To create a new, empty folder, follow these steps:
1. Open the Windows Explorer window (such as Documents or Computer) in
which the new folder is to appear.
2. Click the New Folder button on the window’s toolbar.
If the Classic menus are displayed along the top of the Explorer window
immediately above the taskbar, you can also choose File➪New➪Folder or,
if not, press Alt+FWF.
3. Replace the temporary folder name (New Folder) by first typing a name of
your choosing and then pressing Enter.

To create an empty file that holds a certain type of information, follow these
steps:
1. Open the Windows Explorer window where the new file is required.
2. Right-click a blank area in the window’s display area and then choose New
from the shortcut menu that appears.
If the Classic menus are displayed in the Explorer window, you can also
choose File➪New from the menu bar; if not, press Alt+FW.
3. Choose the type of file you want to create (such as Microsoft Office Word Document, Microsoft Office Excel Worksheet, Text Document, Briefcase,and so on) from the New submenu.

4. Replace the temporary filename (such as New Microsoft Word Document) by typing a name of your choosing and pressing Enter.

If you’re running short on hard drive space, you can conserve precious free space by creating compressed folders that automatically compress every file
and subfolder that you put into them.

To create a blank compressed folder,follow these steps:
1. In Windows Explorer, navigate to where you want the new compressed folder to be.

2. Right-click in a blank area anywhere in the central part of the window’s display area and then choose New from the shortcut menu that appears.
Click Compressed (Zipped) Folder on its continuation menu. 

If the Classic menus are displayed in the Explorer window, you can also choose File➪New➪Compressed (Zipped) Folder.

If not, press Alt+FW and then click Compressed (Zipped) folder on the continuation menu.

Windows creates a new folder icon (sporting a zipper to indicate its special zip-type compression abilities) that sports the temporary filename New Compressed (Zipped) Folder.

3. Replace the temporary filename, New Compressed (Zipped) Folder, by typing your own filename; press Enter. 

After creating a compressed folder, you can copy or move files and folders into it just as you would a regular file folder.

As you copy or move files or folders, Windows 7 compresses their contents.

You can then copy compressed folders to removable media, such as CD-ROMs and flash drives.

You can also attach them to e-mail messages.

Note that Windows 7 automatically appends the .zip file extension to the name you give a compressed folder as a way to identify the folder as one containing zipped-up files.

Of course, you must make sure the Hide Extensions

For Known File Types check box on the View tab of the Folder Options dialog box is deselected in order for this filename extension to be displayed in Windows Explorer.

Because the files placed in a compressed folder automatically open in read-only mode, you may need to extract them (that is, decompress them) so that you can again edit their contents.

To extract files from a compressed folder, follow these steps:

1. Open the window in Windows Explorer that contains the compressed folder whose files you want to extract.

2. Right-click the compressed folder (remember, its icon should sport a zipper down the front) and then click Extract All on its shortcut menu.
If the Classic menus are displayed in the Explorer window, you can perform this step by clicking the compressed folder’s icon and then choosing
File➪Extract All. If not, press Alt+FT. 

Windows 7 then opens an Extract Compressed (Zipped) Folders dialog box, where you designate the folder into which the extracted files are to
be copied.

3. (Optional) Replace the path and the filename of the compressed folder in the Files Will Be Extracted to This Folder text box with the pathname of
the folder in which you want to store the extracted (decompressed) files.

To browse to the folder in which you want the extracted files copied, click the Browse button, select the (destination) folder in the outline of your
computer system, and click OK.

To extract the files in their original compressed folder, don’t replace the path and filename for the compressed folder that appears in this text box. Just be aware that the only way to recompress the files that you extract in the compressed folder is to first move them out of the folder and then move them back in!

4. Click the Extract button at the bottom of the Select a Destination and Extract Files dialog box to begin extracting the files. 

As soon as Windows 7 finishes extracting the files, it opens the destination folder displaying the uncompressed files.