Getting Started with WinZip 21

10Feb 2017 by richard@baronsoftware.com

Simple tutorial on how to use WinZip 21

Winzip

How to Zip Files

WinZip is the perfect tool for collecting and compressing files that you want to share or archive. In addition, when sending and receiving confidential files, it makes for an easy-to-use security tool.

Let’s look at two ways to zip files: one quick, one with more options.

How to zip a group of files quickly

This is a quick way to zip files that are stored in the same location. It takes very few steps, but still gives you access to settings for encryption and other options.

  1. Select the files that you want to add to the Zip file (they must be in the same location).
  2. Right-click one of the selected files and choose Add to Zip file…

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    The WinZip application opens.

  3. In the Add Files dialog box, type a name for your Zip file in the File name box. If you want to change where the file is saved, click the Change Destination button to set a new destination.
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  4. Choose any options you want. For example, you can mark the Encrypt files check box if you want to protect the Zip file content with a password. Also, if you are concerned that the person receiving the files might not have the all the necessary applications to open the files, you can choose Convert to PDF.
  5. Click the Add button and follow any instructions. For example, if you selected encryption, you’ll be asked to set the password.
  6. A dialog box appears with the compression results. Click OK to save the Zip file and to close WinZip. Image-4

How to collect and zip files stored in multiple locations

If you want to collect and zip files from different locations, you can set WinZip up as a hub where you can access your files from not only your computer and attached drives, but also from popular cloud services, such as Google Drive, Dropbox, OneDrive, ZipShare, and more.

  1. Open the WinZip application.
  2. In the Files pane on the left, navigate to the files you want to send (from your computer or any cloud service that you have added to WinZip), and drag the files to the center pane (the Zip pane).

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You can navigate to files stored locally or files stored in cloud locations that you’ve added to WinZip.

If you want to add a cloud service to the Files pane, simply click the Add Cloud button at the bottom of the Files pane, and choose the service you want to add.
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3. In the Actions pane, choose any of the Convert & Protect Files settings you want.

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4. In the Save or Share Zip area of the Actions pane, choose Save as.

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5. In the Save to PC or Cloud window, choose a local or cloud destination for the Zip file, type a file name, and click Save. If you want to share the files directly, you can choose one of the sharing options in the Save or Share Zip area.

How to Unzip Files

WinZip is a great tool for unzipping Zip files and other compressed files, including ISO files (disc image files).

  1. On your PC, right-click the file that you want to unzip
  2. Choose WinZip > Unzip to folder [current .zip file location] (see example below). By choosing this option, you create a folder with the same name as the Zip file.

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You can choose from many options when you unzip a file, but the option shown above is an easy way to create a meaningful folder name that contains all the extracted files.

All information can be viewed by simply going to www.winzip.com