UCLA
Bruce Hayes
UCLA
The main purpose of Zipping a file is to make it smaller, so it can be transmitted in less time. This is especially important when the transmission is taking place over a modem connection. Zipping is also useful for bundling a number of files into a single package.
The result of Zipping is a new file whose suffix is .zip (click here if you need to learn about suffixes). The .zip file can latter be reconverted into the original file or set of files.
There is software available that can both zip and unzip. The odds are good that your computer already has an unzipping program. To find out, try (in Windows): Start, Find, Files or Folders, search for zip.
If you don't have a zipping program, you can download one from the Internet. My personal favorite is FreeZip, which is indeed free and works very well. You can download it from this site. For a small shareware fee you can also obtain Winzip, which can handle various other forms of compression that are similar to .zip.
If you download a zipping program, be sure to put it in a different folder from FeaturePad or PhonologyPad; for example, c:\Downloads\FreeZip. Follow directions at the downloading site to get it to run.
Most zipping software will unzip a file if you simply right-click on the file and select Unzip from the pop-up menu. As with all computer-related tasks, if you get stuck, try thinking of the most obvious alternatives, and see if there's a manual or help file to read.
Last modified 5/9/2002