Zipped file open?

[Eddie]

I have a pdf file that I am unable to open. How does one open a zipped file. I fee stupid asking. Ed

 

[Quattro Pete]

You use a zip utility to unzip it first. If you need a free one, try 7-zip, assuming you have Windows. http://www.7-zip.org/

 

[SF0059]

Originally Posted By: Quattro Pete

You use a zip utility to unzip it first. If you need a free one try 7-zip, if you use windows. http://www.7-zip.org/

+1

 

[Kawiguy454]

Windows 7 has native support for ZIP. Just double click the file and then DRAG the contents out to another folder/location and it will unzip. If you see a password popup it is password protected and youll need the password.

 

[CT8]

Originally Posted By: Eddie

I have a pdf file that I am unable to open. How does one open a zipped file. I fee stupid asking. Ed

I feel stupid all the time ! After a while you will get used to it.

 

[Eddie]

Got it and thank you for the kind words CT8

 

[Tegger]

Originally Posted By: Kawiguy454

double click the file and then DRAG the contents out to another folder/location

This does not work for my Win7. What DOES work for me is to RIGHT click the Zip file, and from the menu that pops up choose Open with > Windows Explorer. Then the contents can be dragged-and-dropped into another folder of your choosing. Depending on the origin of the Zip file, the contents may unZip into a folder with its name in green. This means that the folder and its contents are encrypted. There is an easy fix for that, though.

 

[Garak]

Does Windows still rely inordinately upon file extensions?

 

[Tegger]

Originally Posted By: Garak

Does Windows still rely inordinately upon file extensions?

Yes. The only reason the Mac doesn't need extensions is because there is a separate, hidden "Resource Fork" file that performs the function served by extensions in Windows.

 

[uc50ic4more]

Originally Posted By: Garak

Does Windows still rely inordinately upon file extensions?

Yes, Windows ignores MIME types and defers to the extension.

 

[Garak]

I'm used to naming a file whatever I darn well please (particularly if it's just a working file) and handling it in the command line with the appropriate command without issue. The only time it seems to have ever mattered is if you have multi-volume archives, but that's another matter altogether.

 

[L_Sludger]

Does anybody here remember using PKZIP and PKUNZIP in DOS?

 

[DBMaster]

Originally Posted By: L_Sludger

Does anybody here remember using PKZIP and PKUNZIP in DOS?

Sigh. I do.

 

[Garak]

Yes, I do, and all the intellectual property arguments that were going on at the time, too.

 

[L_Sludger]

Originally Posted By: Garak

Yes, I do, and all the intellectual property arguments that were going on at the time, too.

The case set the precedent for a lot of others going forward.

 

[Garak]

Yes, and definitely affected the various algorithms that wound up being in use over the years on different platforms.

 

[Tegger]

Originally Posted By: Garak

I'm used to naming a file whatever I darn well please (particularly if it's just a working file) and handling it in the command line with the appropriate command without issue.

You can still do that. If you want it to work automatically in Windows (double-click opens the correct app), then you need to leave the extensions in place. Way back before the Mac was more co-operative with Windows, it was common for us to receive Mac-created files without extensions. In such cases I would open the file in Notepad or Wordpad, and check for plain text at the beginning of the file that would tell me what kind of file it was (JPG, GIF, Illustrator, Quark, Excel, Word, Photoshop, etc.).

 

[L_Sludger]

Originally Posted By: Tegger

Originally Posted By: Garak

I'm used to naming a file whatever I darn well please (particularly if it's just a working file) and handling it in the command line with the appropriate command without issue.

You can still do that. If you want it to work automatically in Windows (double-click opens the correct app), then you need to leave the extensions in place. Way back before the Mac was more co-operative with Windows, it was common for us to receive Mac-created files without extensions. In such cases I would open the file in Notepad or Wordpad, and check for plain text at the beginning of the file that would tell me what kind of file it was (JPG, GIF, Illustrator, Quark, Excel, Word, Photoshop, etc.).

Yeah, that was a mess. And Windows machines couldn't even recognize Macintosh formatted floppies. It took a special Mac OS extension to be able to read Windows disks on Mac machines. Interoperability was as close to nil as it could get.

 

[Tegger]

Originally Posted By: L_Sludger

It took a special Mac OS extension to be able to read Windows disks on Mac machines.

I had one of those utilities for reading Mac disks on DOS/Windows machines, and it was absolutely invaluable. I got it on a low-priced floppy at a computer store (it was $2.95 or something like that; I didn't even bill my boss for the expenditure). Remember those trays of such cheapo "shareware" disks that used to be at the cash?

Originally Posted By: L_Sludger

Interoperability was as close to nil as it could get.

Yep. I have long and dismal memories of having to deal with that on a professional basis.

 

[L_Sludger]

Originally Posted By: Tegger

Remember those trays of such cheapo "shareware" disks that used to be at the cash?

Oh yeah. I remember them well. Demos and such. Those became obsolete with high-speed internet. I remember the Windows utility to read Mac disks too! I didn't even think to mention it because it was really obscure. But I did use it in the past as a means of transferring data from internet-connected PCs to old Macintosh computers with 1.4mb drives, which then acted as a bridge to transfer the data onto 800kb disks. I had a Mac Plus and a Mac SE and used them a lot - so there was a heck of a lot of disk swapping going on. Oh, the memories!