IT Queries: Computer problems answered

I’ve been asked to “zip” a file. How do I do this?

“Zipping” a file is where you make the file smaller through what’s called a “compression” tool. This takes out all the wasted space in a file and squeezes it into a smaller file. Sometimes you might want to use it to get around restrictions on certain types of file being sent.

The term “zipping” comes from the MS-DOS utility called Zip, which is now known as Winzip. Winzip is not the only file compression utility, other popular programs are Stuffit and WinRAR.

Both Windows and Mac OSX have built in zipping tools. To zip a Windows file, right click it and select “Send to:” and then Compressed (zipped) folder. The file will then be created with a .zip suffix.

On an Apple, hold the command key down and click the file, on the menu that appears click the Create Archive item.

Keep in mind some documents don’t compress well as some file formats don’t have a lot of spare space. Zipping an already compressed file will actually make it bigger.

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