Zip

Zip and Unzip Operations

The common procedure for using the dialogs to zip and unzip files is as follows:

• Select file(s) - Select one or more files from a file window for the operation. For an unzip operation, the file extension(s) are typically '.ZIP' but do not necessarily have to be.
  
• Select operation - Use popup or action menus, or accelerator keys.
  
• Select target path - If drive is already selected in one of the file windows, click in that file window. Otherwise, read the desired drive into the opposite file window. Click on desired directory in the directory tree.
  
• Initiate operation. - Press action pushbutton in dialog window. Hold down the Ctrl key to keep the Zip window from auto-closing if desired.

Dialogs

The selected operation dialog appears in its last used position and size. The dialog is movable and may be resized in length to enhance viewing long paths and filenames. The dialog contains four data fields.

Zip Dialog

• The first field contains the full file path and file name of the first selected file and is read only.

• The second field summarizes the additional files included in the operation and is read only.

• The third field, labeled To, contains the target path for the zip or unzip operation. It is initialized to the path set on the appropriate page of the Settings notebook. This target path may be changed by mouse, keyboard or manual input. For zip operations, a "noname00" filename is added to the target path. The filename may be edited as desired. Error checking is performed on edited paths and filenames to ensure that they conform to the drive type (FAT or HPFS) requirements.

• The fourth field shows the zip or unzip switches to be used for the operation (defaulted to the options set in the Settings notebook). It also contains an Options pushbutton which, when pressed, will popup the switch options dialog appropriate for the operation. Alternatively, the user may manually edit the switch field.

When the operation dialog appears, the source File Window is locked from further normal user input until the selected operation is complete or cancelled. However, you can modify the selected file list by holding down the Ctrl key and using the left mouse button to deselect files from the list or select other files to be added to the list. This is a common feature of the Copy, Move, Delete, Zip and Unzip dialogs.

The initialized target directory for zip and unzip operations is set on the appropriate page of the Settings notebook. The target path may be easily changed using the point and click method or manually entered.

Zipping a Directory

To archive the contents of a directory (including subdirectories), select the directory in the tree and select Zip from the Directory menu. The Zip Directory dialog will appear. You may change the selected directory after the dialog appears.

Zip Directory Dialog

The target directory is shown in the To field. Use point and click selection of the target path using a directory tree or type in the target directory path. Then edit the target file name for the file that will be created. Press Zip to start the zip operation.

You may modify the zip options by pressing Options on the dialog and selecting the desired options or directly editing the options string.

See Directory Operations for further discussion on using the dialogs to perform directory operations.

Initiating the Operation

When the desired path is displayed in the target field, click on the operation pushbutton (Zip or Unzip) to start the operation. The Ctrl key may be held down when the operation pushbutton is pushed to keep the Zip/Unzip windows from auto-closing. If there are errors, this is required to read the error message. The selection emphasis is removed from the files as they are sent to the executable programs, ZIP.EXE and UNZIP.EXE. The window(s) are automatically refreshed at the end of the operation as appropriate.

A foreground OS/2 window will pop up running ZIP.EXE or UNZIP.EXE. The user interacts with these windows if required to consent to certain actions. The foreground window will close automatically when the operation is finished.

Aborting the Operation

If more than one file is selected for the operation, a green pushbutton, labeled Press/Esc to Pause, will replace the Data Summary window at the bottom of the file window once the operation starts. Clicking this pushbutton with the mouse, or pressing Esc on the keyboard, will pause the operation. The user then has the option to Abort or Continue using a split version of the same pushbutton. Because most operations are very fast, there is hardly time to pause operations involving only a few files. Once the foreground OS/2 window running the ZIP or UNZIP executable appears, the operation on the current file cannot be aborted from FileStar. The foreground window executing ZIP or UNZIP may be aborted with a Ctrl+C from the keyboard.