Property ManagementZip a Dee Doo Dah
The Zip format for compressing files has been around for so long, that it"s
hard to believe that we ever lived without it!
For those who are somewhat new to computing, "zipping" files is simply
compressing one or more computer files into a single package that is
smaller than the size of the originals.
In the "old" days, it was common to zip seldom used and older files simply
as a method of saving space on the hard drive, or for archiving files to
a floppy diskette. Today, with hard drive space plentiful and cheap, the
primary value of zipping files is for distribution over the Internet and via
e-mail.
For instance, you could take ten digital photos that might add up to 1
megabyte, and zip them into a single file of just half the size. This
would obviously make the photos much easier, and faster, to send to a
customer or client.
However, in order to do this, you need software on your system that will
allow you to zip the files before sending them, and the recipient will need
software to "unzip" the files back to their original size on their computer.
While there are plenty of free and/or cheap programs that allow you to do
this, for about $25 (street price) you may want to consider a newer
program, ZipMagic 98 from Mijenix. For those of you who may have used Norton
Navigator in the past, a great program which is no longer supported, ZipMagic
98 will look and feel very familiar!
While I"ve used several Zip managers over the years, ZipMagic offers one
feature that"s so useful that I just can"t stand to work on zipped files
without it! ZipMagic 98 lets you work with zipped files as though they were
ordinary "folders" (or directories, depending on how long you"ve been
computing) from within the standard Windows Explorer.
This means that you no longer have to understand the nuances of zipping and
unzipping files. Want to look into a compressed zip file? Just click on
it as you would an ordinary folder! Need to move something in or out of a
zipped file? Simply drag and drop as you would with any other directory!
Even better, ZipMagic 98 will run programs from within a zipped file,
zipping and unzipping them as needed, on the fly!
All in all, this program offers a lot of convenience for a pretty small
amount of change.
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