Data archiving allows you to save space on various drives, including hard drives. Sometimes files are archived before being transferred over the local network or for uploading to external resources.
Instructions
Step 1
Select the program with which you plan to create archives. The leaders in this area are the WinRar and 7-zip utilities. Follow the link https://www.7-zip.org/download.html and the version of the program suitable for the operating system you are using. Click the Download button and wait until the file is downloaded to your hard drive.
Step 2
Install the archiver program by running the downloaded file. Restart your computer after installing the program components. Open Windows Explorer and find the files you want to zip. Click on the desired folder (file) with the right mouse button. In the opened window, hover the cursor over item 7z and click on the item "Add to archive".
Step 3
Wait for the 7-zip program menu to open. In the "Archive" column, enter the desired name. Select the archive format from the suggested options, for example zip. Select the compression level for your files. Remember that the time to create an archive directly depends on the compression ratio of the selected files.
Step 4
If you need to split the archive into several elements, fill in the “Split into volumes” field. Typically, this method is used to write a large file to certain media. Sometimes the archive is divided into elements before its subsequent uploading to file-sharing resources.
Step 5
Complete the Encryption menu. This is necessary to set a password for the created archive. After preparing the archiving parameters, click the Ok button. Wait while the program completes the required operations. The created archive will be placed in the same folder as the source files or directories. Check the volume of the created archive. It can be from 10 to 95% of the original data volume. It all depends on the file format and the selected compression rate.
