How to Create a ZIP File in Windows 11 or 10

To create a ZIP in Windows 11, select the files in File Explorer, right-click and choose Compress to > ZIP File. On Windows 10 (or a Windows 11 PC without Compress to), choose Send to > Compressed (zipped) folder. To unzip an archive, right-click it and choose Extract All.

This guide covers creating, opening, and extracting ZIP files on Windows 11 and Windows 10, using only the tools built into Windows. The Send to method works the same on every version of both. Microsoft ended support for Windows 10 on October 14, 2025, so its ZIP tools still work but no longer get updates; the newer archive features below are Windows 11 only.

A ZIP file bundles files and folders into one file that is easier to email, upload, or store. Windows treats it almost like a regular folder: you can open it, look inside, add files, and drag items out. It isn’t password-protected, and photos and videos won’t get much smaller.

How to Create a ZIP File

1. Choose the contents. Open File Explorer (press Windows key + E) and find your files or folder. Hold Ctrl and click each item for a selection, press Ctrl + A to select everything in the folder, or select the one folder you want to include.
2. Open the menu. Right-click one selected item. Windows 11 shows Compress to on the main menu. On Windows 10, or if Compress to is missing, use the Send to menu (on Windows 11, choose Show more options first).
3. Make the archive. Choose Compress to > ZIP File on Windows 11, or Send to > Compressed (zipped) folder. Wait for the operation to finish. Both are covered in Microsoft’s ZIP guide.
4. Name and check it. The new ZIP appears in the same folder with a zipper on its folder icon. Its name comes from the item you right-clicked and is ready to edit, so type a descriptive name and press Enter. To rename it later, right-click it and choose Rename. Keep the .zip ending if you can see it. Open the archive in Explorer and make sure everything you wanted is inside before sharing it.

Zipping a folder puts the folder itself inside the archive, so the person who extracts it gets one tidy folder. Zipping a selection of loose files puts those files at the top level of the archive instead.

Use the File Explorer toolbar instead

If you’d rather not right-click, File Explorer’s toolbar has the same command:

• Windows 10: select the items, open the Share tab on the ribbon, and click Zip.
• Windows 11: select the items, click See more (the three dots) on the command bar, and choose the compress option shown there.

Choose ZIP Options With the Compress to Wizard

The Compress to menu came to Windows 11 22H2 and 23H2 with the update in Microsoft’s KB5039302 release notes, which also added 7z and TAR archive creation and a wizard with more settings. Microsoft rolled it out gradually, so if you don’t see it, install the latest Windows updates or use Send to instead.

For more control over the format and compression level, open the wizard:

1. Right-click the selection and choose Compress to > Additional options. The archive creation window opens.
2. Check the destination and file name at the top. Use Browse to save the archive somewhere else.
3. Set Archive format to ZIP.

4. Pick a compression method. Deflate is the normal choice that shrinks files; Store packs them without compressing, which is faster for photos and videos that won’t shrink anyway.
5. Choose a compression level. Higher levels can make a slightly smaller file but take longer on large folders.
6. Leave Retain symbolic links off unless you know you need it. It matters only for shortcuts that point to other files or folders.
7. Select Create, then find the archive in the folder you chose and open it to check.

For everyday sharing, choose ZIP rather than 7z or TAR. Every Windows, Mac, iPhone, and Android device can open a ZIP without extra apps.

Start With an Empty ZIP and Add Files Later

You can also make the ZIP first and fill it afterward, which helps when you’re collecting files from several folders.

1. In File Explorer, open the folder where the ZIP should live.
2. Right-click an empty area and choose New > Compressed (zipped) Folder. On Windows 11 you can also click New on the command bar.

3. Type a name and press Enter.
4. Drag files or folders onto the ZIP to add them, or copy them and paste them inside the opened ZIP.

Dragging items onto any existing ZIP adds them the same way. To take something out of a ZIP, open it, select the item, and delete it. That removes it only from the archive, not from your original folder.

How to Open or Unzip a ZIP File

Opening the archive lets you see what’s inside; extracting creates copies you can use. If you plan to edit a document, install an app, or the package has several files that work together, extract it first so you know where your working files are.

1. Find the ZIP. Open its saved location, such as Downloads. Check the complete ending; the file-extension guide explains how to display it.
2. Start extraction. Right-click the archive and select Extract All. This is the same basic route on Windows 11 and Windows 10.
3. Choose the output location. Review the destination offered by the dialog. Use Browse if you want another folder. A new, separate output folder makes it easier to identify this archive’s contents and avoid mixing them with existing files.
4. Extract and check. Leave Show extracted files when complete checked if you want the folder to open by itself. Select Extract, wait for it to finish, then make sure your files are there. Keep the ZIP until you know the extraction worked.

For just one file or folder, open the ZIP in Explorer and drag the required item to a normal folder. Adding files and extracting them are different actions.

If extraction leaves a BIN file that Windows won’t open, follow the steps for opening a BIN file in Windows 10. A BIN/CUE disc image and a firmware file need different tools; extracting the ZIP only removes the outer archive.

Share the Finished ZIP

On Windows 11, select the ZIP and click Share on the File Explorer command bar. You can send it to a nearby PC with Nearby sharing, or to an email app or contact. You can also attach it like any other file in your email program. If you use Outlook, follow this guide to sending a ZIP file in Outlook. It covers attaching a copy and sharing a link when the archive is too large.

Other Archive Formats

On Windows 11 version 24H2 and later, Extract All also opens RAR, 7z, and TAR archives, as Microsoft’s ZIP and archive guide explains. Windows 10 opens only ZIP files this way. Password-protected archives and formats Windows can’t open need another app, such as 7-Zip. In 7-Zip File Manager, select an archive and click Extract, or select files and click Add to create a ZIP or 7z archive. You can also make 7-Zip the default in Windows 11 so it opens archives every time. A .gz file often holds a .tar archive, so you extract twice to reach the files.

Create a ZIP With PowerShell

PowerShell is handy when you zip the same folder often. PowerShell’s Compress-Archive creates ZIP files and Expand-Archive extracts them.

1. Open Windows PowerShell from the Start menu.
2. Type a command like Compress-Archive -Path C:\Reports -DestinationPath C:\Archives\Reports.zip and press Enter. Use your own folder paths.
3. To add newer files to that archive later, run the same command with -Update at the end.

Compress-Archive skips hidden files and can’t add files larger than 2 GB. Use File Explorer for those.

What ZIP Does and Does Not Provide

• Convenient sharing: several documents can travel as one archive. Check its final size against your email service’s attachment limit.
• Variable space savings: already compressed JPEGs may barely shrink, while text documents and spreadsheets often shrink a lot. A small saving does not mean ZIP creation failed.
• No password protection: Windows can’t create password-protected archives. Use an app such as 7-Zip if you need one, or use the steps for password-protecting a folder in Windows 11 for other options.
• Encrypted files lose protection: avoid zipping encrypted files, because extracting them can leave their contents unencrypted.

Troubleshooting

• Compress to or Send to is missing: on Windows 11, choose Show more options to find Send to. If Compressed (zipped) folder isn’t on the Send to list, use the New > Compressed (zipped) Folder method above.
• Extract All is missing: check the file’s real extension and try opening the archive in File Explorer. If another archive app is the default, it may have its own extract menu. Renaming a file to .zip won’t turn it into a working archive.
• ZIP files open in the wrong app: go to Settings > Apps > Default apps, search for .zip, and choose File Explorer or the archive app you prefer.
• A download will not extract: make sure it finished downloading. If a fresh copy from the same trusted source also fails, ask the sender to check the archive; another app won’t fix every extraction error.
• The destination cannot be used: choose a folder you can write to and check available space. The extracted contents can need considerably more space than the compressed archive.
• Existing names conflict: use a separate destination. Read replacement prompts before accepting them, especially if the folder contains work you need to keep.
• You cannot open an extracted document: extraction does not install the app needed for that document type. Check that the correct file was extracted and use a compatible app.

A whole folder of ZIP files? You can unzip multiple ZIP files at once in Windows 11.

Frequently Asked Questions

More Windows Guides

• Show file name extensions in Windows
• Add columns in File Explorer

Zipping is also one of the fixes when Outlook blocks a file type. See why you can’t see attachments in Outlook for the other causes and fixes.