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You probably only know what ZIP is if you’re well-versed in computers. If you’re a novice and receive a ZIP file, you might not know what to do with it. We’ll show you what it actually is and how you can use ZIP files yourself.
What is ZIP? What ZIP files can do
ZIP is a special file format for compressed data. ZIP files have the extension “.zip,” whereas text files, for example, have the extension “.txt.”
- A ZIP file has two major advantages: ZIP files serve as containers and can therefore combine numerous other files and folders into a single file. For example, you can pack multiple documents, images, and folders into a single file and send them.
- Additionally, packing data into a ZIP file significantly reduces its size. Depending on the file’s size, you can save several percent of the original file size. For example, a 4.5 GB movie can easily be reduced to a 4 GB file when zipped.
- With programs like 7-Zip or WinZip, you can open, create, and edit your own ZIP files. However, you don’t need any additional software to open a ZIP file. Windows can open and extract ZIP files natively.
How ZIP files work and their advantages
ZIP files are archives that compress one or more files and directories and combine them into a single file.
- Compression is usually lossless thanks to algorithms such as Deflate, which identify and eliminate redundant information in the data, thereby significantly reducing the file size. Deflate uses methods such as LZ77 to efficiently encode repetitions and patterns in the data without any loss of quality.
- Compression saves storage space and speeds up file transfers, for example via email or the Internet, since less data needs to be transferred.
- The advantages of ZIP files are numerous: First, they enable significantly lower storage usage through compression, which is particularly important for large amounts of data or limited storage.
- Second, ZIP files act as containers that combine multiple files and folders into a single file, making it very easy to organize, manage, and securely send large amounts of data.
- Third, ZIP files offer built-in encryption capabilities, usually through password protection using modern encryption methods such as AES, which allows sensitive data to be protected.
- In addition, ZIP archives are platform-independent and supported by nearly all operating systems, underscoring their universal applicability.
