Zip or Unzip Files and Folders in Windows 10

Compressing or Uncompressing Files and Folders is an essential step in saving disk space in Windows 10. You may probably have heard the term ZIP many times before and you may have used third party compressing software such as Winrar, 7-Zip etc. but with the introduction of Windows 10, you don’t need any of this software. Now you can directly compress or uncompress any files or folders with inbuilt compression tool in Windows 10.

One thing to note here is that you can compress files and folders on NTFS volumes using only NTFS compression in Windows 10. If you save any new files or folders in the existing compressed folder, then the new file or folder will be automatically compressed. So without wasting any time, let’s see How to Zip or Unzip Files and Folders in Windows 10 with the help of the below-listed tutorial.

Table of Contents

Zip or Unzip Files and Folders in Windows 10

Make sure to create a restore point just in case something goes wrong.

Method 1: Zip or Unzip Files and Folders in Windows 10 using File Explorer

1. Press Windows Key + E to open File Explorer and then navigate to the file or folder you want to compress.

2. Now Select the file and folders then click on the Share tab then click on the Zip button/icon.

3. The selected files and folders would be compressed in the same location. If you want, you can easily rename the zip file in Windows 10.

4. To unzip or uncompress the zip file, right-click on the zip file and select Extract All.

5. On the next screen, it will ask you where you want to extract the zip file, but by default, it will be extracted in the same location as the zip folder.

6. Change the extracted files’ location click on Browse and navigate where you want to extract the zip files and select Open.

7. Checkmark “Show extracted files when complete” and click Extract.

8. The zip file will be extracted to your desired location or the default location, and the folder where the files are extracted will automatically open once the extraction is complete.

This is the easiest way to Zip or Unzip Files and Folders in Windows 10 without using any third-party software.

Method 2: Zip or Unzip Files and Folders in Properties Window

1. Right-click on the file or folder you want to compress (zip) and select Properties.

2. Now switch to the General tab then click on the Advanced button at the bottom.

3. Next, inside the Advanced Attributes window checkmark “Compress contents to save disk space” and click OK.

4. Click OK to close the file or folder properties window.

5. If you selected a folder, then there will be an additional pop up asking if you want to “Apply changes to this folder only or Apply changes to this folder, subfolders and files“.

6. Select the appropriate option then click OK.

7. To uncompress or unzip the file or folder right-click on it and select Properties.

8. Again switch to the General tab then click the Advanced button.

9. Now make sure to uncheck “Compress contents to save disk space” and click OK.

10. Click on OK to close the file or folder properties window.

This is the easiest way to Zip or Unzip Files and Folders in Windows 10 but if you are still stuck, follow the next method.

Method 3: Zip Files and Folders in Windows 10 using Sent to Compressed folder option

Right-click on any file or folder which you want to compress (zip) then from the context menu then click on “Send to” and select “Compressed (zipped) folder“.

Also, if you want to zip different files or folders together than simply press & hold Ctrl key while selecting those files and folders which you want to zip then right-click on any one selection and click on “Send to” then select “Compressed (zipped) folder“.

Method 4: Zip or Unzip Files and Folders in Windows 10 using existing Zip file

1. Right-click in an empty area on the desktop or inside any other folder then click New and select “Compressed (zipped) folder” to create a new zip file.

2. Rename this newly created zip folder or hit Enter to use the default name.

3. drag and drop the files or folders you want to zip (compress) inside the above zip folder.

4. Alternatively, you can right-click on the file or folder you want to zip and select Cut.

5. Navigate to the zip folder which you created above then double-click to open the zip folder.

6. Now right-click in an empty area inside zip folder and select Paste.

7. To unzip or uncompress the files or folders, again navigate to the zip folder and double-click to open it.

8. Once inside the zip folder, you will see your files and folders. Right-click on the file or folder which you want to uncompress (unzip) and select Cut.

9. Navigate to the location where you want to unzip the files to.

10. Right-click in an empty area and select Paste.

This is the how-to Zip or Unzip Files and Folders in Windows 10 but if you’re still stuck, follow the next method where you could zip or unzip files and folders in Windows 10 using Command Prompt.

Method 5: Zip or Unzip Files in Windows 10 using Command Prompt

1. Open Command Prompt. The user can perform this step by searching for ‘cmd’ and then press Enter.

2. Type the following command into cmd and hit Enter:

To Compress (Zip) a File: compact /c "full_path_of_file" /i /Q

To Uncompress (Unzip) a File: compact /u "full_path_of_file" /i /Q

Note: Replace the full_path_of_file with the actual path of the compressed or uncompressed file. For example:

To Compress (Zip) a File: compact /c “C:\Users\Test\Desktop\Impt.txt” /i /Q
To Uncompress (Unzip) a File: compact /u “C:\Users\Test\Desktop\Impt.txt” /i /Q

3. Close cmd and restart your PC.

Method 6: Zip or Unzip Folders in Windows 10 using Command Prompt

1. Open Command Prompt. The user can perform this step by searching for ‘cmd’ and then press Enter.

2. Type the following command into cmd and hit Enter:

To Compress only a Folder: compact /c "full_path_of_folder" /i /Q

To Compress a Folder and its Contents: compact /c /s:"full_path_of_folder" /i /Q

To Uncompress only a Folder: compact /u "full_path_of_folder" /i /Q

To Uncompress a Folder and its Contents: compact /u /s:"full_path_of_folder" /i /Q

Note: Replace the full_path_of_file with the actual path of the compressed or uncompressed folder.

3. Close cmd and restart your PC.

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That’s it you have successfully learned How to Zip or Unzip Files and Folders in Windows 10 but if you still have any questions regarding this post then feel free to ask them in the comment’s section.