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How to Zip and Unzip Files with 7-Zip

7-Zip is a free and open source file archiver that can compress and decompress files in various formats. It has a high compression ratio and supports many features such as encryption, self-extracting capability, integration with Windows Shell, and more. In this article, we will show you how to use 7-Zip to zip and unzip files on Windows.

How to Zip Files with 7-Zip

To zip files with 7-Zip, follow these steps:

1. Download and install 7-Zip from its official website.
2. Open File Explorer and navigate to the folder that contains the files you want to zip.
3. Select the files you want to zip. You can use Ctrl or Shift keys to select multiple files.
4. Right-click on the selected files and choose 7-Zip > Add to archive… from the context menu.
5. In the Add to Archive window, you can customize the archive name, format, compression level, encryption settings, and other options. The default format is 7z, which provides a high compression ratio. You can also choose ZIP or other formats if you prefer.
6. Click OK to create the archive.

How to Unzip Files with 7-Zip

To unzip files with 7-Zip, follow these steps:

1. Open File Explorer and locate the zipped file you want to unzip.
2. Right-click on the zipped file and choose 7-Zip > Extract Here or Extract to “folder name” from the context menu. The former option will extract the files to the same folder as the zipped file, while the latter option will create a new folder with the same name as the zipped file and extract the files there.
3. You can also double-click on the zipped file to open it with 7-Zip File Manager. Then you can drag and drop the files to any location you want, or use the Extract button on the toolbar to extract them.

You can also use Windows built-in tools to zip and unzip files without installing any third-party software. However, 7-Zip offers more features and flexibility than Windows tools. For example, 7-Zip supports more formats, allows you to split and merge archives, encrypts archives with strong AES-256 algorithm, and integrates with Windows Shell for easy access.

Conclusion

7-Zip is a powerful and versatile file archiver that can help you save disk space and bandwidth by compressing and decompressing files. It is easy to use and compatible with Windows operating systems. You can download it for free from its official website and start zipping and unzipping files in minutes.

How to Split and Merge Archives with 7-Zip

Sometimes, you may need to split a large archive into smaller parts for easier storage or transfer. For example, you may want to split a 10 GB archive into 1 GB parts to fit on a DVD or upload to a cloud service. Conversely, you may need to merge multiple parts of an archive into a single file for extraction. For example, you may have downloaded a 10 GB archive that was split into 10 parts and you want to combine them before extracting the files. 7-Zip can help you with both tasks.

How to Split an Archive with 7-Zip

To split an archive with 7-Zip, follow these steps:

1. Open File Explorer and navigate to the folder that contains the archive you want to split.
2. Right-click on the archive and choose 7-Zip > Add to archive… from the context menu.
3. In the Add to Archive window, you can customize the archive name, format, compression level, encryption settings, and other options. The default format is 7z, which provides a high compression ratio. You can also choose ZIP or other formats if you prefer.
4. In the Split to volumes, bytes field, enter the size of each part you want to create. You can use KB, MB, GB, or B as units. For example, if you want to split a 10 GB archive into 1 GB parts, enter 1GB in this field.
5. Click OK to create the parts. They will have the same name as the original archive with a numeric suffix. For example, if the original archive is called Set 4.zip, the parts will be called Set 4.zip.001, Set 4.zip.002, Set 4.zip.003, and so on.

How to Merge an Archive with 7-Zip

To merge an archive with 7-Zip, follow these steps:

1. Open File Explorer and navigate to the folder that contains the parts of the archive you want to merge.
2. Select all the parts of the archive. Make sure they are in the correct order and have the same name with a numeric suffix.
3. Right-click on the first part of the archive and choose 7-Zip > Extract Here or Extract to “folder name” from the context menu. The former option will extract the files to the same folder as the parts, while the latter option will create a new folder with the same name as the first part and extract the files there.
4. 7-Zip will automatically detect and combine all the parts of the archive and extract the files as normal.

You can also use Windows built-in tools to split and merge ZIP files without installing any third-party software. However, Windows tools do not support other formats such as 7z or RAR. Also, Windows tools do not allow you to customize the size of each part or encrypt them with a password.