Get our ultimate guide how to Password Protect A ZIP Folder in Windows 10 and encrypt any file folder without any software or using winrar, winzip and 7zip. Create the best file security from here! Windows 10 supports compressing and de-compressing the most common file compression format —.zip. While the option to unzip a file is quite obvious in the OS, it’s the option to zip a file in Windows 10 which makes users scratch their heads. Users who had used now “half-dead” Windows XP operating system before switching to Windows 10/8/7 have probably observed that in Windows 7 and above versions one cannot create a zip file with password without the help of third-party utilities. Zip and unzip files. Skip to main content. Right-click the file you want to zip, and then select Send to Compressed (zipped) folder.
In this tutorial we will show you how to zip up files in Windows 10 and Windows 8. By zipping you can transfer multiple files in one single compressed file.
In order to compress files/folders into a ZIP file or extract files from a ZIP archive in Windows 10, people tend to use software like WinZip or 7-Zip. Actually, Windows systems come with built-in Compressed Folder Tools so that users can compress and uncompress files/folders even without WinZip or any other outside zip tools installed. Now, this page will show you how to zip and unzip files in Windows 10 without WinZip software.
Part 1: How to ZIP files in Windows 10 without WinZip
I will introduce three different ways to create a ZIP file in Windows 10.
Way 1: by sending to the compressed folder
Right-click on the file or folder that you want to compress into a ZIP file, choose Send to > Compressed (zipped) folder from the context menu.
Tips: If you want to ZIP multiple files/folders together, you need to individually click on the files/folders while holding on the Ctrl key on your keyboard to select all the files, right-click on any one selection, and then select Send to > Compressed (zipped) folder from the context menu.
Way 2: from File Explorer
Step 1: Open Windows 10 File Explorer. Locate the file(s) or folder(s) you want to zip and select it/them.
Step 2: Select the Share tab and then click on the Zip button. Compressed Folder Tools will compress the selected file(s) and folder(s) into a ZIP file in the same location. You can rename the ZIP file or accept the suggested name.
Way 3: by dragging files into the existing zip file
Step 1: Right-click on the Windows 10 desktop, select New > Compressed (zipped) Folder from the context menu to create a new zipped folder.
Step 2: Rename the new zipped folder or hit Enter to accept the suggested name.
Step 3: Drag the file(s) and folder(s) you want to zip into the new compressed (zipped) folder. Similarly, you can drag files or folders into any one existing zipped folder.
Part 2: How to unzip files in Windows 10 without WinZip
Step 1: Right-click on the .zip file you want to unzip, and then select Extract All from the context menu.
Step 2: In the 'Extract Compressed (Zipped) Folders' dialog, select one destination to save the extracted files, keep Show extracted files when complete checked, and then click Extract. Then it will display an extraction progress dialog box.
Step 3: When the progress is 100%, it will show you the extracted files in the folder you just specified in Step 2.
Above is how compressed folder tools help zip and unzip files in Windows 10 without using WinZip software. The tool is only for compression file of ZIP file form, but can’t apply to RAR format. Learn more options to extract RAR file, see How to Unrar RAR Archive File with WinRAR/WinZIP/7-ZIP.
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- Convert RAR Files to ZIP Files in Windows Using WinRAR
- How to Convert ZIP Archive Files to RAR Format in Windows 10
- How to Compress/Decompress Files and Folders in Windows
You can zip files and folders in Windows 10 directly from the File Explorer without using any third-party file zipping tools. In this post you will be learning about some methods of zipping files in Windows 10, all of them are pretty basic and simple.
Why Zip Files
In case you are used to compressing files, you may already know the advantages of zipping files and folders.
1. Zipping files compresses them so they take up less space on your hard drive or USB drive.
2. Zipped files are easier and quicker to share, as they take up less space
3. You can zip multiple files into a single compressed folder. This makes it easier to share a group of files.
4. Zipped files/folders can also be password protected and encrypted to protect data.
Zip Files in Windows 10
![Zip Folder Windows 10 Zip Folder Windows 10](https://windowsinstructed.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/2016-02-23_9-51-03.png)
Now that we know about the advantages of zipping files, let us explore a few methods of zipping files and folders in Windows 10.
Zipping Single Files and Folders
1. Select the File or Folder that you want to compress.
2. Right-click on the File
3. On the drop down menu locate Send to and click on it.
4. On the side menu select Compressed (zipped) folder (see image below)
5. Hit Enter to accept the suggested filename, or you can change the file name to whatever you want to.
Zipping Consecutive Multiple Files
Follow these steps in case you are trying to zip multiple consecutive files in a folder, all of which need to be zipped.
1. A faster way to select all consecutive files in a folder is to click on the first file, hold down the Shift key and then click on the last file. You can try this or select files one by one by holding the Ctrl Key (if this suits you better).
2. After selecting all the files, Right-click
3. Click on Send to on the drop-down menu
4. Next click on Compressed (zipped) folder (see image below)
5. Hit Enter to accept the suggested filename or change the file name.
Zipping Non Consecutive Multiple Files
Follow these steps when you want only the selected files from a group of files in a folder or desktop to be zipped.
1. Since the files are non-consecutive, hold down the Ctrl key and click on individual files that you want to select for compressing
2. After selecting all the files, Right-click while still holding down the Ctrl key
3. Navigate to Send to and select Compressed (zipped) folder.
4. Hit Enter to accept the suggested filename or change the file name.
Zipping Files From Windows 10 File Explorer
Open Zip Folder Windows 10
Window 10 File Explorer offers a dedicated Zip tab in its ribbon menu. This is convenient for those files which are not located on your desktop. You can search for the files using file explorer and compress them right from the Files Explorer’s Zip Menu.
1. Click on Windows 10 Start button (located at bottom left of your screen)
2. Click on File Explorer
3. Locate the Files or Folders that you want to compress.
4. Navigate to the Share tab in File Explorer.
5. Click the Zip tab. (see image below)
Zip Files By Adding them to a Zipped Folder
1. Create a new folder (call it zipped folder or anything that suits you)
2. Right click on the Folder
3. Compress the folder by clicking on Send to and choosing Compressed (zip) Folder on the side menu
Now you can ZIP any file by simply selecting the file that you want to zip and dragging it to the new zipped folder that you have just created.
Unzipping Files in Windows 10
Windows 10 Update
Unzipping files in Windows 10 is just as easy as zipping them.
1. To extract everything in a compressed folder, just right-click on the Compressed Folder and then click Extract all.
2. Choose the location for the extracted files
Create Zip Folder Windows 10
3. To extract individual files or folders, open the compressed folder and then drag the files or folders you want to extract to a new location.