Just How do You Find inside Zip Files?

Is there any way to find inside zip files? Going through the contents of zip files, just to make sure that it does contain the files that you are looking for, can be very tedious. And when you do not have all the time in the world to spare, then this could become more than tedious – frustrating even. What is even more ironic about this is that the act of archiving and compressing files is so easy and so fast, while finding files inside these compressed folders takes a lot of energy and time on your part.

Zip folders that are placed inside storage devices, like your regular hard disk or your USB drives are browsed by extracting their contents when you are looking for a specific file. There really is nothing wrong with this process because you can easily extract the contents in a simple click of your mouse. The problem is in the fact that when you want to return the folder to its source drive or its original state or directory, this would take up much of your time. This interference is all right, if you are not pressed for time. People in the corporate world usually are so there must be something that can be done to allocate one’s time better, right?

The two operating systems that support zip files are Windows and Macintosh. Of the two, most of the problems that have surfaced are related to the Windows’ side of the fence, particularly because there are more people who prefer Windows to Mac. For these users, two common problems plague them. The first one involves the search assistant that comes with Windows’ built-in search engine. When you use this search engine, you need to specify and include the .zip extension in inputting the file that you are looking for. Only then will the zip file be retrieved by the search engine. This is quite a hassle on the corporate executive who is always on the go. The same goes for archived files as well.

The second problem is when the operating system itself treats the zip folders as regular files. This is a common problem amongst users who have Windows XP for their operating system. XP’s search assistant does not really require you to specify the .zip extension when making the search. The problem lies in the fact that the search engine goes through the regular folders as well, not just the zip folders. The result? A longer and more tedious search party takes place. Because of this, users prefer to just extract the files so that it would be faster to locate them.

The good thing about technology and innovation is that they provide handy solutions to cater to our every need. For this problem, there are applications that now allow you to find inside zip files as easily as if the folders themselves are not compressed. You are actually given snippets of the files that have been compressed. This way, you can see for yourself if a particular zip file does contain the files that you are looking for.