Downloading from the Internet

You can use WinZip® to work with archives you download from the Internet just as you do with other archives, or you can use the free WinZip Internet Browser Support Add-On to simplify your work with Internet downloads, as described below.

The free WinZip Internet Browser Support Add-On will automate much of the work normally associated with downloading compressed files from the Internet. When you click on an archive using Microsoft Internet Explorer or Netscape Navigator/Communicator, WinZip will take over when the download is completed. WinZip automatically moves the downloaded file to your download folder (initially set to c:\download) and then opens the file. This add-on is available for download from the web page http://www.winzip.com/ibrowser.cgi (this free add-on is not part of the WinZip distribution package).

If you download an archive without the add-on, the current versions of Microsoft Internet Explorer and Netscape Navigator/Communicator will give you a choice of opening the archive or saving it to disk. If you choose to open the archive, you should be aware that the Internet browser will probably delete the file when the browser is closed. To avoid this problem, use the Internet browser's "save to disk" option, and specify an easy-to-remember folder, for example, c:\download.

Problems Downloading? When you download a file, many things can go wrong, resulting in a damaged copy of the file that WinZip cannot open. The solution to most download-related problems is simply to download the file again. For more information on resolving Internet download-related problems, please check the web page http://www.winzip.com/downprob.htm.

Note:

Many files available for download on the Internet are executable (.exe) files. The WinZip Internet Browser Support Add-On will not try to handle these files. However, if the .exe file is a self-extracting Zip file, you can open and process it in the WinZip Classic interface by choosing Open Archive from the File menu, or by right-clicking on the file and choosing Open with WinZip.