How to Zip and Unzip Files in Windows 11

Windows 11 can create and extract ZIP files without any additional software — no WinZip, no 7-Zip required. The built-in tools handle most everyday needs, though a free third-party app gives you more options for large archives or different formats. Here is everything you need to know.

How to Zip a File or Folder

1. In File Explorer, find the file or folder you want to compress
2. Right-click on it
3. Select Compress to ZIP file
4. A ZIP archive appears in the same location as the original, with the same name
5. Rename it if needed

To zip multiple files or folders together, select them all first (hold Ctrl and click each one), then right-click and choose Compress to ZIP file.

How to Unzip (Extract) a ZIP File

1. Right-click the ZIP file in File Explorer
2. Select Extract All
3. Choose where to extract the files to (by default it creates a folder in the same location)
4. Click Extract

Alternatively, you can double-click a ZIP file to open it in File Explorer and browse its contents without extracting. To use the files properly (especially applications), you should extract them first rather than running them directly from the ZIP.

Zipping to Send by Email

Zipping is useful when you want to send multiple files as a single email attachment. Select all the files, right-click, and compress to ZIP. Attach the single ZIP file to your email. The recipient can extract it at their end using the same built-in Windows tool — or on Mac with a double-click.

Note that email servers often have attachment size limits (typically 10–25MB). If your ZIP file is larger, use a file sharing service like OneDrive, Google Drive, or WeTransfer instead.

How Much Does Zipping Compress Files?

Compression ratios vary significantly:

• Text documents, spreadsheets: 60–90% reduction — compresses very well
• Images (JPEG, PNG already compressed): 1–5% reduction — minimal benefit
• Videos and MP3s: Less than 1% — already compressed formats, barely any benefit
• Mixed folder of documents and images: 20–50% typical reduction

For images and videos, the main benefit of zipping is bundling multiple files into one, not compression.

Password Protecting a ZIP File

Windows 11’s built-in ZIP tool does not support password protection. For encrypted ZIP files, you need a free tool like 7-Zip (available at 7-zip.org):

1. Install 7-Zip
2. Right-click the files you want to compress
3. Select 7-Zip > Add to archive
4. Under Encryption, enter a password and select AES-256
5. Click OK

Other Archive Formats: .7z and .rar

Windows 11 can natively open .7z and .rar files (from the November 2023 update onwards). To create .7z archives (which compress better than ZIP), use the free 7-Zip app.

Related File Management Guides

• How to Send Large Files for Free
• How to Find and Delete Large Files in Windows 11
• How to Share Files Between Two Windows PCs

Using PowerShell to Zip and Unzip Files

For more advanced control over compression, or if you need to automate zipping tasks, PowerShell offers built-in cmdlets that rival third-party tools. Windows 11 comes with PowerShell 7 pre-installed, which includes the Compress-Archive and Expand-Archive cmdlets. These command-line tools are particularly useful if you frequently compress files, work with large folders, need to preserve directory structures, or want to schedule compression tasks to run automatically on a schedule.

Zipping Files with PowerShell

Open PowerShell by searching for “PowerShell” in the Start menu, or press Win + X and select “Terminal”. Then use the Compress-Archive cmdlet with a source path and destination path. The basic syntax is straightforward:

Compress-Archive -Path "C:UsersYourNameDocumentsMyFolder" -DestinationPath "C:UsersYourNameDocumentsMyFolder.zip"

To zip multiple files or folders at once, separate them with commas:

Compress-Archive -Path "C:File1.docx", "C:File2.docx", "C:Folder1" -DestinationPath "C:Archive.zip"

If the ZIP file already exists and you want to add more files to it without overwriting, use the -Update parameter:

Compress-Archive -Path "C:NewFile.docx" -DestinationPath "C:Archive.zip" -Update

Extracting ZIP Files with PowerShell

To extract a ZIP file to a specific folder, use the Expand-Archive cmdlet, which gives you precise control over the extraction location:

Expand-Archive -Path "C:Archive.zip" -DestinationPath "C:ExtractedFiles"

PowerShell creates the destination folder automatically if it doesn’t already exist, which is especially useful when extracting to new locations or working with temporary folders.

Automating Batch Compression

PowerShell’s real strength lies in automation and batch processing. To compress all folders in a directory into individual ZIP files at once, use this command:

Get-ChildItem -Path "C:FolderToCompress" -Directory | ForEach-Object { Compress-Archive -Path $_.FullName -DestinationPath "$($_.FullName).zip" }

This approach is invaluable for regular backups or when managing dozens of folders that need consistent compression. You can even schedule this as a Windows Task to run automatically each week without any manual intervention. PowerShell zipping also performs faster than the graphical method for very large folders, making it ideal for IT professionals, system administrators, and those who regularly work with large archive operations across multiple systems.