Hopefully, like me, you're willing to accept this as magic! ZIP File Format Specification ( ) and I have to confess that it didn't help me understand how the method I'm about to demonstrate works. Since to Windows Shell, it's simply a folder, you can use the NameSpace method of the Shell object to create a Folder object that points to the contents of Zip file, just as it's possible to point to the contents of any other folder. In fact, as Figure 1 illustrates, when you right-click on a file and select Send To, Windows Shell actually presents the option of zipping the file as 'Compressed (zipped) Folder'įigure 1: The Send To menu - Windows Shell gives a choice of 'Compressed (zipped) Folder' To Windows, a Zip file really is not different from a folder, since it can contains multiple files.

To some extent, referring to a 'Zip file' is incorrect: from the perspective of the Windows Shell object. The ZIP file format permits a number of different compression algorithms to be used, with the dominant method (and the one used by Windows) being the Deflate method. If you want more information about the Shell, start at what's in MSDN at (VS.85).aspx What is a Zip file?Ī ZIP file contains one or more files that have been compressed to reduce file size (although the file format also allows files to be stored 'as-is'). You're presumably familiar with the commands you can access from the Start menu and the taskbar's shortcut menu: all that functionality is exposed through the Shell object.Īs you can well imagine, the Windows Shell is a large and complicated topic, and I'm only going to be discussing one small part of it.

Minimize, restore, cascade, or tile open windows.

The methods exposed by the Shell object can be used to do such things as The Shell object represents the objects in the Windows Shell. The most numerous of these objects are the folders and files that reside on the conputer's disk drive, and the Windows Shell providers a consistent way to access these objects.

The Microsoft Windows user interface has a large number of different objects in it to allow users much flexibility. Are you aware, though, that if you're working in one of those newer operating systems, you can work programmatically with Zip files simply by using the Windows Shell User Interface, without requiring any third party product?

I'm sure you're all familiar with Zip files, and know that newer operating systems (Windows XP and newer) have the ability to work with Zip files built into them.

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