offer of choice required files for compression. Next comes a line warning that the zip file will be generated and saved on the user's computer.

When selecting the files that you need to archive, you can hold down the Ctrl key, mark several files or "circle" them with the mouse cursor. If several files are selected, you will be prompted to confirm their download. If only one file was selected, then the service will instantly create an archive.

In all cases, you get an archive. You, in turn, will be able to check the result of archiving:

By default, the archive will be saved in the folder C: \ Users \ Username \ Downloads.

The service does not archive the entire folder, you will have to open it and manually tell it what data you want to include in the archive. As you can see, the compression ratio is not very high, but the service is convenient if you urgently need to create a simple archive and, for example, send it by mail.

Create ZIP or RAR archive

Data archiving can be done using the context menu if at least one of the archivers is already installed on the computer. Select one or more files:

As you can see, we have selected 6 files. Now right-clicking on one of them will bring up the context menu:

As you can see, the functional options for working with files are displayed. Here you can see that two archivers are installed at once - "7zip" (1) and Winrar (2). We are interested in the last option. What can we do now with the selected files? We can:

Create a new archive - in this case, the archiver window will open, where the user is free to: change the file name, select its format, specify the compression method, set additional parameters, create a password for the archive.
Create a new archive;
Add files to an existing archive.

As you can see, all these manipulations did not take us too much time, but unlike the online archiver, here we have the opportunity to set the necessary parameters for the archived data.

We send by email

There are several ways to send an archived document. For example, using standard windows "Send to recipient" in the context menu.

First, let's look at how to attach an archive for sending by mail from standard tool"Sending to addressee", and then from your mailbox.

Select the archive and right-click on it by selecting " send» → « Destination". ... The message sending program window will open.
The second step is to enter the address (2) or use the address book (3). The archive that you want to send will already be present in the attachment (1). ...
The last step is to send e-mail at the specified address.

Now let's look at sending from a mailbox. I will do this using Rambler mail. If you don't have a mailbox at all, then start one. There you are .

Log in to your mailbox and press the button " Write a message». ;
In the window that opens, you can specify: the address (2), the subject of the letter (3), the text of the letter itself (4) with formatting options (5) and finally attach your archive (6).

That's all you need to do to create an archive file and mail it.

Conclusion

So that is all. Today we talked a little about archivers - special programs for convenient data packing. Now you can zip files yourself and send them by mail.

“The shaman takes out a jug and pours a river into it,

Then he takes the sky and rakes it into a bag.

Archives however ".

To create an archive, archiving programs are used. These programs solve several problems:

Reduce the size of the documents to fit on a floppy disk.

If the document is large, then its program "cuts" into separate parts and then transferred to different floppy disks

For storing rarely used documents, but necessary in the future. So that they take up less space on the hard drive.

To store a copy

To protect access to an archived document with a strong password.

To send an attached document in emails

Thus: an archive is a kind of folder in which documents are stored in a compressed form.

Programs that create archives, add something to them, or, on the contrary, remove documents are called archivers. There are many such programs, depending on the archiving algorithm.

In Russia, the following programs are considered leaders: and WINZIP. The archive of the document created using the WINRAR algorithm has almost the same size as WINZIP archive or just ZIP.

The WINRAR archiver has a more user-friendly interface. Moreover, it is Russified. Besides WINRAR is able to create archives in both RAR and ZIP format.

The WINRAR archiver program is a separate component from Windows programs and is installed on a computer separately.

How to zip a word document

The simplest process of archiving and unzipping documents.

Let's practice a little to make it clearer.

Create a document on your computer desktop, for example, in Word format. Name it. Open up. Type in a few phrases. Close.

To hide the document properties window, click on.

Creating and naming a new archive

Right at a free workplace windows desktop-> "Create", -> left by [ ZIP archive- WINRAR]. In this case, a new icon will appear on the desktop, which will be in the renaming mode. Give it a name.

An archive can be created, if necessary, inside a folder, while the folder must be open. To do this, click on the white field inside the folder.

The document that you are going to archive must be closed.

So you've created an archive, see how much it weighs. Remember that with the right mouse button on the document (in our case, the archive), then go to "Properties",  "General".

Look at the size of the archive you just created. I have it - 22 bytes. That is, an almost weightless shell. Do not forget: - To remove the document properties window, click on.

Archiving process.

With the left mouse button, drag the icon of the document, the size of which you memorized, to the archive icon before changing the color, most often it turns blue.

How do I archive and unpack files on my computer? In today's post, we will look at the question of how to archive and unpack files. Archiving allows users to store on storage devices (flash drives, hard drives, floppy disks, etc.) many more files without losing the quality of the content. However, many users, especially beginners, often wonder how to archive and unpack files? And in this post we will analyze this issue in more detail.

What is File Archiving?

Archiving Is the process of compressing files to reduce their size without losing content or degrading its quality in any way.

Archiving is done by packing files into special archive files. For this, programs are used called archiving programs or simply archivers... We will talk about them a little below.

Types of archives.

The result of archiving a file (or files) is the creation archive- a special container file that contains the zipped file (s) in a compressed state.

There are several dozen types (formats) of archives, differing from each other in the algorithm of packing and compressing files. Each of them has its own characteristics. The most common archive formats are ZIP, RAR and 7Z.

Which format to give preference to is not so important. Each one is good. RAR and 7Z have a good compression ratio, ZIP - easy to decompress. A ZIP archive can be created or unpacked on any computer, even without an archiving program. Windows has the necessary "built-in" tools for this.

The archives themselves are not much different from the rest of the files. They can also be copied, moved, deleted, renamed, etc. They look just like regular files on the computer screen.

You can find out that a file is an archive, first of all, by its specific icon ( see picture), as well as its extension ( * .zip, * .rar, * .7z etc.).

Why archive files?

By archiving files and folders, a significant reduction in their size is achieved. If you store files in archives, you can save free space on your storage device (hard disk, flash drive, etc.).

Due to the smaller size, the zipped files are much more convenient to send over the Internet, thus saving Internet traffic and reducing the transfer time.

In addition to reducing the size, archiving allows you to pack a large number of files into one "monolithic" archive. In some cases, this is important. For example, when sending a significant number of files by email.

The fact is that you cannot attach a folder with files to an email. Only individual files can be attached. If there are several tens or hundreds of such files, attaching them to the letter will be very troublesome. It is much more convenient to pack them into a single archive and forward it.

How much is the file size reduced when archiving?

It all depends, first of all, on the type of archived files.

Text files are best compressed when archiving. Their size can be reduced by a factor of 10 or more.

The worst is the case with photos, music and video files. When archiving, their size is not significantly reduced.

Disadvantages of archiving.

The main disadvantage of archiving is that a file in the archive cannot be opened and used immediately. Before each access to such a file, it must first be extracted from the archive.

The extraction process is by and large not difficult (read below), but if the archive is large, it can take quite a long time. Therefore, it is not very convenient to store frequently used files in an archived form.

This disadvantage largely negates the benefits of archiving. At the same time, in the case of storing rarely used files, as well as sending files over the Internet, archiving is fully justified.

How do I archive and unpack files?

As already mentioned, create and unpack format archives ZIP the computer can do without installing archiving programs, using the "standard" Windows tools... For all other archive formats, you will need an archiver program. Read about this a little below.

First, let's learn how to work with ZIP archives without archivers.

To create a ZIP archive without using an archiving program (or if you don't have one on your computer), you need to:

right-click on the archived file (folder);
in the context menu that opens, move the mouse pointer over the item "Send"... After that, an additional submenu will open, in which you need to select the item "Compressed ZIP Folder"(see fig.). The ZIP archive will appear next to the original file.

For unpack the zip archive just double-click on it with the left mouse button.

Archiving programs There are many. But the most popular archivers are:

WinRAR: you can download it from the official website
7-Zip: you can download it from the official website

The procedure for working with archivers is as follows.

WinRAR program.

A context menu will open, in which you need to select the item "Add to archive…"(see figure below).

If there is no such item in the menu that opens, it means that there is no WinRAR programs... It must first be downloaded and installed on your computer (see download links above).

"Archive name" you need to specify the name of the future archive (any name of your choice), and in the section "Archive format" tick its format (RAR or ZIP). Then press the button "OK"... The WinRAR window will close, and after a short time, an archive with its copy will appear next to the file (folder) being archived.

Unpacking the archive.

The WinRAR window will open, in which you need to click the button "Checkout ..."(see figure below).

Next, another window will open (see the figure below), in which you need to specify where to unpack the contents of the archive (select the appropriate folder in the explorer). You can choose nothing at all. In this case, the files from the archive will be placed in the same section where the archive itself is located. Click on the button "OK".

7-Zip program.

File packing (file folders).

Click on the file or folder to be zipped with the right mouse button.
A context menu will open, in which the mouse pointer needs to be hovered over the item "7-Zip"... An additional submenu will appear nearby, in which you need to select the item "Add to archive ..."(see figure).

If there is no such item in the menu that opens, most likely there is no 7-Zip program on the computer. It must first be downloaded and installed on your computer (see download links above).

Next, a window will open (see the figure below), in which in the field "Archive" you need to specify the name of the future archive (any name of your choice), and in paragraph "Archive format" select the appropriate option (7Z, ZIP or TAR). Then click on the button "OK"... The archiver window will close, and after a short time, an archive with its copy will appear next to the archived file (folder).

Unpacking the archive.

Move the mouse pointer over the archive and double-click the left mouse button.
A window of the 7-Zip program will open, in which you need to click on the button "Checkout ..."(see figure below).

Next, another window will open (see the figure below), in which you must specify the path for unpacking the contents of the archive. You don't have to change anything. In this case, the files from the archive will be placed in the same section where the archive itself is located. Click on the button "OK".

That's all for now! I hope you found something useful and interesting for yourself in this post.

Not sure how to compress a folder with files to ZIP? You have come to the right place! Read this article and you will learn how to do it quickly, easily, effectively.

—Mail is not always likely to reach the recipient. Firstly, many mail services have restrictions, and it is not always possible to send even files weighing 100 MB. Secondly, if the user's traffic is charged (and this is not uncommon even nowadays - for example, on mobile internet), every megabyte counts. And when the data is well packed, you can save a little on shipping costs.

Let's figure out how to archive content to a folder with a ZIP extension. Why zip? Because this is the most popular type of archives. In addition, he is supported even by staff funds Windows.

We will zip it using OS WINDOWS

You can apply this compression on personal computers with different Windows versions... The standard features of the OS from Microsoft involve the creation of zip archives.

Select the file / folder to be archived and right-click. A system window will appear

Do you see the Send item? Hover over and then click on "Compressed Zip Folder":

As soon as you click on it, compression starts:

The zipped file / folder will appear next to the original in ZIP format:

Do you think there will be more explanations on how to make a ZIP archive in the traditional way? Nothing of the kind - on this the procedure can be considered complete. Does it allow you to significantly compress information? Judge for yourself. The size of the original folder with files is 6.26 MB, after compression - 5.15 MB.

ZIP archiving by WinRAR

If you are compressing bulky materials and want to do it as efficiently as possible, you should use the help special utilities... For example, WinRAR is very popular in our country.

By the way, it not only quickly and efficiently compresses materials, but also can be used completely free of charge. So let's get started!

After WinRAR has been installed on your computer, right-click on the selected files. You immediately see 4 new items with the image of packed books. We are interested in the first item "Add to archive":

In the window that appears, there is a wonderful opportunity to configure the following parameters:

Format. Which format should you give preference to? It's up to you, but when you need a ZIP, it is also in the list of extensions.
Update method. For example, you can select "With Substitution".
Compression type. The higher the quality, the longer it will take to work. But the result will also be maximum.
Access to the file (setting a password, if necessary).

Also, the WinRAR program offers several additional parameters... For example, backing up in the background, shutting down the PC after archiving is complete, creating backup, adding a comment, and so on.

And don't forget to click "OK" to start the process:

As expected, our compressed file will appear in the folder next to the original:

As you can see, there were no issues with archiving files here either.

Archiving with 7ZIP

And here is the third way of processing files, which boils down to archiving materials using 7zip. Many users will agree with the statement that it is one of the most advanced archivers available today. There is only one drawback - RAR archives this program does not create. But since we are interested in the ZIP format, the application is just right for us.

Download 7ZIP on our website. After installation software the 7-Zip item will appear in the context menu. He will help us archive the files we need.

We select "Add to archive". It will help us launch the settings window. As in the case of WinRAR, it is possible to specify the compression level, password, and make other settings. To start archiving, just click "OK".

We've covered 3 ways to archive ZIP files. Now you can not only do it without outside help, but also teach this simple craft to your friends. We wish you pleasant use!

What is file archiving, why is it needed and how to create an archive. The archiving process simplifies the transfer of data and allows you to store much more information in limited space. Basically, archiving is necessary for long-term storage of information, as well as for transferring large amounts of data over the network in the form of a single file - an archive. It is very common to archive files for sending by mail.

In this case, the speed of working with data is an order of magnitude higher. the entire amount of information is transmitted in one large file, and the preservation of confidentiality can additionally be ensured by passwords on the archives. Archiving is performed in several ways, the most popular of which will be discussed below.

How to archive using programs

Windows archiving

Operating systems of the Windows family allow the user to create ZIP archives from files and folders. To do this, go to the context menu of the object and select the "Send" item there. After that, in the drop-down menu, go to the "Compressed ZIP folder" item.

It is noteworthy that this name is typical for Windows 8, and in lower versions of the OS, the text may differ slightly. When the archiving is done, the user can choose the name of the resulting file. Such an archive is ideal for transmission over a network, since it opens freely with integrated system tools.

Archiver programs

Because the creation of archives pursues several functions, a number of archivers have been created. They form archives of their own formats with varying degrees of compression. Among such programs it is worth highlighting shareware WinRAR, as well as free 7z and Total Commander.

How to zip a folder using WinRAR

Immediately after installing this utility, several new items appear in the context menu of any object, which begin like this: "Add to archive ...". Here you can simply create an archive of RAR, RAR5 and ZIP formats, as well as send one of these archives by e-mail in a few clicks. For the convenience of users, there are also quick options for creating: an archive with a name similar to the object in * .rar format and sending this archive by e-mail.

Download Winrar(http://www.win-rar.ru/download/)

How to zip a file using 7zip

The free 7zip archiver operates similarly to the previous program, only here not several items are created in the context menu, but only one. However, it has its own drop-down menu where you can create archives in * .7z and * .zip formats, send them immediately by mail, add files to existing archives and perform a number of other actions.

Download 7zip(http://www.7-zip.org/)

How to zip a folder with files using Total Commander

Popular file manager provides even more extensive archiving options. To start the process, you need to run total-commander in the left part, find and select the file or folder that you want to add to the archive and press Alt + F5. After that, a new window will open where the user can set the format from a large number of available ones, as well as select the archiving settings. Among the formats there are both popular (* .rar, * .7z and * .zip) and lesser known * .gz, * .tar and others.

Download total commander (http://www.ghisler.com/amazons3.php)

As you can see, the process of archiving using system tools cannot fully reveal all the possibilities of creating an archive. For this, a number of additional programs have been created that allow you to compress data and make archives of different formats.