Compressing And Decompressing Folders By Matthew Elton

If you use Windows 2000, Windows ME, or Windows XP, you use the NTFS file system, then you can compress your folders to save disk space! Keep reading to learn how.

If a folder is compressed, its contents will not take up as much disk space as they usually do, but you will still be able to access the contents of the folder normally, although loading the contents of the folder might take slightly longer then usual.

To compress a folder: First right click on the folder you want to compress. Then left click on Properties. Then click on the Advanced button. Youll see a small box next to the text compress contents to save disk space. If there is a checkmark in the box then the folder is already compressed. If the box is empty, then click on it and a checkmark will appear in it. Then click on OK. Then click on Apply. You may be asked whether you want to compress the contents of the folder only, or the contents of the folder and all subfolders and files. The choice is yours. Chose to compress the contents of the folder and all subfolders and files for maximum compression, which will save the most disk space. Compressing the contents of the folder could take several seconds or several hours. It all depends on how much stuff is in the folder. When compression is done, click on OK. The folder and its files will now have filenames in blue instead of black. This indicates that they are compressed.

To decompress a folder: First right click on the compressed folder you want to decompress. Then left click on Properties. Then click on the Advanced button. Youll see a small box next to the text compress contents to save disk space. If the box is empty then the folder is already decompressed. If the box has a checkmark in it, then click on it and the checkmark will disappear, leaving the box empty. Then click on OK. Then click on Apply. You may be asked whether you want to decompress the contents of the folder only, or the contents of the folder and all subfolders and files. The choice is yours. Chose to decompress the contents of the folder and all subfolders and files for maximum decompression, which will decompress the most files allowing you to access them slightly faster. Or chose to decompress only the folder and its files, not subfolders and their files, in order to keep the subfolders compressed and save disk space. Decompressing the contents of the folder could take several seconds or several hours. It all depends on how much stuff is in the folder. When decompression is done, click on OK. The folder and its files will now have filenames in black instead of blue. This indicates that they are decompressed.

As always, if you have any problems, questions, or comments, please email me at

Matt@comptechinfo.com