How to archive with winrar?

WinRAR, a Windows utility to condense and expand files, is installed on college-administered Windows computers. Use WinRAR to backup and compress data, reduce the size of attachments you want to email to others, uncompress RAR, ZIP, and other files downloaded from Internet, and create new archives in RAR and ZIP file formats.

If you have gotten email with an attachment that ends in .zip or .rar, you’ll need a program like WinRAR to extract those files. [Note that on the college email system, attachments that have extensions like .zip are automatically renamed: filename.zip.virus-scan-me.virus-scan-me. After scanning the file to verify that it does not contain a virus, rename the file by removing the .virus-scan-me.virus-scan-me extension. Then double-click to launch WinRAR or start WinRAR from Start | All Programs | WinRAR

WinRAR handles these compression formats: RAR, ZIP, CAB, ARJ, LZH, ACE, TAR, GZip, UUE, BZ2, JAR, and ISO.

You can also go to Start | All Programs |  WinRAR, then use the file browser to locate the compressed file or folder. Select the files or folders that need to be extracted and continue as above.

Because disk quota is always a finite resource, you may find that you need to archive files to free up space for other files. You can put archive files on a floppy disk, a ZIP disk, a flash drive, a CD or DVD, as well as leaving them on the local hard drive or network drive. Another reason to compress a file is to email a large file to someone whose mail space does not allow receiving a file as large as the uncompressed version. In both cases you can use WinRAR to compress files.

Go to Start | All Programs | WinRAR to start the program. Use the file browser to change directories to the location of the file(s) or folder(s) you want to compress. Select the file(s) or folder(s); press the Ctrl key to select multiple files/folders. Click the Add icon at the top of the window or go to Commands | Add files to archive or press Alt + A. The Archive name and parameters dialogue box (shown ) opens.

Archive name: Name your archive; “software_docs.rar” in this example. Leave the .rar extension.

Archive format: Select RAR to take advantage of WinRAR’s superior compression and encryption. Select ZIP if you are creating a file for someone who does not use WinRAR.

Update mode: The possibilities are Add and replace files, Add and update files, Fresh existing files only, and Synchronize archive contents. Select as appropriate.

Compression method: Select a compression method: Store, Fastest, Fast, Normal, Good, Best. If speed is your concern, set to Fast or Fastest. If you want the highest compression possible, select Good or Best. Normal compression is good for regular backups.

Help: Click the Help button for information about the options.

To create a compressed file that extracts itself when you double click on its icon, follow the instructions above, but select Create SFX archive under Archiving options.

See the consultant at the Engineering Help Desk, 1253 SC, 319-335-5055, for help using WinRAR. Use Help inside the WinRAR program.

• Select the files which you want to archive.
• Right-click any selected file.
• Follow one of the instructions below depending on your OS version: For Windows 11: In the context menu, select WinRAR → Add to archive. For Windows 10 and earlier: Add to archive.

Open WinRAR. When WinRAR is open it displays a list of files and folders in the current folder. You need to select the folder which contains the files you wish to archive.

When you have selected the folder with the desired files, you can then select the individual files and folders, which you are going to archive.

Having selected one or more files, click on the "Add" button at the top of the WinRAR window, or select the "Add files to archive" command in the Commands menu. Enter the destination archive name in the dialog box which appears or simply accept the default name.

In this window you can select the format of the new archive (RAR or ZIP), compression level, volume size and other archiving parameters. Click on the "OK" button when you are ready to create the archive.

During the archiving process, a window will be displayed showing operation statistics. If you wish to break the archiving process, click on the "Cancel" button in the command window. You may press the "Background" button in this window to minimize the WinRAR window. When archiving is complete, the command window disappears and the newly created archive becomes the currently selected file.

It is also possible to add files to an existing RAR archive using drag-and-drop. Select the desired archive in the WinRAR window and press "Enter" (or double click) on its name. RAR will read the archive and display its contents. You may now add files to the archive by simply dragging them from another program and dropping them into WinRAR.

Novice users can also use the Wizard to create an archive. Open WinRAR and choose the "Wizard" option under the Tools tab at the top of the WinRAR window. Choose the option "Create a new archive" and follow the step-by-step instructions.