Utility for Zipping Files
Most of you have probably heard of “zip” files. When you have large computer files, you can compress them into a smaller size using a zip utility. Basically, this type of utility looks for patterns within the files and then makes the file smaller by not repeating the same patterns over and over. After a file has been “zipped,” you can “unzip” it–also using a zip utility–and it will go back to its original form.
The most common zip utility I’ve used is called WinZip. It comes installed on most Windows machines. While many people think it’s free, it’s really not. That’s why you might have seen a screen asking you to register and pay for the tool. And you might have felt guilty (or not).
Well, there are a bunch of other zip utilities out there, some of which cost $$. I’m writing this to tell you about my favorite zip utility called 7Zip. It’s an open source project, so you can download it here free and avoid any type of guilt. (Most likely you will want the one that says Type = .exe and Windows = 32-bit.) Enjoy!
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October 18th, 2007 at 11:50 pm
If you want to have your 7Zip to go, make sure you go to http://www.portableapps.com and get Portable 7Zip…it’s pretty sweet…
November 21st, 2008 at 11:02 pm
[...] is to download the ISO file and then to “unzip” it using a zip utility such as 7Zip (which is explained here). Once this file is unzipped, there will be a folder that contains all the files that were bundled [...]