Compress Files With XP

I need to compress a file, but don't have any Compression software. Is there any way to do this?

Several weeks ago, someone asked me if I could help them make a file smaller. He didn't have any file compression software installed and I did not want to complicate the matter by installing additional software on the machine. So I told him that he can use XP's built-in compression tool. I told him he can get a compressed file using Windows XP's built-in function by right clicking on the file-> Send to-> Compressed (zipped) Folder and a file will be created with the same name but with the zip extension. You can do the same on your computer if you don't have any other file compression software installed. Try it!

You can do the same for a folder instead of a single file. Doing that would result in all files in the folder to be compressed into one zip file. The compression is not great, but you get decent compression for free. If you want a better application there are many out there. I recommend the free application 7-Zip, which I spoke highly of in my post on FrugalNYC.

Did you find this helpful? What compression program do you use? Share your comments below. If you found this helpful and want to let me know or need additional help contact me via email. I'll be taking a break from posting to both FrugalNYC and FrugalTech for the Thanksgiving holiday and resume posts on December 1 for Frugal NYC and December 2 for FrugalTech. Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

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There is an alternative to signing up for every site that needs a login ID for you to read a little more.  Its a website called BugMeNot.  BugMeNot is a great site to find existing accounts for sites you do not wish to create an ID for. If all you want is some information from one site and think you'll never visit again, why create an account? I've used this for looking up technical support questions that required an account and news sites that required a login to view the full article. You get the point, so give this website a shot the next time you need to look up something quick and don't feel like registering. I don't promise that they will all work, but I've had some success so far.

You can also download the firefox Add-on here. Have you tried BugMeNot?  Have you been successful getting into the additional information you were looking for?