Greetings, my dear readers and subscribers! If you have decided to finally and irrevocably understand archivers and understand the essence of archives, then this article is just for you. I will clearly and clearly tell you how to create an archive, how to add files and folders to it, how you can open it and whether you need to download auxiliary programs for this.

Of course, I will explain to you why archives are so indispensable and where they are convenient to use. I will also attach short review three popular archivers: WinZip, WinRAR and 7-Zip. Let's start!

Archives and their features

We will delve deeper into the topic gradually.

So, an archive is a file that can contain one or more other files of completely different formats and at the same time compress them in size.

Initially, archiving was created precisely to compress the size of data, because in this case, “light” files are more convenient to store on a computer and easier to transfer over the network. However, today the goals of archives have expanded significantly, and the opportunities have increased.

I use them quite often in everyday life, not only in the work process, but also during training and when simply communicating on social networks or using emails.

Why is this so convenient? There are several reasons for this:

You can combine many files of different formats into one document. For example, you decided to send a certain application, a text manual for it and a video recording of the product presentation. It is inconvenient to send this separately, and some of the transmitted data weighs too much. Therefore, the ideal solution is to archive the entire project;

• Fairly good data compression. Thanks to this, it became possible to send significant information. This is why archives are so often used to send voluminous documents in organizations;
• Speaking of which. Sometimes organizations encounter situations where they cannot simply transfer unprotected data. Archives can help out here too, because in all modern archivers files can be encrypted and transferred with a password. This way your data will be safe;
• Archives can also act as distribution packages, i.e. packages that contain software products for subsequent installation. These include APK for Android, JAR for Java, etc.;
• Well, one last thing. The archive stores a structure of directories and subfolders, which is also convenient to use in many cases.

Let's talk about types of archives

There are various zipped file formats. And depending on them, the type of archive is determined. And now we will analyze each of them. However, don't worry, despite their variety, only a few of them are used in life.

Compressive

Such formats only compress the size of the entire document. These include bzip2, gzip.

Archiving

Combine the selected files into one. This includes tar.

Distributive

I have already said a few words about them. As you remember, they are used to create installation packages. By the way, they can be self-installing. These are APK, JAR, IPA.

Disk images

These include the well-known NRG, ISO and others. Such formats are used when creating disk images.

Multifunctional

Archive formats included in this category are the most commonly used in everyday life.

With their help, you can not only combine and compress data, but also encrypt, password-protect (these options can be found in the “Advanced” tab of any program), add information to identify errors, create self-extracting documents and use many other useful functions.

These are such well-known formats as ZIP, 7z and RAR.

Tools you can't do without!

Now it's time to look at popular applications for packing and unpacking archived documents. This chapter is devoted to three leaders, one of which must be installed on your computer.

I'll probably start with WinRAR.

This program rightfully enjoys enormous popularity among users all over the world. And for good reason. This is a powerful tool that simply must be in the arsenal of any PC user.

It can be downloaded from the website http://winrar-full.com/ for almost anyone operating system: Windows (XP, 7.8 and Windows 10), Linux, Mac OS, Android. You can also download a portable (portable) version of the program.

The archiver has a simple and very user-friendly interface, and after installing it the most useful features are embedded in the conductor. Therefore, you can create an archive even with a couple of clicks: right-click on the file or selected files and click on “Add to archive”.

In this case, you can specify the format in the settings. Unfortunately, you can only archive it in RAR or ZIP, but you can unpack it in absolutely any format. The application supports all popular file formats.

Another advantage of the program is that it can be used to create self-extracting and multi-volume archives. IN latest version you can specify the size of the volumes into which the information will be divided.

If the archival document was damaged, then this is not a problem. WinRAR has a built-in recovery option damaged files. In addition to this, you can view the contents of the zipped file before unpacking it.

This archiver appeared quite a long time ago and is also a favorite among similar programs. It quickly compresses and decompresses data, a little even faster than the previous program, allows you to encrypt and password protect information, everything is also built into Explorer and provides users with fast access to the main functions of the application.

Therefore, you can still create, open and unzip documents in two clicks by right-clicking and selecting the required menu item. By the way, when archiving files in additional settings You can select the compression method.

Unfortunately, information can be compressed in only one format – ZIP. But you can unpack any file.

There is also one problem with this program. Despite the speed of operations, the compression ratio of the previous archiver is slightly higher, which means that archives in WinZip will weigh slightly more. In addition, the program is incompatible with some formats.

7Zip

This archiver, unlike its competitors, is absolutely free, and the code can be viewed in the public domain. It has a high compression ratio thanks to LZMA compression and also packs and unpacks data very quickly.

This application It also stands out in that it can archive many more formats than previous programs. And the list of file formats for unpacking is even wider.

Here you can also create self-extracting and multi-volume archives, encrypt and protect data, and much more. Important functions are built into the explorer.

The program can be installed on operating systems such as Windows, Linux/Unix, Mac OS and others.

A huge advantage is that you can choose the compression, compression and/or encryption method.

When you work for personal computer, very often there is a need to reduce the size of a file in order to save space on your hard drive or removable storage device. For example, you need to copy a file from one computer to another using a floppy disk. Or do you need to send a large file via e-mail. If you reduce its size, you save a lot of time, and if the Internet is not unlimited, then money. In such situations the best solution is to create a compressed file. How to create an archive? This is exactly what this file is called.

Definition

An archive is a single file that can contain many other files in a compressed form to save memory. To work with such data, there are special software products called archivers. With their help, you can pack files, extract them, and also view the contents of these same archives. The process of compressing and packaging information is called archiving, and unpacking is called unarchiving.

Formats

There are several compressed file formats. The most common are RAR, ZIP, TAR, CAB. It is these three letters that become the extension of the compressed file. The format type affects the compression ratio. For example, a RAR archive weighs less than a ZIP archive. The format of the packed files also plays a role in efficiency. Some can be compressed by only two times, while others can be compressed by four or more. There are formats that are not compressed at all. How to create an archive using such a program?

The most convenient tool is the well-known archiver called WinRAR. With its help it is possible to create both ZIP and RAR archives. And it can view and unpack compressed files of other formats without any problems.

Sequencing

In order to answer the question of how to create a RAR archive, you need to do some simple operations. To begin with, the necessary files are selected. If there are a lot of them, then it is convenient to use the mouse selection while holding down CTRL key on keyboard. If you press CTRL+A, absolutely all files in this directory will be selected. If this method is somehow inconvenient, you can use the “File” menu of the archiver program. You must select the “Add” item, then in the window that appears, enter the name that the user wants to assign to the created archive. Here you can select the format: ZIP or RAR. The second one is installed by default because it compresses much better and most often there is no need to change it. In the case when you need to transfer the archive to another user, it is better to ask him in advance if he has a program that can work with the selected file format.

Multi-volume archives

Floppy disks are used less and less, but are still found. And if you need to record a large archive on them, then it is created in multi-volume. It consists of parts called volumes. How to create an archive of this type? To do this, you need to select 1475500 in the “Volume Size” section. This number means the size of the floppy disk. In this case, it is better to check the “For recovery” box to be able to restore the archive if suddenly the data in it is somehow damaged. After all, a floppy disk is not the most reliable storage device.

Self-extracting archives

It happens that a compressed file is unpacked on a computer, even if a special program is not installed. How to create a self-extracting archive? To do this, select the files for packaging, then, by right-clicking, select “Add to archive.” Important: this item is only available when installed. Then the format is also selected. In the parameters you need to indicate that this will be an SFX archive. All that remains is to click on the “OK” button and everything will be ready.

As can be seen from the above, the answer to the question of how to create an archive is not difficult. All you need is the appropriate software, a little patience and straight hands. But the consequences of acquiring skills are only positive: saving memory space, more free time when transferring files, convenience. You can also teach other beginners. After all, it will also be useful for them to know how to create an archive.

Archiving documents into a zip file. A very convenient way for important but rarely used files, since zip files reduce the space occupied by documents on your hard drive.

• Simply select the files you want to convert to zip format.
• Right-click and select Send.
• You send the files to a "Compressed ZIP Folder".
• Verify that all the files are indeed there by double-clicking the zip folder. If so, you can delete the original files.

Record documents on a separate medium. A popular option for digital archiving is external drives on magnetic tape, external hard disks or flash drives.

Back up your documents to a CD or DVD if you have a CD burner or DVD recorder. Backups are another archiving method, although you probably know this method under a different name - disc burning. For example, Windows uses the "Live" and "Mastered" file system formats (better for compatibility with other devices) to copy files to a CD or DVD.

• Insert a recordable CD or DVD into your computer's drive or DVD burner to file system Live.
• When the dialog box appears, click "Burn files to data disk."
• Enter the drive name and then click Next.
• Open the folder containing the documents you want to archive and drag the files into an empty folder on the drive.
• For Mastered format, insert a recordable CD or DVD into your computer's disc drive or DVD burner.
• When the dialog box appears, click "Burn files to data disk."
• Enter the drive name and click "Show format options."
• Select "Mastered" and click "Next".
• Wait until an empty disk folder appears. This means the drive is formatted and ready to copy files.
• Open the folder containing the documents you want to archive and drag the files into an empty folder on your drive.

Send documents to offsite storage.

• In addition to functioning as a place for archived files, secure offsite storage protects information from accidents such as fire and hard drive failure.
• With so many companies offering this service, you should contact the firm directly to find out how they operate and what guarantees are included in remote document archiving.

Use digital archiving software.

• One of the most famous preservation methods appearance document is to create a PDF file. Suggested by Adobe, known as Adobe program Acrobat makes it easy to convert documents to PDF format from various programs. There are also several free programs that can create these files.
• Future versions software Adobe will be compatible with earlier versions of documents.
• You can also download a PDF reader for free from the Adobe website.

In this lesson you will learn about archiver programs, you will be able to download one of these programs and install it on your computer, and you will also learn how to archive files and retrieve them from the archive.

What is an archiver

An archiver is a special program with which you can archive files (folders with files) and retrieve them from the archive. In other words, it is a program that helps you compress files and package them for easier sending by email.

Now we will check whether such a program exists on your computer.

To do this, open any folder, for example, “Documents” or “ Local disk D". Right click on any file or any folder inside. A menu will open. If, among other things, there is an item “Add to archive” or an item “7 Zip”, then you have an archiver program on your computer.

And if you don’t see anything similar, then most likely it doesn’t exist on your computer. But it doesn't matter. We'll download it a little later free archiver and install it on your computer. But first, let's talk about what they are.

What types of archivers are there?

Like most programs, archivers can be paid or free. That is, those that can be legally and completely free of charge downloaded from the Internet and installed on your computer, and those for which you need to pay money. If, when you checked whether such a program was installed on your computer, you saw items that begin with the words “Add to archive” (or “Add to”), then a paid archiver is installed on your computer. It's called WinRaR.

And if, when checking, you found item 7 Zip, then a free archiver is installed on your computer.

WinRaR is wonderful, very convenient program, but, alas, it is paid. If it is on your computer, then there are two options: either you don’t need to pay for it and you can use it as much as you like, or after some time it will stop working. We'll check this a little later. And if it turns out that you have an “inferior” version, then it makes sense to download and install the free 7 Zip archiver.

How to archive files/folders (WinRaR)

Now let's move on to practice. Now we will learn how to compress files and folders using the WinRaR program. If you have the 7 Zip program installed on your computer, then feel free to go below - there is information for you. If you have neither one nor the other, then even lower :)

As you may have guessed, we are interested in items that begin with the words “Add to archive.”

We need the second item in this series. For me it’s called “Add to “Folder.rar” to the archive.” You will have almost the same item, only instead of “Folder.rar” the name of your file (folder) .rar will be written.

Now let's see how much the size has decreased. Right-click on the file or folder you compressed. From the list, select “Properties”.

Now right-click on the new archive file and select “Properties”.

But this doesn't always happen. For example, if you compress photos, videos or music this way, the size may remain the same or change very slightly. To compress photos, music and videos, other programs are used, not archivers.

Now let’s learn how to unarchive, that is, get information from archives.

Actually, you don't have to do this. Try just opening the archive file. Inside you will see what has been archived. And it opens completely calmly. But still it is not very convenient. Therefore, it is better to pull out information from the archive.

Close the window and right-click on this file. We are interested in two similar items - “Extract to current folder” (or “Extract Here”) and “Extract to some name" (or "Extract to some name»).

If, when you opened the archive, there was one file or one folder in the middle of the window, then click “Extract Here”. And if there were several files (folders), click “Extract to some name"(Extract to some name).

That's all. After you click on the desired item, the files or folders will be extracted and the archive can be deleted.

Now let's find out which version of the WinRaR program you have - the one that will stop working over time, or the one that will work constantly.

To do this, we need to open any archive file. When it opens, in this window, click on “Help” or “Help” (at the top) and select “About...” from the list.

A small window will appear. If it says “40 days trial copy”, then this means that your program will stop working in the near future. It makes sense to download free program for archiving (read about this below).

And if this window says “Owner of the copy” or “Registered to”, then the program will work - you don’t have to worry, you don’t have to download anything. And there is no need to read further either.

How to Zip and Unzip Files/Folders (7 Zip)

A free archiver is installed on your computer (how to determine this was discussed just above). It's called 7 Zip. And now we will learn how to use it.

First, let's learn how to archive files and folders. This is done very simply. Right-click on a file or folder with files. The following list will appear.

We are interested in item 7 Zip. Point it at him. will appear additional list. In this list we are only interested in one item, in my example it is called “Add to “Folder.zip””.

Instead of “Folder.zip” you will have a different name, but also with the ending .zip

Click on this item. Perhaps a window like this will appear for a while. Wait for it to disappear.

Now look carefully at the files and folders. A new file should appear. It will look something like this:

This is the file or folder that you archived.

Now let's see how much the size has decreased. Right-click on the file or folder you compressed. From the list, select “Properties”.

A new window will appear. Remember the size and close it.

Now right-click on the new archive file and select “Properties”.

Most likely, its size will be smaller than the size of the original file (folder).

But this doesn't always happen. For example, if you compress photos, videos or music this way, the size may remain the same or change very slightly. To reduce it, completely different programs are used.

Now let’s learn how to unzip, that is, get files and folders.

Actually, you don't have to do this. Try just opening the archive. Inside you will see the files and folders that have been added to it. And they open quite calmly. But still it is not very convenient. Therefore, it is better to pull information from the archives. After all, at any moment you can return it back, just as we did above.

Before you extract information from an archive file, open it.

An unusual window will open. Look in the middle - it shows files or folders that are hidden in the archive. That is, if we unzip it, then these files (folders) will come out.

Close the window and right-click on this file. In the list, point to “7 Zip”. An additional list will appear. We are interested in two similar items - “Extract Here” and “Extract to some name\" (Extract to some name\).

If, when you opened the archive, there was one file or one folder in the middle of the window, then click “Extract Here”. And if there were several files (folders), then “Extract to some name\" (Extract to some name\).

That's all. After you click on the desired item, the files or folders will be retrieved and the archive can be deleted.

Let me remind you once again that the 7 Zip program is free archiver.

Download free archiver

If you don’t have an archiver on your computer, you can download and install it completely free of charge. This program is called 7 Zip. You can download it at this address:

Many people daily, for work reasons or for personal purposes, send emails with attached files. In the case of one or two attached files, no problems arise, however, when the number of attached files exceeds a dozen, the question arises: “how can I combine a large number of files into one?” Or there is a need to send a relatively large file over a slow connection. In all these (and many other) cases, they come to the rescue special programs- archivers.

There are a huge number of archiving programs, differing in archiving method (format) and functionality, and popularity. In this article I will look at a program such as WinRar, which is the most popular among users.

Now let's understand a little about archive formats. them on this moment There are a huge variety, and they differ mainly in compression quality. For Windows, the most suitable are rar, zip and 7zip; on *nix operating systems bz2, gz and lzma are more common. The zip format is a standard and is supported by many operating systems. system applications, i.e. There is no need to install third-party programs to work with it.

Let's move on to creating the archive. Download the program WinRar, this program is paid, but it is possible to download free version. Using it you can create rar and zip archives, as well as open almost all other formats. Once installed, it integrates with the contextual Windows menu and associates itself with files in archive formats. To quickly create an archive and add a file (files, folder) there, right-click on the file (on a group of selected files, folder) and select “add to archive...”.

A window will appear in which you can specify the name of the archive, select the format: rar or zip, compression level, as well as some other format-specific options. If you need to quickly combine many files into one or send a compressed file over the Internet, then the default settings are quite suitable for you.

By choosing the zip format, you can be sure that it will open on a Windows computer without installation third party programs, if you have chosen the rar format, then to open it on another computer you must also have WinRar installed on it.

In order for another user to open your rar archive or zip without having an archiver installed on your computer, you need to check the “Create SFX archive” checkbox. This option allows you to create a self-extracting archive.

Sometimes it happens that the transferred archive is damaged as a result of media failure or poor communication channel. By checking the “add recovery information” checkbox, the archiver will add a block of redundant information to the file, which will then, with a high degree of probability, allow you to restore the damaged archive, this will slightly increase the file size.

If the resulting file is of such a size that it does not fit on the media, you can split the archive into several files, specifying a volume size suitable for of this medium. To do this, in the “split the archive into volumes” line, select a size from the proposed list or enter your own.

After selecting all the necessary options, click “OK” to create the archive.

Extracting files from an archive

To quickly extract files from an archive, right-click on the archive and select “Extract files…” from the context menu.

You can extract files from the archive to a specific folder, to a folder that will have the name of the archive, or directly to the folder where the archive itself is located.

All of the above actions and operations performed using the WinRar program are completely or largely valid for other archiver programs. For the sake of fairness, it is worth noting that initially archivers were created for the purpose of packaging and compressing text information, therefore, when archiving graphic and other multimedia data, the size will decrease slightly.