The ZIP format compresses files to save disk space or sends an archived folder of files by email to save bandwidth and speed up sending. In Windows 11, you can archive and unzip files and folders in the built-in ZIP format via the context menu without downloading third-party programs. This guide will show you how to Zip and unzip ZIP files natively in Windows 11 without any third-party software.
Archiving Zip files in Windows 11
First of all, highlight the files and folders you want
Now right-click on any selected file or folder.
From the context menu, choose Compress to ZIP File.
Next, you will have a folder in ZIP format, where all your files will be in a compressed state.
The folder appears in the same place as the archive manufacturers. For example, on drive E, the folder will appear in the root of drive E. If it is on the desktop, then the ZIP folder will be on the desktop.
Unzip zip files in Windows 11
If you received a ZIP file by mail or just wanted to unzip to extract the archive’s contents, then right-click on the ZIP folder and select ” Extract All … ”
By default, the unpacking path will be specified in the location where the ZIP itself was located.
If you need a different location, click “browse” and specify the desired path.
Click on the ” Extract ” button below to extract the ZIP folder.
Output
You do not need to unpack the ZIP folder since Windows 11 perfectly opens it in Explorer with a simple double click of the mouse. How well does ZIP compress, and how much space can you save? In our case, We compressed files and folders and saved disk space twice. It was 1.30GB, and in ZIP format, it turned out to be 650 MB.
