That means that all you have to do is click on the file, and it will start the install program. You then follow the steps given on the screen to complete the installation. If the file that you downloaded ends in .zip , it is a compressed or zip file . File compression makes files smaller so that they take up less space on a hard disk. It is like squeezing all the air out of a pillow to fit it into a smaller space.
Compression also reduces the size of the files so that they transmit more quickly over phone lines.
However, compressed programs have to be decompressed in order to be useful. Some zipped files unzip automatically when you double-click on them. So always try that first. Luckily, such programs are readily available on the web. Two of the best Windows programs are PKWare Inc.'s PKZip and Nico Mak Computing's WinZip .