Why Compress Files?

In creating your digital archive, you will likely end up with at least a large number of photos, if not also video, audio, etc. Compressing these into .zip or .rar files can not only save you storage space, but also make it easier to share these files directly with other people.

Creating & Extracting .zip Files

Creating a .zip on Windows

  1. Create a new folder for all the files that you want to compress.
  2. Add all the files you want to include to this folder. Mixing file types should not cause problems.
  3. Once you’ve added everything, right click on the folder.
  4. Select “Show More Options” -> “Send to” -> “Compressed (zipped) folder”
  5. This will create a .zip file with the same name as the folder, but with a much smaller total size.

Extracting a .zip on Windows

  1. Right click on the .zip folder you want to open.
  2. Select “Extract All”
  3. Choose the location you want to extract the files to
  4. This will create a folder with the same name as the .zip in the location that you chose and allow you to browse the files it contains.

For more, see Microsoft’s own documentation.

NOTE: 3rd party software like WinRar and 7zip allow for more refined file compression.

Creating a .zip on MacOS

  1. Create a new folder for all the files that you want to compress.
  2. Add all the files you want to include to this folder. Mixing file types should not cause problems.
  3. Once you’ve added everything, control-click on the folder and choose “Compress.”
  4. This will create a file named “Archive.zip”
    • We recommend renaming this to the name of the folder that you compressed.

Extracting a .zip on MacOS

  1. Double-click on the .zip file.
    • Note:This will extract the contents of the .zip to the same location as the .zip, so be sure to place the .zip in the desired location first.

For more, see Apple’s own documentation.