Working with Zip Files

Zip files are collections of compressed files that are 'zipped' into a single file for ease and speed of downloading.  One should always download them to a directory on your machine.  Software installation zip files contain

Other zipped packages may contain sets of files with a directory hierarchy which can be extracted with structure intact.

Although you can use commercial zip applications such as WinZip, the Windows Explorer has its own zip extraction and Folder Compression Tool that can be used conveniently for compressing and extracting zipped collections of files.

Downloading

The best way to retrieve the zip file from the internet is to use the 'save' option in your Internet Explorer  to copy the zip file to a location on your hard drive.  Just click on the zip file link and choose Save. 

Alternatively you can use the Open option whereby the zip file will be copied to a temporary place on your hard drive and opened in a compressed file window for viewing and extracting.  With that method, once you have extracted or otherwise closed the window, the zip file is deleted and you will not have a zip file available as an archive. 

Generally it is recommended that the Save method be used so that you have an archived copy of the zip file for future use.

Extracting

To extract the files from a zipped package using Windows Explorer, Open Windows Explorer and right click on the zip file.  From the drop down menu choose Extract all.  Follow the instructions in the Windows Extraction Wizard by choosing a location to place the extracted files.  It is a good idea to have prepared a clean new folder for the zip and the extracted files so that you can easily work with them after they are extracted.

If you are using WinZip rather that the Windows Explorer tools, double click on the zip file to open it in a WinZip window.  Use the Extract tool on the WinZip menu bar.

Installing

To install an application, you will use the file Setup.exe.  This can be started by going to the desktop start button, Choosing Run and navigating to the Setup.exe file in the directory where you extracted the files or simply by double clicking on it in Windows Explorer.

Archiving

You can keep the zip file as an archive for the installation package or you can write the extracted files to a CD and make a standard installation CD for the software archive.

Note: although you can click and install from the Setup.exe file inside the compressed file zip window, this is not recommended.