Zip Utilities

I have used three zip utilities that I like and quite a few that I dislike. Although Winzip is a nice program, it is shareware and you really ought to register it if you use it regularly. The following three zip/unzip utilities are freeware. I have listed them in order of my preference.

1. FILZIP - Integrates directly into the Windows Explorer shell and provides easy zip and unzip features with a right-click on a file or folder. It also provides a user friendly interface if desired. Here is the Filzip web site where you can read about and download this program.
2. Freezip - This is an exceptionally small package. It integrates into the Windows Explorer shell and is accessible only through a right-click on a file or folder; there is no user interface. Unzipping with this is about as easy as with Filzip, however zipping is a bit more problematic. Nevertheless, the small size and efficiency of this program may make its few idiosyncrasies worth dealing with. You can download it from the Freezip site. Note - there are other programs with this same name that are not the same at all.
3. Freebyte Zip - This is a typical Windows-style user interface that makes zipping and unzipping relatively easy. The program is not too big, and does not require any installation - everything is in a single file. This is a handy portable program. The Freebyte Zip page has all the details.

The following tutorial will demonstrate the use of Filzip to create a zipped archive of a programming assignment. This is a typical format used to submit one or more files associated with a single assignment to an instructor via email. Email attachments are usually reliably transmitted if they are zipped.

Be sure to install Filzip before starting this tutorial.

We will be zipping a Java project stored in a folder named Project 4. The folder contains all of the files associated with the project to be submitted. I have started File Explorer and located the project folder.

The first step is to rename the folder according to submission requirements. The assignment submission instructions say "name the folder with your first initial and last name, and the project number. Right-clicking on the folder name allows me to select the Rename option and enter the correct name:

Next, right-click on the folder icon and choose the Filzip command to Add to "T_Margush_1.zip."

The other Add to option would allow you to choose the archive name, but we want the archive name to be the same as the folder name and Filzip provides this choice directly.

When the command is completed, a new zip file will be created in the same location as the folder. You can see the result here:

You should attach the newly created zip file to your email.

If you want to check the contents of the zip archive, double-click the zip file to open it in Filzip's GUI. You can view the contents in a way that resembles file explorer, but you are examining only the contents of this one zip file. This picture shows the folder we just zipped. I double-clicked the folder that initially appeared in the right panel to see its contents.

Hopefully these instructions will get you started with zipping and unzipping files on your computer. If you have questions, please send me an email: margush@uakron.edu.