Compressed Folders

The new Compressed Folder feature works similar to the WinZip utility, but it's built right into Windows Me. You no longer need to download and use WinZip (or any other 3rd party ZIP utility) to create file archives on your hard drive.

The Compressed Folders feature is not installed by default during a typical installation process. To install Compressed Folders, follow these steps:

Select Start > Settings > Control Panel
Double-click Add/Remove Programs
Select the Windows Setup tab
Double-click System Tools, and select Compressed Folders
Click OK

To create a Compressed Folder in Windows Explorer, right click an empty space, choose New and select Compressed Folder. This will create a folder icon with a zipper on it.

You can also open My Computer, and from the File menu, point to New > Compressed Folder.

You can copy (or drag/drop) files to this folder, they will be compressed "on the fly". If you open the Compressed Folder, you can see such information as the original file size, the compressed size and the compression ratio (among other things).

Encrypting and Decrypting Compressed Folders

Another advantage of compressed folders is that you can encrypt them. Here is how:

Right-click the compressed folder or file, and then click Encrypt
Double-click the compressed folder or file, and then click Encrypt on the File menu

When you open an encrypted folder, you receive a dialog box prompting you for the password. The password is stored in the .zip archive. If you forget the password, there is no way to retrieve it.

You can use one of these procedures to decrypt a compressed folder or file:

Right-click the compressed folder or file, and then click Decrypt
Double-click the compressed folder or file, and then click Decrypt on the File menu

Some related Microsoft Knowledge Base Articles:

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Compressed Folders

Encrypting and Decrypting Compressed Folders