Zip It

Zip It is a PKZip and PKUnzip shell for Window's file manager or any other file manager that supports drag and drop. Windows 3.1 is needed since earlier versions of Windows did not support drag and drop. Zip It will keep a list of the files or directories you drop on it. When you have dropped as many files or directories as you wish to include in the zip, you use the menu command Files to zip to specify the zip file name and to call PKZip to create the zip. If you drop a single zip file on Zip It you will be given the choice to either add the file to the list of files to zip or to unzip the file. Files and directories can be dragged from a directory window  (right side) of the File Manager. Directories cannot be dragged from a tree window (left side). Using the Zip file dialog you will be able to select files to unzip and specify a path for the extracted files.

The utilities PKZip and PKUnzip are required. They are trademarks of, and can be obtained from:

PKWARE, Inc.

7545 N. Port Washington Rd.

Glendale, WI 53217

Zip Itmenu

To access the Zip It menu simply click once on the icon of the running zipper. The menu has been added to the system menu. The about menu command simply pops-up the standard about box with copyright notice. The help menu command gets you here. The other choices are:

Options	Allows you to setup Zip It to your liking.

Files to zip	Gives access to files dropped on Zip It.

The Files to zip dialog box may also be accessed by double clicking on the Zip It icon.


Options

The options dialog box enables you to setup Zip It. There are options for:

Path to executables	Specify the path to PKZip and PKUnzip

Zipping	Options for zipping files.

Unzipping	Options for unzipping files.

Files	File display and show files to zip on drop options.

Sound	Choose the quality of sound or disable sound.

Update File Manager	Update the File Manager Windows


Files to zip

This dialog box gives access to previously dropped files. You can pick one or more files from the list box to be included in the zip or removed from the list, using the buttons at the bottom. If no files are selected and you press either the zip or remove button you will be given the opportunity to act on all of them. Files included in a zip are automatically removed from the list of files to zip. For convenience all files are selected when entering this dialog. A default pathname, that you can change, is given. If the pathname for the zip file already exist, you will be asked if you would like to destroy the old zip file or add the files to it.


Zip file

When a single zip file is dropped on Zip It, you can either include it to the list of files to zip or unzip the file. The dialog box has buttons for these two options, 'Add' and 'Unzip'. You can pick one or more files from the list box to be extracted. If no files are selected you will be given the opportunity to extract all of them. For convenience all files are selected when entering this dialog. A default path for extracted files is given but can be changed. If you specify a path that has a subdirectory in it, you should not include a trailing '\'.

The information about selected file(s) gives sizes of the file(s) in compress and uncompressed form. If more than one file is selected the sizes are the total for the selected files. Date and time are only given if a single file is selected.


Path to executables

Here you specify the path to the executables PKZIP.EXE and PKUNZIP.EXE. They must reside in the same subdirectory. If the path to these executables is included in your PATH statement, you can leave this field blank. If you specify a path that has a subdirectory in it, you should not include a trailing '\'.


Zipping

These options affect how PKZip will zip your files.

Store file paths

This tells PKZip to include the full pathname of all the files added to the zip file.

Recurse subdirectories

This tells PKZip to include all the subdirectories found under directories that you have dropped on Zip It. If you do not check this option, only files directly under the directories dropped on Zip It will be included in the zip.

Store recursed dir paths

This tells PKZip to include the partial path of subdirectories found under directories you have dropped on Zip It. This option is only valid if the Recurse subdirectories option is checked and has no effect if the Store files paths option is checked, since full paths will be included.

Default path for zip file

Here you specify a default, existing path where you wish to have the zip files created. You will always be able to override this default path when creating the zip file. If you specify a path that has a subdirectory in it, you should not include a trailing '\'. If you leave it blank, Zip It will query the File manager for the current path and use it as the default. You will always be able to override this path when zipping files.

Path for temporary files

Here you specify an existing path for temporary files. You should specify your fastest disk drive to speed up unzipping. If you specify a path that has a subdirectory in it, you should not include a trailing '\'. If you leave it blank, the same directory as Zip It will be used for temporary files.


Unzipping

These options affect how PKUnzip will unzip your files.

Create directories

This tells PKUnzip to recreate the directory structure included in the zip file.

Default path for extracted files

Here you specify a default, existing path where you would like PKUnzip to put extracted files. If you specify a path that has a subdirectory in it, you should not include a trailing '\'. If you leave it blank, Zip It will query the File manager for the current path and use it as the default. You will always be able to override this path when unzipping files.


Files

Show sending

The Show sending option is enabled by default. A window will pop up after you have dropped files on Zip It displaying the names of the files being sent to the zipper. You also can cancel the on going operation using the provided button.

Show on drop

The Show on drop option is enabled by default. The files to zip dialog box will be opened automatically when you drop files on Zip It. If you build your zip using multiple drops, you may want to turn this option off and call the files to zip dialog box by the menu or by double clicking on the icon.


Sound

Sound options enables you to turn of the sound or choose between 8 bits or 16 bits sound if you have a sound card that supports it.


Update File Manager

This option is enabled by default. Zip It tells the File Manager to update it's Windows after calling PKZip or PKUnzip. Since these programs are run under DOS, the File Manager is not aware when new files are created. This can be a long process and you may wish to do it manually. If so, uncheck this option. To do it manually, you can either press F5 in the File Manager's Window(s) you want to update or simply go out of then back into the subdirectory you want to update.

You may also have Windows track any changes to the file system while in DOS by changing the setting of 'FileSysChange' in section '386Enh' of SYSTEM.INI to 'on'. You can use notepad to edit your SYSTEM.INI file. It should then look like this:

[386Enh]

<other entries>

FileSysChange=on

<other entries>

You must restart Windows for this setting to take effect. You should uncheck the 'Update File Manager' option so the File Manager will not get updated twice. You should be aware that 'FileSysChange' affects every DOS program under Windows. Microsoft warns that 'Enabling this setting can slow down system performance significantly'.