===== Creating a .zip File =====



==== Using Linux ====


To create a ''%%.zip%%'' file from the File manager:

  - Navigate to the appropriate directory/folder.
  - Click on the first file or directory/folder to select it.
  - Control-click on any other files or directories/folders to select them.
  - Right-click on one of the selected files and pull down to <key>Compress...</key>.
  - Enter a filename (and location).
  - Select <key>.zip</key>.
  - Click on <key>Create</key>.

To create a ''%%.zip%%'' file from the command shell, you can use the following command:


|   zip //archive//.zip //file// [//file//]...   |

==== Using MS Windows ====


To create a ''%%.zip%%'' file from the File Explorer:


  - Navigate to the appropriate directory/folder.
  - Click on the first file to or directory/folder to select it.
  - Control-click on any other files or directories/folders to select them.
  - Right-click on one of the selected files and pull down to <key>Send To</key> and pull down to <key>Compressed (zipped) Folder</key>.

If the Java Development Kit is installed and in your PATH, you   can also create a ''%%.zip%%'' file from the command shell   using the following command:

|   jar -cvf //archive//.zip //file// [//file//]...     |


==== Using OS X ====


To create a ''%%.zip%%'' file from the Finder:


  - Navigate to the appropriate folder.
  - Click on the first file or directory/folder to select it.
  - Command-click on any other files or directories/folders to select them.
  - Right-click on one of the selected files and pull down to <key>Compress ... Items</key>.

To create a ''%%.zip%%'' file from the command shell, you can use the following command:

|   zip //archive//.zip //file// [//file//]...     |

If the Java Development Kit is installed and in your PATH, you   can also create a ''%%.zip%%'' file from the command shell using the following command:

|    jar -cvf //archive//.zip //file// [//file//]...     |

Note that if you use the GUI-based approach, the resulting ''%%.zip%%'' file will contain OSX-specific files (like ''%%.DS_STORE%%'') and directories (like ''%%__MACOSX%%'') that can cause problems in some situations. You can exclude files when working from the command line using the ''%%-x%%'' option. For example:

<code>
zip -r dir.zip . -x .* -x __MACOSX
</code>

will create a ''%%dir.zip%%'' that contains all of the directories below the current directory, but will exclude all files that start with a ''%%.%%'' and the ''%%__MACOSX%%'' directory.