V. KOROTKOV, programmer
BEGINNER SCHOOL
When working on a personal computer, it is often necessary to reduce the file size in order to save disk space. For example, you want to transfer files from one computer to another on floppy disks. Or you need to send a large file by e-mail - reducing its size can save both time and money. The best solution in such cases is to create a so-called archive file, or, more simply, archive... This is a single file in which one or more source files are placed in a compressed form for compact storage of information.
To work with archives, special programs are designed, which are called archivers... With the help of archivers, you can pack files into archives and unpack them, as well as view the contents of the archives. Packing files into an archive is called archiving or archiving, and extracting them - unzipping.
There are different archive formats: ZIP, ARJ, RAR, CAB, TAR, LZH, etc. When an archive file is created, it is assigned an extension that matches the archive format. For example, a file named MyDoc.zip is a ZIP archive. The format affects the efficiency of file compression; for example, a RAR archive takes up less disk space than a ZIP archive containing the same source files. In addition, the efficiency depends on the type of files being packed into the archive. Image files with the BMP extension can be compressed two to four times for Microsoft Word documents, and approximately two times for text files. Executable files (with the EXE extension) are slightly less susceptible to compression, and graphic files with the TIF extension are practically not compressed.
Almost all modern archiving programs for Windows allow you to work with archives of various formats. The management principles of these programs are very similar.
ARCHIVATOR WINRARIt is convenient to consider the methods of working with archivers using the WinRAR program as an example. This program has great capabilities. We will try to list those that may be useful to a novice user. WinRAR allows you to create archives in two formats - RAR and ZIP. In addition, it supports basic operations (unpacking, viewing content) with archives of other formats: CAB, ARJ, LZH, TAR, GZ, ACE, UUE.
VIEWING THE CONTENT OF THE ARCHIVE
Run the WinRAR program, for example, with the command Start - Programs - WinRAR - WnRAR... At startup, the main program window is displayed. Selecting the archive file in this window and pressing the button View in the toolbar, you can see what is in the archive (1).
You can estimate how efficiently a particular file is compressed by comparing the numbers in the columns The size and Compressed... With files in the archive, WinRAR can perform any actions: view them, make changes to them, run executable files (with the extension EXE, COM, BAT) for execution. In this case, WinRAR will take care of unpacking the necessary files into a temporary folder, which will be automatically deleted after the program finishes. In the same window, you can delete files from the archive and add new ones.
To add files, click on the toolbar button Add, in the dialog box that appears, select the files you need and close the dialog with the button OK.
To delete files contained in the archive, select them and click the button in the toolbar Delete ( or key Delete on keyboard). WinRAR asks for confirmation before deleting files.
ARCHIVE CREATION
Highlight the files you want. It is convenient to select a group of files with the mouse while holding down the Ctrl key. Pressing Ctrl + A selects all files displayed in the window. You can also use the corresponding menu items File... Click the button Add in the toolbar (or the keyboard shortcut Alt + A). A window will appear Archive name and parameters(2). In this window, enter the full name of the archive file to be created. To do this, it is convenient to use the dialog box Archive search which is called by clicking the button Overview. In the window Archive name and parameters you can also choose the format of the archive to be created: RAR or ZIP. By default, the RAR format is set, and in most cases there is no need to change it, as it provides significantly better compression than ZIP. If you are going to transfer the archive to another user, ask if he has an archiver that supports this format.
When you need to save a large archive on floppy disks, you have to create multivolume archive, i.e. consisting of several parts called volumes... Each volume is a separate file. If you want to create such an archive, in the field Volume size select an option 1475500 (this is the size of a 3-inch floppy disk). It is also recommended to check the box Recovery information... This is necessary so that the archive can be restored in the event of data corruption, since a floppy disk is an unreliable storage medium. It is convenient to create a multivolume archive on a hard disk, and then copy the volumes to floppy disks. Before creating a multivolume archive, keep in mind one important limitation: it does not allow changes, that is, the files contained in it cannot be changed or deleted, nor can they be added. If the user nevertheless tries to make changes to a multivolume archive, a window appears on the screen informing about the impossibility of this operation.
If you are going to transfer the archive to another user, but are not sure that he has the appropriate archiver, you can create self-extracting archive. To do this, you need to check the box create SFX archive(SFX - from English SelF eXtractor). Such an archive is an executable file, it has the .EXE extension, and an archiver is not needed to unpack it. A self-extracting archive takes up more disk space than a regular one. A multivolume archive can also be self-extracting.
After you have set the required parameters on the tab General, it is desirable to go to the tab Files(3).
Make sure the names of all files you want to archive are in the box Files to add. If this is not the case, use a special dialog box, which is called by the button Add.
Click the button OK, and the program will start creating the archive. At the same time, a special indicator appears on the screen informing the user about the archiving process.
UNPACKING THE ARCHIVE
You can unpack the entire archive as a whole, or you can - only individual files contained in it. In the first case, you need to select the archived file, in the second, go to the archive view mode using the button View and then highlight the files you want. Click on the toolbar button Extract to(or key combination Alt + E), a window will appear Extraction path and parameters(4), in it, if necessary, you can specify the folder in which the unpacked files will be saved. By default, the folder where the archive is located is specified. Click on the button OK and the program will start to unzip the files.
The simplest thing is with a self-extracting archive. It must be launched from Windows Explorer, as a normal program, and a dialog box will appear in which you should specify the folder for saving files (5).
But what if you need to view the contents of an SFX archive or extract not all files, but only a part of them? WinRAR allows you to work with a self-extracting archive just like any other.
It will be more convenient to unpack a multivolume archive if you first copy all the volumes to the hard disk into one folder. If this is not done, then, after finishing unpacking the next volume, the archiver will display a dialog box asking you to specify the full name of the next volume. You need to start unpacking from the first volume, its name (if it is a RAR format archive) - either "volume_name.part01.rar" or "volume_name.r00". The first volume of the multivolume SFX archive has the .EXE extension.
MASTER
The wizard mode (6) appeared in WinRAR version 3. The wizard is called by the button of the same name in the toolbar. It is intended for novice users and makes it extremely easy to perform basic archiving and decompression operations with a simple, step-by-step procedure.
WINZIP ARCHIVATORAnother popular archiving program for Windows. Primarily focused on working with archives in ZIP format. The main window of the program resembles the WinRAR window, but the methods of working with these two archivers are somewhat different.
VIEW ARCHIVE.
EXTRACTING AND DELETING FILES
First, you need to open the archive, for this click the button Open in the toolbar. You can also use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl + O. In the dialog that appears, select the archive file and click the button OK... The list of the contents of the archive will be displayed in the main window (7).
If you want to view any file, select it and press the button View. The program that is associated with this file type will be launched. The same result can be achieved by double-clicking the file icon.
If you need to delete files from the archive, select them and press the key Delete, in the next dialog box, confirm the deletion.
Before unpacking the archive, decide if you are going to extract all the files or just some of them. In the second case, the required files should be selected. On the toolbar, click Extract, a dialog box (8) will appear, in which you need to specify the folder for placing the objects extracted from the archive. Close this window by clicking the button Extract.
CREATING AN ARCHIVE IN WINZIP
Copy all files to be archived to a separate folder on your hard drive. Click on the button New, a dialog box will open New archive (9).
Select the folder where the archive file will be placed. If you need a multivolume archive, keep in mind that it can only be created on floppy disks - unlike WinRAR, WinZIP does not allow saving such an archive on a hard disk. In field File name enter a name for the archive. Make sure the checkbox is checked Add dialog(this is needed to further define the archived files). Close the window with the button OK.
In the next dialog, the user must select the folder containing the source files. In field File name the default is "*. *". This means that the archive will include all the files contained in the selected folder. If this option does not suit you, select the desired files with mouse clicks while holding down the key Ctrl.
If you are creating a multivolume archive, expand the list Multiple disk spanning(Splitting into multiple discs) and mark the position Automatic(Automatic). WinZIP assigns the same name to all volumes, so it is advisable to put numbers on the diskette labels.
Click the button Add in the dialog box. The main window of the program will display the contents of the newly created archive (if it is not a multivolume archive). When creating a multivolume archive, the program from time to time displays a window (10), requesting to replace the floppy disk in the drive. If there are already some files on the floppy disk that you want to delete before writing the next volume, check the box Erase any existing files on the new disk before continuing... Replace the floppy disk and press OK.
A regular archive file with a ZIP extension can be converted to a self-extracting archive. To do this, open the archive in the main program window. Enter the menu Actions and run the command Make .exe file, after which a dialog box (11) will appear. The Default "UnZip To" folder field is optional. If you leave it blank, the folder will be selected C: \ Windows \ Temp... Click on the button OK, the program will create an SFX archive and offer to test it. Testing here means simple unpacking: you can test the newly created archive "in action". If you want to perform this check, select Yes, another window will appear, in which you should press the button Unzip... Otherwise, click on the button No.
INTEGRATION WITH WINDOWS CONDUCTORYou can create and unpack archives in the Explorer or My Computer window using the context menu. For example, if WinRAR is installed on your computer, then by right-clicking on the archive file icon, you will see the following options:
Extract files - unpacking the archive into an arbitrary folder;
Extract to folder_name \ - a folder with the given name will be specified in the current folder, and the contents of the archive will be unpacked into it.
To create an archive, in the context menu of a file (or folder, or a group of files), select one of the following items:
Add to archive ... - packing files into an archive with an arbitrary name;
Add to "archive_name.rar"- creation of a RAR archive with the given name in the current folder.
DRAG-AND-DROP SUPPORTThe vast majority of Windows programs support Drag-and-Drop technology, and archivers are no exception. To verify this, do an "experiment". Run the archiver in the archive view mode. Open the window My computer, and in it - some folder, for example My documents... Position both windows so that each one occupies about half of the screen and does not cover the other. Place the cursor on the icon of one of the files contained in the archive, press the left mouse button and, without releasing it, move the cursor to the window My computer... Now release the button. The file extracted from the archive will appear in the folder, the contents of which are shown in the window My computer... Similarly, "drag" any file from the window My computer into the archiver window. The archiver will display a dialog box asking if you are really going to change the contents of the archive. If the answer is yes, a new file will be added to the archive.
Note... Depending on which versions of the mentioned archivers are installed on your computer, the same commands can be indicated both in Russian and in English.
People often ask me: - "How to send a file by e-mail?" or vice versa, I ask someone to send me this or that file, and the person I ask has no idea how to do it ...
Therefore, I decided to write this guide.
First, let's prepare a file that we will send by mail.
For this, the file can be sent unpacked, i.e. as it is, just attach the file to the letter, as an attachment, or packed into an archive ...
If our file is small, then it can be sent without "Archiving", i.e. without compression...
If the file is large, then it is better to pack it in "Archive", thanks to this, the file can become much smaller, which will speed up the transfer at times.
Also, I must say that today, some mail services do not allow sending executable files and many program library files. In the case of Windows, the executable is .EXE - i.e. file-program, and DLL - file-libraries (libraries can be not only dll files, but I will not list all of them)... This approach of postal services is understandable, this is due to the fact that by transferring such files, the latter can simply turn out to be viruses, trojans and various similar nasty things ... Therefore, mail servers, in order to avoid problems during the transmission of a letter, simply cut off attached files that they find it suspicious. This also applies to script files and files containing sets of commands, such as. BAT and. CMD ...
Therefore, such files should be packed into an archive, and not just packed, but packed and closed with a password!
And yet, a few words about packing-archiving files ... Image files, such as .JPG, .PNG, are almost not compressed when archiving, they can be packed into an archive only if you want to transfer a lot of files in a letter, but adding all of them one by one is very "messy" ... Text files, on the contrary, are compressed when packed into an archive very much, it happens that after compression, the archive has about 30% of the original file size. In this case, it is better to pack the files, of course. the size will be significantly reduced.
So, we figured out what to pack files into an archive, i.e. archive, you should:
- If we want to transfer a lot of files, after packing, we will need to add only one file, and not 20 or 30 for example ...
- If we want to transfer text files, because when packing, the size is significantly reduced, and of course, if we have a lot of these files, then it is much easier to add one file to the letter ...
- If we want to transfer a program file, etc. - the file (s) need to be archived so that the mail server does not cut them ...
Also, we know that pictures like .JPG, .PNG should be archived only if we want to transfer several files, because these files almost do not lose in size when packed ...
Now let's talk about everything in order ...
How to zip files:
For example, I have prepared several text files that have a total size of 3.73 megabytes.
To pack files into an archive, we must have an archiver installed. Today, the most common archiver is WinRar http://www.rarlab.com/) one drawback of this program, it is paid.
And the program 7-zip(the official site of the program: http://www.7-zip.org/) this archiver is free, but less widespread.
Also, today, almost all operating systems support archive files. ZIP - this means that if you send a ZIP archive to a person, he can simply open it.
Now let's add the files to the archive. To do this, select the required group of files:
We click on them with the second (right) mouse button and select the item "Add to archive" (if you have installed any other archiver, the name of the menu item may differ).
We will open the Add files to archive window:
In which we need to configure some parameters:
1 - Set the file name (for transferring files via the Internet, it is better to set names in Latin letters, so that there are no problems with encodings, etc.)
2 - Select the type of archive (we have already talked about this)
3 - Set the compression level (the stronger the compression, the smaller our archive file will be)
4 - Press the button OK to create an archive.
Here is the dialog of the archiver program 7-zip:
As you can see in the figure, almost everything is the same, well, yes, it's called a little differently, but in principle, it's elementary to figure it out ...
After packing, we have an archive file, which is only 31.6 kilobytes in size, out of the former 3.73 megabytes!
WinRar- To create a password-protected archive, in the archive creation window, go to the tab "Additionally" and press the button "Set password".
We will open a dialog for setting a password:
In which both fields should be filled, i.e. the field for the password and the field for confirming the password and press the button OK.
7-zip- To create a password-protected archive, in the archive creation window, fill in two fields, of course the password and password confirmation:
After that, we carry out all the related settings, as described above.
Well, actually everything, we figured out the packaging, let's now proceed directly to sending the file by mail ...
Adding a file to a letter.
Now, we need to sort out some things ... In what way, we use mail - through some mail program or through web interface, i.e. going through the browser to the mail server website, enter your data there, etc. (the browser is the program with which you browse the Internet)
If you are using Web Interface then go to your mail account ...
Compose a new letter. (for example, I will show how this is done on servers google, mail.ru and yandex)
And after you write the text of the letter, if you need it, of course, press:
Link "Attach file"- v google
Button "Attach file"- v mail.ru
Button "Attach file"- v yandex
After that, you will see a file selection dialog:
In which you need to: - specify the path to the file, i.e. go to the folder in which you store files for sending, or in which you created the archive. Select the desired file and click on the button Open.
After that, the file will be uploaded to the mail server and added to the letter:
If you need to add some more files, then click again on the button or link "Attach a file", well, in fact, we do everything that was described above ...
Actually that's all, after creating a letter and adding an attached file, click on the send button and send the letter ...
Now let's look at how to do all this through mailers. For example, I will talk about the two most common mail programs, these are The Bat! and Microsoft Outlook.
First about Microsoft Outlook.
As in the case with the Web Interface, we create a new letter, enter the addressee, subject, text of the letter ...
Attach file
(in older versions, this button is in a different location)
In the same way, you can add a few more files if needed ...
Now about "The Bat!"
As in all previous cases, we create a new letter, enter the addressee, subject, text of the letter ...
To add a file, press the button Attach file
After which we will have an attachment file:
In the same way, you can add a few more files if needed ...
That's it, to send the letter, we press the send button ...
Using this guide, you will be able to transfer files through most Mail Servers using their Web Interface and Most Mail Programs ... almost everywhere, these functions are very similar, almost always, named the same and located in the expected places.
P.S.
In many mail programs, at the time of creating a letter, you can add attachments simply by dragging and dropping files into the new letter editing window (as from folder to folder).
Many of our readers are familiar with programs called archivers.
Surely someone has come across "traces of the activity" of archivers on their computer - files with the ZIP or RAR extension. With their help, you can significantly reduce the size of various files by carefully "packing" them into an archive, which, if necessary, can be "unpacked" and get all the files in their original form.
What for?
Now, when hard drives contain hundreds of gigabytes of various data, and the speed of the Internet connection has increased many times over, the question arises: why do you even need to pack files into an archive, reduce their size, and so on? After all, there is enough disk space, and the speed of Internet access is quite enough for even a bulky file to be sent or loaded quickly enough.
The answer to this question is very simple. Firstly, not everyone has a large hard drive and high-speed Internet access at their disposal. And secondly, the use of archives has several undeniable advantages, which will be discussed below.
One of the key benefits of archiving data is the ability to combine an almost unlimited number of files into one. And one file, as you might guess, is much easier and more convenient to send by e-mail than a dozen or even several.
Also, don't forget about those users who use slow or expensive Internet connections. In one case, when sending a large file, they waste precious time (besides, the transfer of a bulky file may end in the middle "without explanation"). In another, they pay serious money for traffic, although they could save a lot by reducing the amount of transmitted data several times.
Which files are compressed and which are not?
It is best to archive text files (in TXT, RTF, DOC format, and so on), tables created in Excel, various databases, and EXE program files (unless this is an installation file). They can be compressed several times, while they are completely and without errors "unpacked" at any time.
But it is almost impossible to compress files with JPG or GIF pictures, MP3 and WMA music files, AVI and WMV video files, except just a little bit. In addition, there is no point in archiving the archive itself - there will be no compression.
Which archivers to use?
The most common archiver in Russia is WinRAR. Despite the "paid" option (the archiver costs about 800 rubles, which not everyone can afford), the popularity of WinRAR is very high. Moreover, before you pay, the program allows you to use it for forty days.
After installation WinRAR places an icon with a stack of books on the "Desktop" of the computer. By clicking on it, you will open a program that is very similar to Windows Explorer.
The difference is that the buttons "Add to archive", "Extract from archive" and so on are located at the top of the window. The main part of the window contains a list of files and folders - you can add both to the archive, while the structure will be completely preserved. That is, if you add a folder to the archive, which will contain several more folders and files, then when "unpacking" they will be restored to disk in their original form.
In order to create an archive, you need to select the necessary files and folders by highlighting them with the left mouse button, and then click on the icon with the image of a book stack (first on the left). In the window that appears, you will be asked to come up with a name for the resulting file, specify the compression method (I recommend choosing "Best"), as well as the archive format - RAR or ZIP. It is better to choose ZIP, since this format is more widespread in Russia and the world, and if you send the file to someone from your friends, there will be no reason to worry that he will not be able to open and "unpack" it.
After that press the "OK" button and wait while WinRAR creates the archive. It will appear in the same place as the archived files and folders. At the same time, if you create an archive in order to send it over the Internet, then do not forget to delete it after sending it so that it does not take up extra space.
The process of extracting files from the archive will not be difficult to cope with. After launching WinRAR, find the archive on the disk that you want to "unpack", click on it - a list of files contained within it will open. Select the files and folders that you need to get from there (they will be highlighted in blue) and click the "Extract" button - the second from the left in the top menu. After that, a window will open in which you will be asked to select a location for "unpacking". Having decided on the location, click the "OK" button, and the files will be written to the folder you specified.
The free 7-Zip archiver, also of domestic development, operates in a very similar way. Its appearance is simpler than that of WinRAR, but what, in essence, is the difference. After installing and running the program, you will see a line with picture buttons, and below them - a list of files and folders on the disk. After selecting the files and folders that you want to "pack", press the button with the "plus sign" and select the ZIP archive format - this will guarantee that the addressee "on the other end of the wire" will also be able to "unpack".
Although in fairness it should be noted that most archivers understand each other's formats, and the situation when some archiver cannot open the archive occurs quite rarely.
In addition to the archive format, you do not need to change anything else in the settings window: the archiving parameters are set optimally by the program authors. After the "packing" process is completed, the archive file will appear in the same place where your files and folders were located. It is no less simple to extract files from the archive - just open the archive itself, select files and folders, press the button with the "minus" icon and select where they will be "unpacked", and then press the "OK" button.
About convenience and safety
There are several other advantages to archives that many will appreciate.
First, they can split a large file into several parts, which are then connected all together. For example, let's say you want to burn a large video several gigabytes in size to CDs that are about 700 megabytes in size. To do this, in 7-Zip, you need to specify the size of this "volume" (say, 700 megabytes) in the "Divide into volumes" column and start the archiving process. The large file will be split into parts, each of which will fit on a CD. Subsequently, they can be connected together and get the file safe and sound.
Another advantage is the ability to protect information with a password. You cannot password-protect an ordinary text or graphic file (at least with standard Windows tools), and an archive is easy. Just enter your password in the "Encryption" section in the window that appears when you click on the "Plus" button in 7-Zip. To eliminate the error, the password will need to be confirmed by entering it again. True, there is a danger of forgetting this password, but everyone uses password protection at their own peril and risk.
Finally, another undoubted plus is the ability to create self-extracting archives, that is, archives that do not need an archiver to "unpack". Just check the "Create SFX-archive" box when creating an archive and all information will be compressed into an EXE file. You can run such a file on any Windows computer.
Question answer
- My laptop has Windows 7. When turned on, it always asks to activate it. How to do it?
Activation is about tying Windows to your laptop so that the operating system cannot run on other computers. If you have a licensed copy of Windows installed, you need to open the "Start" menu, and in it select "Computer - Properties - Activation".
- Do I need to divide the hard disk into several logical ones? How do you do it?
Whether or not the hard disk is divided into logical partitions is up to everyone. I recommend dividing it into two or three parts. For example, one section for Windows and programs (about 50 gigabytes), another for music and movies (100-200 gigabytes), and the third for documents (20-50 gigabytes). However, the section for documents can be combined with the "musical and cinematic" section, nothing bad will happen.
Partitioning a disk is easiest when installing Windows on a clean hard drive - the installation program will allow you to determine the size of the parts and assign them letters. You can resize existing logical drives using Norton Partition Magic, but this should be done under the guidance of a very experienced user: at the slightest mistake, you can say goodbye to information forever.
Vocabulary
- Archiver is a program for "packing" files and folders into an archive and "unpacking" them.
- Archive is a file that stores one or more files and folders, most often reduced in size. Archiving files can save disk space and transfer information faster over the Internet.
- Self-extracting archive is an archive that does not require an archiver to open.
The next issue of "Computer educational program" will be devoted to browsers - programs for opening sites. Many people use the Internet Explorer browser, unaware that there are other similar programs, with their pluses and minuses.
You can ask Anton Blagoveshchensky a question at
An archive is just one file, into which other files have been stuffed to reduce the overall size. If you still sigh when you receive another file in a ZIP, RAR, 7-Zip or any other archive, then this article is for you.
Let's analyze several possible options how to unpack an archive:
- How to unpack a ZIP archive using Windows 7
- How to extract data from a RAR file using 7-Zip
- How to unpack a damaged or multivolume archive
At the end of the article, you can watch a short video on the topic.
The easiest way to unpack a zip archive
ZIP archives are regular files with a ".zip" extension. In fact, you don't need any programs to simply unzip files from ZIP, everything is already built into Windows Explorer 7. To unzip files, just right-click on the file and select "Extract All ..."
In this case, a dialog box will appear where you will need to specify the path for unpacking the files, or leave it by default (current folder). As you can see, for example, I have a file "Checklist.zip" with an archived Word document. You can often find a PDF file in the archives.
If you leave the "Show extracted files" checkbox enabled, then at the end of the unzipping procedure, another explorer window will open with a new folder open.
You can not unzip the files at all, but go into the archive file as in a regular folder and open the desired file from there.
Unfortunately, Explorer does not know how to work with RAR files. For them, you need to install one of the programs that will be discussed.
Using the program is almost as easy as unpacking a ZIP using File Explorer. To do this, just right-click on the file and select one of the items from the "7-Zip" submenu:
- "Unpack" - to open the unpack dialog
- "Unpack here" - to simply extract the files into the current directory
- "Unzip to" Folder name "" - unzip files into a folder with the name of the archive (recommended)
The simplest are the second and third options, because do not require any more action. If you choose the first option, then the following dialog will appear:
Here we can specify our path for unpacking. If you select the "No paths" option, then all files from the archive will be one heap, without subfolders. The "Overwrite" parameter is responsible for the mode of overwriting existing files. By default, the program will ask for each such file.
You can check out files not only from the right-click menu. If you double-click on the file, it will open in the 7-Zip program window. To unzip files just select them and click the "Extract" button
Alternative free method - Hamster Lite Archiver
I also want to introduce you to one newfangled program Hamster Lite Archiver. It's even simpler, free and has a modern interface. After installing it, new menu items also appear in the menu.
To unpack a rar or zip archive, right-click on it and select one of the options:
- Extract files ... - opens a dialog window
- Extract Here - extracts files to the current folder
- Extract to "Folder name" - unzips to a folder
Despite the fact that the context menu items are in English, the program itself is in Russian. Apparently, they have not yet reached the translation of these points, but at the time of reading this article, the situation may already be corrected.
The dialogue looks like this:
To unzip all files, just click the "Unzip" button and select the folder where to put them.
How to unzip a file using WinRAR
The WinRAR program is widely used to work with RAR archives. The program can be downloaded from the official website of the developer. Look for the Russian version of the program (Russian) immediately in the list. Installing the program is very easy, just click "Next" all the time. The program is paid with a trial period of 40 days. After the end of the trial period, the program continues to work, but begins to bother you with a window with a license reminder every time you start it.
To unpack RAR, or any other archive, just right-click on the file and select one of the options:
- Extract files ... - the unpacking dialog will open
- Extract to current folder - content will appear in the current folder
- Extract to "folder name" - extract the content to a new folder with the archive name (recommended)
The simplest options are the second and third. If you select the first option, a dialog will appear in which you can specify a specific path where your files will be placed and a few more parameters:
Click to enlarge
Update mode:
- Extract with file replacement - if the folder already contains the same files as in the archive, then they will be replaced with new ones
- Extract and update files is the same, but only older files will be replaced
- Update only existing files - only update will take place, other files will not be extracted.
The "Overwrite mode" items are responsible for the program's behavior when replacing existing files.
You can also use this dialog to unpack a damaged archive. By default, if a file is in error, it will not be unpacked. If you check the box "Leave damaged files on disk", then the damaged file will be unpacked. If it is video or music, then it can be opened. But, of course, the completeness of the resulting file will depend on the degree of damage to the archive.
You can also unpack files from the WinRAR program window. To do this, just select the required files and click on any of the buttons: "Extract ..." or "Master".
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Also, the WinRar program will help you to organize a backup of your information.
Please note that after installing any of the listed programs, the standard "Extract ..." menu item in Windows 7 Explorer for zip archives may disappear.
How to unpack a multivolume archive
Multivolume archives are created to split one huge archive into several smaller ones. In this case, there will be numbers at the end of the file name, e.g. z01, .z02, .z03 or part1, part2, part 3 or 001, 002, 003, etc. To unpack such a multivolume archive, you will need ALL parts, otherwise nothing good will come of it. The process of unpacking a multivolume archive itself is no different from unpacking ordinary files.
You just need to unzip the first file in the list in the usual way, and the rest will be pulled up automatically.
If, in addition to the numbered parts, there is also a "regular" archive, then this file must be unpacked.
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Please note that multi-volume ZIP archives created by WinRAR can only be unpacked with the same program!
Other programs give an error and at least you crack! And vice versa, WinRAR does not understand multivolume books created by other programs.
After unpacking, you can delete the unnecessary archive file.
Conclusions:
I believe that this article gave an exhaustive answer to the question of how to unpack a zip, rar, 7z or any other archive. This can be done using Windows Explorer (ZIP only) or using the free 7-Zip and Hamster Lite Archiver software, or using the paid WinRAR software. Choose a method convenient for yourself and use it to your health!
Imagine how your friends will be grateful to you if you share this information with them on social networks! By the way, with the help of these programs you can also create your own archives, but read about this in the following articles.
Everything seems to be clear with files and folders. But early we relaxed - after all, when working in Windows, you will often have to deal with another type of information storage - compressed folders or "archives".
On the one hand, it seems that each archive is a separate file. On the other hand, it looks like a folder: after all, you can pack more than one file into an archive, but several at once! Just like a bunch of things can fit in your school bag - textbooks, notebooks, pens, diaries ... Look from the side - you never guess how much is stuffed in this small and bright backpack?
Why bags are needed, we know: so that all this can be easily carried in one go. "Compressed folders" or archives are needed for the same thing: no matter how much information we have, all of it can fit into one single file!
But the most important thing is that when packed into an archive, files and folders lose some of their volume! This happens because the repeating groups of characters in each file are replaced, for example, by one or two special characters.
Let's say you created a large text document that must be delivered to the other end of the city. Or even not one document, but several. The capacity of the floppy disk, alas, is not rubber - only 1.44 MB! But what if your documents take up 2-3 megabytes?
You will face the same problem if you need to send a file by email. Data crawls along a telephone cable through a modem at a snail's speed, and the issue of reducing the volume of transmitted information is always relevant.
This is where archiving comes in handy, that is, the operation of placing a file or folder in a special file-archive with simultaneous compression of information.
You can compress any file, but in different ways. For example, a table or database is sometimes compressed tens of times. The text is compressed less, "losing weight" by 50-70 percent (depending on the text format). For example, the text of this book before packing into the archive takes about 850 kb, and after compression - only 190 kb! But it is almost impossible to compress music files or pictures.
Windows allows the user to work with archives as with the most common folders. You can open "packed" files directly from the "archives" folders by simply clicking the left mouse button. Windows itself will unpack them into a "temporary" folder, and after completion of work - will put them back into the archive.
Although Windows itself does a good job with archives, most often this work is entrusted to special archiving programs. For example, WinRAR or WinZip - they pack faster and are more convenient to work with.
Select with the mouse a folder or all the files that you want to send to a "compressed folder" (archive). Now open the Context Menu by clicking the right mouse button and select the Send / Compressed Folder item. Now, next to your original folder, there is a new - more precisely, a folder-like zip file. You can copy it to a floppy disk or send it by e-mail (the easiest way to do this, recall, using the same Send item of the Context Menu).
