Working With Archive Files

Since the beginning of the PC era, users have employed a variety of file compression mechanisms. An early method used the ZIP file format, initially implemented by PKWare’s PKZip program quickly became a near-standard for data transfer. A later Windows version, WinZip, became popular. With Windows 98, Microsoft provided built-in support for ZIP archive files. Today, Windows supports ZIP files up to 2GB in total size. You can find more information about the ZIP file format at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zip_(file_format).

Numerous developers, over the years, have provided alternative compression schemes and associated utilities, including WinRAR and 7-Zip. WinZip and WinRAR are both excellent programs but are commercial programs. 7-Zip is a freeware tool that is also popular. All three offer their own compression mechanisms (with associated file extension) and support the others as well.

For details on WinZip, see https://www.winzip.com/win...