Inexperienced users often encounter difficulties when sending files by e-mail and uploading them to various kinds of interactive services. Very often this is due to the fact that they are trying to send the folder itself without first packing it in the archive.
As a rule, downloaders simply do not "understand" the principle of downloading a lot of file attachments. Therefore, the question of how to archive a folder is very relevant to this day.
A bit of history
In the "gloomy" times of Windows-98, users had to deal with archivers most often. Internet at that time was expensive and slow, and therefore a qualitatively compressed file allowed not only to reduce download time, but also significantly save your money.
File compression is performed by special programs called archivers. Around the same years that we are talking about, the famous WinRar application appeared. Its compression algorithm to this day remains one of the most advanced and efficient, and therefore we will talk about it first.
Winrar
Archives that are packed with this program have a specific extension: .rar, so it is impossible to confuse them with something else. Before archiving a folder with this application, we advise you to make sure that you are using the latest version. This is due to the fact that the developer is constantly introducing support for new compression algorithms and rational use of multicore processor resources .
How to use it?
Everything is nowhere easier. Install the program following the standard prompts of the installation wizard. There are no “bookmarks” in the form of installing additional programs from Mail.ru, so you can simply click on the “Next” button.
Before archiving a folder, right-click on it: the item “Add to archive” should appear in the pop-up context menu. The WinRar dialog box opens , in which you can specify the name of the archive, its location and compression method.
In the latter case, it is better to choose “Standard”, since strong compression modes sometimes fail, as a result of which the user on another computer will not be able to read information from the file. By the way, for reliability, we recommend that you select the "Add information for recovery" checkbox.
In this case, the program will write to the archive file some technical information that will help restore it in the event of a failure. In a word, WinRar is an excellent program, but it has one drawback. Its price is such that the average domestic user does not even think to pay honestly. Do you really have to use broken versions? Fortunately, today there are many free and functional applications.
7-zip
This archiver appeared relatively recently, but immediately became widespread and popular. The reason is not only its complete free of charge, but also an excellent compression algorithm, which in its efficiency can compete even with its competitor described above.
So how to archive a folder using it? In general, the technology is no different from the above. First install the application, restart the computer. After that, right-click on the desired directory, choosing the item "7-Zip / Add to Archive" in the context menu.
A dialog box will also open in which you should specify the parameters of the archive being created. If you want to achieve the most optimal compression ratio, we recommend setting the “Archive format” drop-down list to “7z”. Modern versions of WinRar are very good at working with this format, so you can read this file on almost every computer.
Important! Unfortunately, this archiver has a slight flaw. Before archiving a folder with files, keep in mind that you should not get carried away with the maximum degrees of compression, since in the event of a failure you are unlikely to be able to pull something out of the damaged archive.
In addition, another circumstance should be kept in mind. The fact is that this program does not "make friends" with damaged archive files at all. So, if the file was damaged while downloading, then with the help of WinRar you can still pull out at least those documents that are at its beginning.
7-Zip in this case will simply give an error, refusing to unpack the information you need. Fortunately, his menu also has the option “Add recovery information”. We strongly recommend using it.
About stupidities and delusions
Our users rarely read help files for the programs they use, and they are almost never interested in the principles of their work. All this leads to comical results.
For example, even experienced users often try to compress a movie using an ordinary archiver. It’s a pity to disappoint them, but the algorithms of such programs are not designed for such operations, so even if you pack the video file in a couple of gigabytes in size, the gain will be 10-15 MB maximum.
For such purposes, you should use only special applications for video encoding, among which there are many free. The second similar misconception - they think about how to archive a folder with photos. If you are seriously considering this, then again you will have to disappoint.
Of course, you will add them to the archive without any problems, but you won’t get any gain in size at all. The fact is that the most commonly used format is .jpeg "linux archive the folder" class = "if" height = "437" src = "// fb.ru/misc/i/gallery/15322/350167.jpg" width = " 457 "/>
How are things at Linux?
Having figured out how to archive the folder with the photo, and learning about the meaninglessness of this event, we will be transferred to the Linux operating system. What about file packaging here?
Until recently, everything was not easy, since almost all archiving programs worked exclusively in console mode, and therefore not all users could cope with them. Fortunately, today the situation has changed for the better. To archive a folder on Linux, use the appropriate utility.
For example, we’ll talk about Ubuntu, which in this regard is not too different from the Windows OS. Click on the RMB folder you need (with the right mouse button), and then select the entire “Add to archive” command in the pop-up menu.
Here are just some problems with reading ready-made archives from WinRar to Ubuntu. The fact is that by default this operating system does not contain proprietary file formats, so they should be added separately. It is simple to do this: open the "Application Store", and in the search field enter the word rar. The system will automatically find the necessary package.
You only need to confirm the installation by entering the root password and clicking on "OK".