Many of the screensavers, programs, and multimedia files that you can download from the internet are large files. Click here to learn about downloading files from the internet using Netscape. In order to send their files over the internet as quickly as possible, many people use a compression program that takes one or more files and compacts them and stores them in a single file. This new file contains the compressed versions of all of the original files and is called an archive .
Archives are great because they allow larger files to be sent over the internet in less time.
However, once on your hard drive, you must expand an archive back to its original size in order to use the files inside. There are several types of archives. Each one is made with a certain compression program, and you must have the corresponding decompression program in order to use the original files. The following table lists the two most common kinds or archives on the internet, as well as links to websites that have the decompression programs. If you have ideas for QuickTakes that you would like to see us develop, e-mail us and tell us about your idea.