Activate Windows Me's zip file support

Helpline Q&A Directory

Windows Me's Help files say the operating system can read, write and create ZIP files, but I can't get this to work. Can you tell me how to find this feature?

Windows Me adds ZIP file support, which the operating system should have had all along. Microsoft calls the feature Compressed Folders, which people aren't likely to associate with ZIP files. It also omitted Compressed Folders from the default Windows Me installation.

If you want Windows Me to use Compressed Folders to access ZIP files, select Start, Settings, Control Panel. Double-click Add/Remove Programs, click the Windows Setup tab, scroll down the Components list and double-click System Tools. Then check Compressed Folders, click ok twice and follow the prompts.

With Compressed Folders installed, ZIP files will appear in Windows Explorer as folders with zips. You can add, move and delete the files just as with regular folders, but files launched within a compressed folder go to c:\Windows\Temp when saved. To create a ZIP file, right-click a blank spot in Windows Explorer and select New, Compressed.