How to Compress a File

The hard drive found in most modern computers is large enough to hold a vast stockpile of files of various types. When transferring these files through uploads, email attachments, or by other means, however, the user may encounter file size limits. To counter this drawback, the user can take advantage of a number of file compression and file archiving programs that are able to compress files into a much smaller amount of virtual memory while maintaining the file structure and contents. The following is a list of file compression software.

WinZip
WinZip is the most popular, albeit discontinued, file archiving software in the world. WinZip was created by Microsoft and can be used on all Windows Operating Systems as well as a number of other operating systems including Mac OS X, Linux, and Unix. WinZip is able to compress both files and folders into a single archived document that can be uploaded or transferred to an online server or external device and then “unzipped” back into its original files. WinZip is semi-free and can be downloaded from http://www.winzip.com/index.htm .

WinRAR
WinRAR is a free software that was made to replace WinZip and is now the most widely used archiving software in the world. WinRAR is able to do everything that WinZip can but includes a much wider variety of file extensions such as RAR, ZIP, CAB, ARJ, LZH, TAR, GZ, TAR.GZ, BZ2, TAR.BZ2, ACE, UUE, JAR, ISO, 7Z, and Z. WinRAR is also capable of backing up data and making email attachments smaller by compressing the files within them. WinRAR can be downloaded from the Downloads section of http://www.rarlab.com/ .

7-Zip
7-Zip is a free, open source archiving software that is able to support 7Z, ZIP, GZIP, BZIP2, TAR, ARJ, CAB, CHM, CPIO, DEB, DMG, HFS, ISO, LZH, LZMA, MSI, NSIS, RAR, RPM, UDF, WIM, XAR and Z. 7-Zip is a competitor of WinRAR and is known for having a much better compression ratio. Like both WinRAR and WinZip, 7-Zip is capable of integrating itself with the Windows Operating System so that users only need to right-click a file or folder in order to compress it. 7-Zip works on all Windows Operating Systems as well as Linux and Unix. 7-Zip can be downloaded from http://www.7-zip.org/ .

StuffIt Deluxe 2010
StuffIt is a file archiving software made for the Mac OS X and Windows Operating Systems. StuffIt combines the components of StuffIt Expander, DropStuff, DropZip, and DropTar and is capable of archiving and compressing files and also includes a StuffIt SmartSend feature that allows the user to automatically compress and email files with smaller files being emailed as attachments and larger files being uploaded to an online server that sends a link to the recipient that allows that user to download the file from his/her Internet browser. StuffIt Deluxe 2010 costs $19.99 and can be downloaded from http://www.stuffit.com/win-deluxe.html .

File Splitz
File Splitz is not technically a file compression software but does provide an important function to anyone who is encountering file size limits. File Splitz is a small, stand-alone software that is capable of splitting files into multiple pieces and then rejoining them once the file has been transferred to its destination. File Splitz is portable and can be run from a USB flash drive without installing it on the host machine. In fact, File Splitz does not need to be installed at all and can work with files of all types including audio, data, and video files. File Splitz is free and can be downloaded from http://download.cnet.com/File-Splitz/3000-2248_4-10521065.html .