If you spend a lot of time downloading information online opportunities are you have come across a zip file or two in your time. File compression programs are a great invention. They save users time, especially if they have an internet connection that is a little on the slow side and they also save a lot of precious hard drive space.
File compression programs operate in very simple, yet fiendishly clever way. Many types of computer files contain a lot information that is actually fairly redundant. The same information is repeated over and over again, yet serves no real purpose. So instead wasting all that space, a file compressor lists it just once, and then refers back to it whenever necessary.
Many different files can be compressed, but the tool is especially useful for image files, which can be huge in size. By using the zip technique hundreds of images can be down loaded in just a few seconds, as compared to the hours it might normally take.
Of course, zip files can be great for uploading information too. You can take a number of different data files, zip them all up easily and then upload them in seconds rather than hours. This makes for easy file sharing too, as an email containing a zip file is far easier to send than one containing dozens of different files.
Finding a good file compression software program is not that hard, as there are many available that are typically quite inexpensive. Some are a little more complicated than others, so finding one that is user friendly as well as efficient is a must for those who are not computer programmers (and how many of us are?)
Storing your files in zip format on your computer hard drive saves precious disc space too, and all your original content will still be securely stored and available for immediate access.