PKZIP (Portable File Compression/Decompression Software) is a software utility quite influential in introducing the currently popular ZIP file type to the world. PKZIP was first written by Phil Katz and marketed by his business partner PKWARE, Inc., with both having both of his initials – “PK”. The name PKZIP (in both languages) is a reference to the Zip logo and lipstick used by the software. In other words, postcodes that are sent via email are converted to a “PKZ” code, which is how it is accessed and read on Windows computers.

Although it sounds rather complicated, to put it simply, PKZIP works on the basis of “ZIP and lip-stick” format files. In fact, these are just files that were located in different ways and had the extension. PKZIP files, as they are commonly known, are simply compressed files, compressed and organized in many different ways. In other words, when you email a document with a .txt extension, the file ends up as a .txt file along with the extension. PKZIP files are plain text files with a . PKZIP files have the same format but are compressed into a .zip archive. What makes all this possible is the fact that many computer systems compress documents using the Zip method. Therefore, all you have to do to open such a file is double-click on it and view the compressed file, as shown in Figure 1.

Compressed files are usually stored in the user’s temporary files and then sent to their destination. To send a file this way, the user simply uninstalls the Zip application and then reopens the Zip file. This will cause the directory where the converted files are stored to become available. At this point, you can either unpack the files to their normal state or save them for future use by zipping them. Using the decompression software required for this is usually very simple.