6 Easy Ways to Create a ZIP File on Windows 10

Do you want to create a ZIP archive on your Windows PC? There are various reasons you would want to do this. Maybe you want to combine multiple files into a single archive? Or maybe you want to reduce the size of your files by compressing them in a ZIP archive?

Regardless of the reason, there are built-in and third-party options to create a ZIP file on Windows. Here are six ways you can create a ZIP file on Windows 10.

1. Make a ZIP File Using the Windows Context Menu

One of the easiest ways to create a ZIP file on your Windows PC is to use the context menu. This menu has an option that lets you add your selected files into a ZIP archive (you can add and remove items from the Windows context menu).

You don’t need to install any extensions or apps to use this feature. This feature works out of the box and is available in many Windows versions.

You can use this option to add a single file, multiple files, and even folders to a new ZIP archive. Here’s how you use it:

1. Open the folder where the files you want to add to a ZIP are located.
2. Select single files by single-clicking on them or CTRL + A to select all files.
3. Right-click on any one file and choose Send to followed by Compressed (zipped) folder.
4. Windows will create a new ZIP archive with your selected files in it.

This new ZIP archive is placed in the same folder as your original files.

2. Use a File Explorer Option to Make ZIP Files on Windows

Another built-in way to make a ZIP file on Windows is to use the File Explorer ribbon option. This works pretty much the same way as the context menu option, and you can use this to add both files as well as folders to a new ZIP archive.

Here’s how you find and use this option:

1. Open a File Explorer window and access the folder where your files are located.
2. Select the files you want to add to a ZIP archive.
3. Click the tab that says Share, which is at the top of your File Explorer window.
4. You’ll see an option saying Zip under the Send section. Click this option.
5. Windows will go ahead and create a ZIP archive for you. There won’t be any prompts or confirmations.

Related: The Best Windows File Explorer Tricks and Tweaks

3. Use the Windows Command Prompt to Make ZIP Files

If you prefer to use the Command Prompt over anything else, there’s a command you can use in this utility to make ZIP files. However, keep in mind this command only works in Windows 10 or later.

Windows 10 comes with a command called tar that helps to create or extract archives on your PC. You can use this command to add your existing files to a ZIP archive, and here we show how you do that:

1. Open a Command Prompt window on your PC.
2. Use the cd command to go to the folder where your files are located.
3. Enter the following command in the Command Prompt window and hit Enter. Replace output.zip with the name you want to give your ZIP file, and myfile.txt with the file you want to add to the ZIP.

   tar.exe -a -c -f output.zip myfile.txt

4. The Command Prompt will create and save the ZIP archive in your current working directory.

4. Use a Third-Party App to Create a ZIP File on Windows

Windows lets you make ZIP archives without any apps, but the features are pretty limited. If you want more options, like the ability to choose a compression level and split your archive into multiple parts, you need to go for a third-party archive app.

7-Zip (free) is a third-party archiving tool, and you can use this app to create as well as extract many types of archives on your computer. This tool offers options like splitting your archives, adding password protection to them, and so on.

Here's how you use 7-Zip to create a ZIP file:

1. Install the 7-Zip app on your PC.
2. Open the app, and your files will appear. This is the app's very own file manager.
3. Using this file manager, access the folder where your files are located.
4. Select the files you want to add to your ZIP archive.
5. Click Add in the top toolbar.
6. Specify the output folder, archive format, compression level, and optionally a password for your ZIP archive. Then, click OK at the bottom.
7. 7-Zip will create and save the archive in your selected folder.

5. Add Files to an Existing ZIP File on Windows

Forgot to add some files while creating a ZIP archive? No worries, you can add files to an existing archive without any hassle. You don’t even need an extra program. Here’s how you alter an existing ZIP to add new files to it:

1. Open the folder where your ZIP archive is located.
2. Open a new File Explorer window and navigate to the folder where the files you want to add to the archive are located.
3. Drag your files over to the ZIP archive.
4. Your files are now added to your ZIP archive.

6. Unzip ZIP Files on Windows

On Windows, you can use File Explorer as well as Command Prompt to extract your ZIP archives.

Here we show how you use them to open your archives.

Extract ZIP Archives With File Explorer

1. Locate the ZIP archive you want to extract in a File Explorer window.
2. To extract a single file, double-click the archive and drag the file you want to extract to a folder in the Explorer.
3. To extract all files, right-click the ZIP archive and select Extract All.

Extract ZIP Archives With the Command Prompt

1. Open a Command Prompt window and cd to the directory where your ZIP archive is located.
2. Type the following command replacing myarchive.zip with the actual name of your archive, and hit Enter.

   tar.exe -xf myarchive.zip

3. The Command Prompt will decompress your archive in your current working directory.

Zipping Files Together on Windows

As a Windows user, you don’t need to make much effort to make ZIP archives on your PC. Simply select the files you want to include in your archive, click an option, and your ZIP archive is ready.

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