Zip Control

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The Zip control implements a PKZip-compatible Zip compressor and decompressor.

Syntax

Zip

Remarks

The control uses the Deflate algorithm specified in RFC 1951 for compression, and produces and reads output compatible with PKZip, WinZip, etc.

To create a new archive, first set the ArchiveFile property to the name of the archive to be created. Then, specify the files to be compressed either by invoking IncludeFiles, or by adding a new object to the Files collection and setting the values of the FileDecompressedName and FileCompressedName. fields. Finally, call the Compress method to create the archive.

To decompress an existing archive, set ArchiveFile to the name of the archive to be decompressed. The ExtractToPath property may be set, and then calling the ExtractAll method will decompress all files in the archive to this path.

For finer control, the Scan method should be used to read the file information stored in the archive. This will fill out the information in the Files collection. The values of FileDecompressedName may then be changed if desired. Finally, ExtractAll may be used to decompress the entire archive, or Extract may be used for finer control.

Data may be streamed out by setting WriteToProgressEvent to true. Then, the Progress event may be trapped to retrieve the data.

Example (Creating an Archive)

ZipControl.ArchiveFile = "c:\test.zip" ZipControl.RecurseSubdirectories = true ZipControl.IncludeFiles("c:\foo\*") ZipControl.Compress()

Example (Extracting from an Archive)

ZipControl.ArchiveFile = "c:\temp.zip" ZipControl.ExtractToPath = "c:\extracted\" ZipControl.ExtractAll()

Property List

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The following is the full list of the properties of the control with short descriptions. Click on the links for further details.

Method List

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The following is the full list of the methods of the control with short descriptions. Click on the links for further details.

Event List

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The following is the full list of the events fired by the control with short descriptions. Click on the links for further details.

Config Settings

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The following is a list of config settings for the control with short descriptions. Click on the links for further details.

ArchiveFile Property (Zip Control)

The name of the zip, gzip, tar, or jar archive.

Syntax

zipcontrol.ArchiveFile[=string]

Default Value

""

Remarks

This property specifies the name of the archive to be read or written. This property is required when extracting files.

When Scan, Extract, or ExtractAll is invoked, the file specified by ArchiveFile will be opened for read. If the file does not exist, a trappable error will be generated.

When Compress is called, the file named by ArchiveFile will be written; if a file of this name already exists the Overwrite event will be fired. If ArchiveFile is set to the empty string (""), the archive will not be written to disk, and will be provided only through the Progress event.

The filename may be specified with or without a path. Paths may be relative or absolute, and should be specified in the format native to the host operating system. The filename should be specified with the appropriate extension (such as "zip"); an extension will not automatically be appended by the control.

If the file cannot be read, or written, as appropriate, a trappable error will be generated.

Example (Creating an Archive)

ZipControl.ArchiveFile = "c:\test.zip" ZipControl.RecurseSubdirectories = true ZipControl.IncludeFiles("c:\foo\*") ZipControl.Compress()

Note: an archive already open for read may be closed by setting ArchiveFile to the empty string ("").

Data Type

String

CompressionLevel Property (Zip Control)

The compression level to use.

Syntax

zipcontrol.CompressionLevel[=integer]

Default Value

4

Remarks

This property specifies the level of compression to be used, between 0 and 6. Higher values will cause the control to compress better; lower values will cause the control to compress faster. A value of 0 will store the file without compression.

Set the level of CompressionLevel in the BeginFile event to apply different levels of compression to different files.

Data Type

Integer

CompressionMethod Property (Zip Control)

The compression method to use.

Syntax

zipcontrol.CompressionMethod[=integer]

Possible Values

cmDeflate(0), 
cmPPMd(1), 
cmBzip2(2)

Default Value

0

Remarks

This property specifies the compression method to use. By default the control uses the Deflate compression method (a value of 0). Supported values are:

• 0 (cmDeflate - default)
• 1 (cmPPMd)
• 2 (cmBzip2)

Data Type

Integer

EncryptionAlgorithm Property (Zip Control)

The algorithm used to encrypt files written to the archive.

Syntax

zipcontrol.EncryptionAlgorithm[=integer]

Possible Values

eaDefault(0), 
eaAESWeak(1), 
eaAESStrong(2), 
eaAESMaximum(3)

Default Value

0

Remarks

The algorithm used to encrypt files written to the archive.

Note that files will only be encrypted if Password is set. By default the control will use standard zip encryption if Password is set, and will not encrypt data otherwise.

The control supports the use of AES, the Advanced Encryption Standard, as well as standard Zip encryption. The default encryption algorithm is the algorithm introduced in version 2.0 of the Zip specification, and is compatible with virtually all other zip utilities. However, this algorithm is considered weak and should not be used to protect sensitive data.

AES is a U.S. government standard cleared to protect even the most sensitive data. The file format used to create AES-encrypted files is designed to be compatible with WinZip 9.0. AES-encrypted files created by the control may or may not be compatible with other Zip utilities.

The control supports the use of AES with key lengths of 128, 192, or 256 bits. Note that even with the weakest (128-bit) keys AES is much more secure than standard Zip encryption.

If you use strong or maximum AES encryption the control will generate a unique salt value and cryptographic key for each file encrypted. If you use weak encryption the control will use the same salt for each file in the archive. If you are encrypting a large number of files this will have a substantial effect on performance. Set the AESGenerateUniqueKeys configuration setting to configure the salt generation independent of the key length.

If using AES encryption it is important to choose a good Password. For 128-bit keys it is recommended that your password be 32 characters long, and for 256-bit keys, 64 characters.

Important: Note that AES encryption only encrypts the contents of encrypted files within the Zip archive; it does not prevent an attacker from reading the names of files in the archive, or from adding or deleting files to or from the archive. To prevent this consider first storing your files in an unencrypted zip file, and then storing this zip file in another, AES-encrypted zip file.

Property values:

Data Type

Integer

ExcludedFiles Property (Zip Control)

A list of files to exclude.

Syntax

zipcontrol.ExcludedFiles[=string]

Default Value

""

Remarks

This property specifies files that should be excluded when Compress or Extract is invoked. When Compress is invoked, each value of FileDecompressedName in Files will be compared to ExcludedFiles, and each file will be excluded if the name matches. When Extract is called, each value of FileCompressedName in Files matching the parameter to Extract will be compared to ExcludedFiles, and will be excluded if appropriate. Calling the ExtractAll method will ignore this property and extract all files in the archive.

This property may be set to one or more filenames or directory names. Files may be specified with or without a path, and with or without wildcards. If a path is specified, files in the indicated directory will be excluded; subdirectories will be recursed into if RecurseSubdirectories is true. If no path is specified but wildcards are, matching files in all directories will be excluded. If a single filename without a path is specified, it must correspond exactly to the appropriate value of FileCompressedName or FileDecompressedName.

Directories should end with a slash ("/" or "\", as appropriate.) If a directory is specified, all files and subdirectories in the specified directory will be excluded.

A pipe character ("|") should be used to separate multiple file or directory names.

The following examples illustrate the use of the property:

Example

ZipControl.ArchiveFile = "c:\test.zip" ZipControl.IncludeFiles("c:\test\*") ZipControl.ExcludedFiles = "*.tmp" ZipControl.Compress() Example

ZipControl.ArchiveFile = "c:\test.tar" ZipControl.Scan() ZipControl.ExcludedFiles = "*.bak | backup/" ZipControl.ExtractToPath = "c:\temp" ZipControl.Extract("*") As per the examples, the property should be specified differently for compression and decompression. When invoking Compress, the format of ExcludedFiles should correspond to that of the local file system. When invoking Extract the format should correspond to standard (UNIX) format, and should not contain drive letters or backslashes.

You may exclude files based on their attributes as well: See the ExcludedAttributes configuration setting for more information.

If the property is set to the empty string, no files will be excluded. This property is never reset automatically, so be sure to reset it manually if using a single instance of the control for both compression and extraction. Failure to do so may result in I/O errors or unexpected results.

Data Type

String

ExtractToPath Property (Zip Control)

A base path to decompress to.

Syntax

zipcontrol.ExtractToPath[=string]

Default Value

""

Remarks

Setting the ExtractToPath property affects the operation of the Extract and ExtractAll methods. Setting this property to a nonempty string will cause all decompressed files to be written to the specified path. If pathnames are given in the values of FileDecompressedName they will be regarded as relative to ExtractToPath.

If the specified directory does not exist, it will be created when extraction is done.

ExtractToPath should always be specified in the format native to the host operating system, and with a trailing slash or backslash. If the path is specified otherwise, it will be immediately converted and stored in the converted format. For example, "/temp" would be immediately converted to "\temp\" on a Windows system.

Example (Extracting from an Archive)

ZipControl.ArchiveFile = "c:\temp.zip" ZipControl.ExtractToPath = "c:\extracted\" ZipControl.ExtractAll()

Example - Adding Files Dim i as Integer ZipControl.ArchiveFile = "c:\test.zip" ZipControl.Scan() For i = 0 to ZipControl.Files.Count - 1 ZipControl.Files(i).DecompressedName(i) = "c:\temp\" + ZipControl.Files(i).DecompressedName Next i ZipControl.ExtractToPath = "" ZipControl.ExtractAll() ZipControl.IncludeFiles("c:\extra\*") ZipControl.Compress()

Data Type

String

FileCount Property (Zip Control)

The number of records in the File arrays.

Syntax

zipcontrol.FileCount[=integer]

Default Value

0

Remarks

This property controls the size of the following arrays:

• FileAttributes
• FileComment
• FileCompressedDate
• FileCompressedName
• FileCompressedSize
• FileCompressionLevel
• FileCRC
• FileDecompressedName
• FileDecompressedSize
• FileEncryptionAlgorithm
• FileHash
• FileInputData
• FilePassword
• FilePasswordRequired

The array indices start at 0 and end at FileCount - 1.

This property is not available at design time.

Data Type

Integer

FileAttributes Property (Zip Control)

The attributes of the files to be compressed or decompressed.

Syntax

zipcontrol.FileAttributes(FileIndex)[=integer]

Default Value

0

Remarks

The attributes of the files to be compressed or decompressed. It will then be written to the archive during compression and to the file system during extraction.

If desired, you may change the value of Attributes before compressing or decompressing.

The property is a bitmask of flags, corresponding to the MS-DOS directory byte:

In the Java Edition, due to limitations of the JRE, the effect of this property is limited. When including files, only the Hidden and Readonly bits will be read from the file system, and during extraction only the Readonly attribute will be written.

The FileIndex parameter specifies the index of the item in the array. The size of the array is controlled by the FileCount property.

This property is not available at design time.

Data Type

Integer

FileComment Property (Zip Control)

Specifies a comment for the entry in the zip file.

Syntax

zipcontrol.FileComment(FileIndex)[=string]

Default Value

""

Remarks

Specifies a comment for the entry in the zip file. Before compression, set This property to include comments in this zip file. After an archive has been scanned, This property will contain any comments the zip file contains.

The FileIndex parameter specifies the index of the item in the array. The size of the array is controlled by the FileCount property.

This property is not available at design time.

Data Type

String

FileCompressedDate Property (Zip Control)

The date and time of the entry, as stored within the archive.

Syntax

zipcontrol.FileCompressedDate(FileIndex)[=long64]

Default Value

0

Remarks

The date and time of the entry, as stored within the archive.

FileCompressedDate contains the last modified date of the file, as stored within the archive (it does not generally correspond to when the file was compressed).

FileCompressedDate is returned in a platform-specific format. The Java,C++, and most other Editions will return the number of milliseconds since January 1, 1970, 00:00:00. This value may be passed directly to the java.util.Date constructor to create a java.util.Date object representing this date.

The .NET Edition will return the number of ticks, or 100-nanosecond intervals, since January 1, 0001, 00:00:00. This value may be passed directly to the System.DateTime constructor to create a System.DateTime object representing this date.

Reading the value of this property will return a meaningful value only after the archive has been successfully scanned or decompressed, and only if the values of ArchiveFile, Files collection, and FileCompressedName have not been changed since. If a meaningful value is not available this property will return a value of 0.

NOTE: This may be set accordingly when the FileInputStream property is set to a valid stream to input the data for the current file. If not set, the default, 0, is used. Otherwise the value is read from disk.

The FileIndex parameter specifies the index of the item in the array. The size of the array is controlled by the FileCount property.

This property is not available at design time.

Data Type

Long64

FileCompressedName Property (Zip Control)

The file name of the current file, as stored inside of the archive.

Syntax

zipcontrol.FileCompressedName(FileIndex)[=string]

Default Value

""

Remarks

The file name of the current file, as stored inside of the archive. This may be the same as in FileDecompressedName, but is not required to be.

All paths are stored in the archive in standard (UNIX) format. Pathnames specified in the host operating system's format will be immediately converted.

This field should generally be set with a relative path or with no path at all. The exact interpretation of the path is left to the decompression software; generally, pathnames will be interpreted as relative to a base directory, and these subdirectories will be created as needed. Absolute pathnames (paths beginning with a / character) will not be interpreted correctly by the control, and may or may not be interpreted correctly by other decompression software.

Paths should be specified in standard (UNIX) format. They may also be specified in the format native to the host operating system, in which case they will be immediately converted.

Example

ZipControl.ArchiveFile = "c:\test.zip" ZipControl.Files.Add(new ZIPFile()) ZipControl.Files[0].DecompressedName = "c:\test\ipworkszip\temp\test.txt" ZipControl.Files[0].CompressedName = "readme.txt" ZipControl.Compress()

The FileIndex parameter specifies the index of the item in the array. The size of the array is controlled by the FileCount property.

This property is not available at design time.

Data Type

String

FileCompressedSize Property (Zip Control)

The size of the compressed data, as compressed within the archive.

Syntax

zipcontrol.FileCompressedSize(FileIndex)

Default Value

-1

Remarks

The size of the compressed data, as compressed within the archive. Headers, footers, etc., are not included in the size.

Reading the value of this property will return a meaningful value only after the archive has been compressed, scanned, or decompressed, and only if the values of ArchiveFile, or Files have not been changed since. If a meaningful value is not available this property will return a value of -1.

The FileIndex parameter specifies the index of the item in the array. The size of the array is controlled by the FileCount property.

This property is read-only and not available at design time.

Data Type

Long64

FileCompressionLevel Property (Zip Control)

The compression level to use for the file.

Syntax

zipcontrol.FileCompressionLevel(FileIndex)[=integer]

Default Value

4

Remarks

The compression level to use for the file. This property specifies the level of compression to be used, between 0 and 6. Higher values will cause the control to compress better; lower values will cause the control to compress faster. A value of 0 will store the file without compression.

The FileIndex parameter specifies the index of the item in the array. The size of the array is controlled by the FileCount property.

This property is not available at design time.

Data Type

Integer

FileCRC Property (Zip Control)

The CRC value for the specified file found in the archive.

Syntax

zipcontrol.FileCRC(FileIndex)

Default Value

0

Remarks

The FileCRC value for the specified file found in the archive. This value is populated after compression or decompression.

The FileIndex parameter specifies the index of the item in the array. The size of the array is controlled by the FileCount property.

This property is read-only and not available at design time.

Data Type

Long64

FileDecompressedName Property (Zip Control)

The name of the file in the archive, as stored on the file system, outside the archive.

Syntax

zipcontrol.FileDecompressedName(FileIndex)[=string]

Default Value

""

Remarks

The name of the file in the archive, as stored on the file system, outside the archive.

When compressing files, This property should be specified with a path, if necessary, to allow the file to be found by the control. If the file cannot be found during compression, a trappable error will be generated, and the archive will not be correctly written.

When decompressing files, the property indicates where the file should be written. After the archive is scanned, the values of FileCompressedName and DecompressedName will be set to the exact filenames found in the archive. The value of DecompressedName may then be changed if desired.

If DecompressedName is set to an empty string before extraction, the file will not be written to disk at all. It will still be written to the Progress event if WriteToProgressEvent is set to true.

If DecompressedName is set to an empty string before compression, the file will be skipped, and not written to the archive.

A base path for decompression may be specified by setting the ExtractToPath property. If ExtractToPath is set to a non-empty string, the files will be decompressed to the directory specified in ExtractToPath. If the value of FileDecompressedName contains a pathname it will be regarded as relative to ExtractToPath.

Paths on the local file system should be specified in the format native to the host operating system. They may also be specified in standard (UNIX) format, in which case they will be immediately converted.

Example

ZipControl.ArchiveFile = "c:\test.tar" ZipControl.Scan() ZipControl.ExtractToPath = "c:\temp\" ZipControl.Files[1].DecompressedName = "test\temp.out" ZipControl.Extract(ZipControl.Files[1].CompressedName) Incorrect Example ZipControl.ExtractToPath = "c:\temp\" ZipControl.Files[1].DecompressedName = "c:\temp\test\temp.out" 'The file would be extracted to c:\temp\c:\temp\test\temp.out

The FileIndex parameter specifies the index of the item in the array. The size of the array is controlled by the FileCount property.

This property is not available at design time.

Data Type

String

FileDecompressedSize Property (Zip Control)

The size of the file, as decompressed outside the archive.

Syntax

zipcontrol.FileDecompressedSize(FileIndex)

Default Value

-1

Remarks

The size of the file, as decompressed outside the archive. If an archive is open for read (i.e. has been scanned or decompressed), this information will be read from the archive headers. If an archive is not open for read, the control will retrieve the information for the corresponding value of FileDecompressedName from the local file system.

A value of -1 will be returned in case of an I/O error.

The FileIndex parameter specifies the index of the item in the array. The size of the array is controlled by the FileCount property.

This property is read-only and not available at design time.

Data Type

Long64

FileEncryptionAlgorithm Property (Zip Control)

The algorithm used to encrypt the specified file written to the archive.

Syntax

zipcontrol.FileEncryptionAlgorithm(FileIndex)[=integer]

Possible Values

eaDefault(0), 
eaAESWeak(1), 
eaAESStrong(2), 
eaAESMaximum(3)

Default Value

0

Remarks

The algorithm used to encrypt the specified file written to the archive.

Note that the file will only be encrypted if FilePassword is set. By default the control will use standard zip encryption if FilePassword is set, and will not encrypt data otherwise.

The control supports the use of AES, the Advanced Encryption Standard, as well as standard Zip encryption. The default encryption algorithm is the algorithm introduced in version 2.0 of the Zip specification, and is compatible with virtually all other zip utilities. However, this algorithm is considered weak and should not be used to protect sensitive data.

AES is a U.S. government standard cleared to protect even the most sensitive data. The file format used to create AES-encrypted files is designed to be compatible with WinZip 9.0. AES-encrypted files created by the control may or may not be compatible with other Zip utilities.

The control supports the use of AES with key lengths of 128, 192, or 256 bits. Note that even with the weakest (128-bit) keys AES is much more secure than standard Zip encryption.

If you use strong or maximum AES encryption the control will generate a unique salt value and cryptographic key for each file encrypted. If you use weak encryption the control will use the same salt for each file in the archive. If you are encrypting a large number of files this will have a substantial effect on performance. Set the AESGenerateUniqueKeys configuration setting to configure the salt generation independent of the key length.

If using AES encryption it is important to choose a good FilePassword. For 128-bit keys it is recommended that your password be 32 characters long, and for 256-bit keys, 64 characters.

Important: Note that AES encryption only encrypts the contents of encrypted files within the Zip archive; it does not prevent an attacker from reading the names of files in the archive, or from adding or deleting files to or from the archive. To prevent this consider first storing your files in an unencrypted zip file, and then storing this zip file in another, AES-encrypted zip file.

To set the FileEncryptionAlgorithm or FilePassword properties for the entire archive, use the EncryptionAlgorithm or Password properties.

Property values:

The FileIndex parameter specifies the index of the item in the array. The size of the array is controlled by the FileCount property.

This property is not available at design time.

Data Type

Integer

FileHash Property (Zip Control)

The computed hash for the specified File.

Syntax

zipcontrol.FileHash(FileIndex)

Default Value

""

Remarks

The computed hash for the specified File.

This property is populated with the hash value computed for the specified file after calling Compress. This property is only applicable if the FileHashAlgorithm configuration setting is set.

The FileIndex parameter specifies the index of the item in the array. The size of the array is controlled by the FileCount property.

This property is read-only and not available at design time.

Data Type

String

FileInputData Property (Zip Control)

When This property is set, the control will read in the data from This property instead of reading from the file contained in the DecompressedName property.

Syntax

zipcontrol.FileInputData(FileIndex)[=string]

Default Value

""

Remarks

When This property is set, the control will read in the data from This property instead of reading from the file contained in the FileDecompressedName property.

The FileIndex parameter specifies the index of the item in the array. The size of the array is controlled by the FileCount property.

To read or write binary data to the property, a Variant (Byte Array) version is provided in .FileInputDataB.

This property is not available at design time.

Data Type

Binary String

FilePassword Property (Zip Control)

This property specifies the case-sensitive password used to encrypt or decrypt the current file.

Syntax

zipcontrol.FilePassword(FileIndex)[=string]

Default Value

""

Remarks

This property specifies the case-sensitive password used to encrypt or decrypt the current file. If set to an empty string, no password is used.

For archives that have multiple files with the same password, you may use the Password property instead of the Password property of the Files collection. You may also use FilePasswordRequired property to see if a file requires a password after an archive has been scanned.

In this release, streaming out of encrypted archives is not supported. When compressing, WriteToProgressEvent must be set to false if Password is set.

Example (Compressing an Archive)

ZipControl.ArchiveFile = "c:\test.zip" ZipControl.RecurseSubdirectories = true ZipControl.IncludeFiles("c:\foo\*") ZipControl.Password = "nsoftware" ZipControl.Compress()

The FileIndex parameter specifies the index of the item in the array. The size of the array is controlled by the FileCount property.

This property is not available at design time.

Data Type

String

FilePasswordRequired Property (Zip Control)

This property describes whether or not the current file has been encrypted or not and requires a password to decompress.

Syntax

zipcontrol.FilePasswordRequired(FileIndex)

Default Value

False

Remarks

This property describes whether or not the current file has been encrypted or not and requires a password to decompress. It is populated after the archive has been scanned.

The FileIndex parameter specifies the index of the item in the array. The size of the array is controlled by the FileCount property.

This property is read-only and not available at design time.

Data Type

Boolean

OverwriteFiles Property (Zip Control)

Whether or not to overwrite files.

Syntax

zipcontrol.OverwriteFiles[=boolean]

Default Value

True

Remarks

If this property is set to true, existing files will be overwritten when decompressing. When Extract or ExtractAll is called, each file specified in Files will be checked for existence. If a file exists, the Overwrite event will be fired, and the files will be overwritten if OverwriteFiles is set to true.

More precise control of which files should be overwritten may be gained by listening to the Overwrite event and altering its parameters when the event is fired.

This property only affects the operation of Extract and ExtractAll. When compressing files, ArchiveFile will always be overwritten unless the user specifies otherwise in the Overwrite event.

Data Type

Boolean

Password Property (Zip Control)

A password for the zip archive.

Syntax

zipcontrol.Password[=string]

Default Value

""

Remarks

This property specifies the case-sensitive password used to encrypt or decrypt the archive. If set to an empty string, no password is used.

In this release, streaming out of encrypted archives is not supported. When compressing, WriteToProgressEvent must be set to false if Password is set.

Example (Compressing an Archive)

ZipControl.ArchiveFile = "c:\test.zip" ZipControl.RecurseSubdirectories = true ZipControl.IncludeFiles("c:\foo\*") ZipControl.Password = "nsoftware" ZipControl.Compress()

Data Type

String

RecurseSubdirectories Property (Zip Control)

Whether or not to recurse into subdirectories.

Syntax

zipcontrol.RecurseSubdirectories[=boolean]

Default Value

True

Remarks

This property affects the behavior of IncludeFiles and Extract and the meaning of ExcludedFiles. If this property is set to true, IncludeFiles will recurse into all subdirectories whenever it performs a search on the file system.

Be sure RecurseSubdirectories is set to the appropriate value before invoking IncludeFiles, Extract, or Compress; changing the value of this property after method calls will not retroactively alter their effects.

Example (Creating an Archive)

ZipControl.ArchiveFile = "c:\test.zip" ZipControl.RecurseSubdirectories = true ZipControl.IncludeFiles("c:\foo\*") ZipControl.Compress()

Data Type

Boolean

ZipComment Property (Zip Control)

The comment for the entire zip file.

Syntax

zipcontrol.ZipComment[=string]

Default Value

""

Remarks

Specifies a global comment for the zip file. Set this property before invoking Compress to include a comment in the zip file. Read it after invoking Scan to read the zip comment.

Data Type

String

ZipData Property (Zip Control)

(Decompression only) The zip file contents as a byte array.

Syntax

zipcontrol.ZipData[=string]

Default Value

""

Remarks

Normally you should set ArchiveFile before invoking Scan or Extract. If you prefer to read the zip file from memory you may set ZipData instead. ZipData should be set to the entire contents of the zip file; this will allow you to read from the archive without writing any temporary files to disk.

If you would like to extract data from the archive without ever writing to disk you should also set WriteToProgressEvent to true, and after invoking Scan, you should set the value of FileDecompressedName for each file in the Files collection to an empty string. Then, when you invoke Extract (or ExtractAll) the data will be provided in the Progress event.

This property is write-only. Note that modifying a zip file stored in ZipData is not supported, so Append, Delete, etc., will throw exceptions.

To read or write binary data to the property, a Variant (Byte Array) version is provided in .ZipDataB.

This property is not available at design time.

Data Type

Binary String

Abort Method (Zip Control)

Aborts the current operation.

Syntax

zipcontrol.Abort 

Remarks

Abort may be used to immediately interrupt compression or decompression. Any files partially written by the control will be deleted.

In case Append or Delete is aborted the archive will be left in its original state.

AppendFiles Method (Zip Control)

Adds specified files to an existing archive.

Syntax

zipcontrol.AppendFiles 

Remarks

All files contained in the Files collection will be appended to the archive specified by ArchiveFile.

When AppendFiles is called, only those files which are to be added to the archive must exist inside the collection. Note that if you call Scan or Extract, you must empty the collection before adding files to the collection to be appended.

After the file is added, the collection will be updated appropriately.

This method may only be used to add files to an existing archive. To add files to a new archive, the IncludeFiles and Compress methods should be used.

Compress Method (Zip Control)

Creates the compressed archive.

Syntax

zipcontrol.Compress 

Remarks

Invoking Compress creates the archive specified by ArchiveFile. When the method is called, all files specified by the FileDecompressedName field of the Files collection will be compressed and written to ArchiveFile.

The compressed data may be streamed out by setting WriteToProgressEvent to true. If streaming is enabled the compressed data will also be provided via the Progress event. If ArchiveFile is set to an empty string the archive will be written only to this event.

The files to compress are specified in the Files collection. The file names are specified by FileCompressedName and FileDecompressedName. These should be specified before invoking Compress, either manually or by invoking IncludeFiles.

The BeginFile and EndFile events will be fired as files are processed, and the Progress event will be fired as data is compressed.

Existing files will be overwritten by the control if OverwriteFiles is set to true. Finer control over which files are overwritten may be gained by trapping the Overwrite event.

Example (Creating an Archive)

ZipControl.ArchiveFile = "c:\test.zip" ZipControl.RecurseSubdirectories = true ZipControl.IncludeFiles("c:\foo\*") ZipControl.Compress()

Config Method (Zip Control)

Sets or retrieves a configuration setting.

Syntax

zipcontrol.Config ConfigurationString

Remarks

Config is a generic method available in every control. It is used to set and retrieve configuration settings for the control.

These settings are similar in functionality to properties, but they are rarely used. In order to avoid "polluting" the property namespace of the control, access to these internal properties is provided through the Config method.

To set a configuration setting named PROPERTY, you must call Config("PROPERTY=VALUE"), where VALUE is the value of the setting expressed as a string. For boolean values, use the strings "True", "False", "0", "1", "Yes", or "No" (case does not matter).

To read (query) the value of a configuration setting, you must call Config("PROPERTY"). The value will be returned as a string.

Delete Method (Zip Control)

Deletes one or more files from an existing archive.

Syntax

zipcontrol.Delete FileNames

Remarks

Delete deletes one or more files from an existing archive, without reprocessing the compressed data. The archive will be opened immediately, and the file(s) will immediately be removed permanently from the archive.

The list of filenames should be specified exactly as when calling Extract:

Filenames may be set to one or more filenames or directory names. Files may be specified with or without a path, and with or without wildcards. If a path is specified, files in the indicated directory will be affected; subdirectories will be recursed into if RecurseSubdirectories is true. If no path is specified but wildcards are, matching files in all directories will be affected. If a single filename without a path is specified, it must correspond exactly to the appropriate value of FileCompressedName.

Directories should end with a slash ("/"). If a directory is specified, all files and subdirectories in the specified directory will be affected.

A pipe character ("|") should be used to separate multiple file or directory names. Alternatively, the method may be invoked repeatedly.

The ExcludedFiles property may be used to further limit the files to be deleted. When Delete is used to delete a directory or match wildcards, each file to be deleted is first compared against ExcludedFiles, and any files marked as excluded will not be deleted. When Delete is used to delete a single file, the value of ExcludedFiles will be ignored.

When the method is invoked, the Scan method will first be invoked, if it has not been invoked already. Note that if IncludeFiles has been invoked, or if the values of FileCompressedName and FileDecompressedName for each file in the Files collection have been set, this information will be reset by the call to Scan.

When deleting multiple files, the control will operate most efficiently if all filenames are passed to Delete in a single invocation of the method. Invoking Delete repeatedly on large archives is not recommended.

Invoking Delete will only remove files from ArchiveFile; it will not delete the files from the disk.

Example

ZipControl.ArchiveFile = "c:\\test.zip" ZipControl.Delete("default_readme.txt"); ZipControl.Append("\\mydir\\my_readme.txt", "my_readme.txt")

Extract Method (Zip Control)

Extracts a single file, directory, or group of files, from the archive.

Syntax

zipcontrol.Extract FileNames

Remarks

Extract extracts one or more files from the archive. The file(s) will be extracted to the directory specified by ExtractToPath, and given the names found in the archive or specified by the FileDecompressedName of the file in the Files collection.

Filenames may be set to one or more filenames or directory names. Files may be specified with or without a path, and with or without wildcards. If a path is specified, files in the indicated directory will be affected; subdirectories will be recursed into if RecurseSubdirectories is true. If no path is specified but wildcards are, matching files in all directories will be affected. If a single filename without a path is specified, it must correspond exactly to the appropriate value of FileCompressedName.

Directories should end with a slash ("/"). If a directory is specified, all files and subdirectories in the specified directory will be affected.

A pipe character ("|") should be used to separate multiple file or directory names. Alternatively, the method may be invoked repeatedly.

The ExcludedFiles property may be used to further limit the files to be extracted. When Extract is used to extract a directory or match wildcards, each file to be extracted is first compared against ExcludedFiles, and any files marked as excluded will not be extracted. When Extract is used to extract a single file, the value of ExcludedFiles will be ignored.

To extract all files in the archive, the ExtractAll method may be used.

The BeginFile and EndFile events will be fired before and after each file is extracted, and the Progress event will be fired as the data is extracted. If WriteToProgressEvent is set to true, the decompressed data will be streamed out through the Progress event.

Example

ZipControl.ArchiveFile = "c:\test.tar" ZipControl.ExcludedFiles = "*.bak | backup/" ZipControl.ExtractToPath = "c:\temp" ZipControl.Extract("*") Example ZipControl.ArchiveFile = "c:\test.zip" ZipControl.ExcludedFiles = "" ZipControl.ExtractToPath = "c:\temp" ZipControl.Extract("code/") Example ZipControl.ArchiveFile = "c:\test.jar" ZipControl.ExcludedFiles = "*.txt" ZipControl.ExtractToPath = "c:\" ZipControl.Extract("* | docs/readme.txt")

ExtractAll Method (Zip Control)

Extracts all files from the compressed archive.

Syntax

zipcontrol.ExtractAll 

Remarks

ExtractAll extracts all files from the archive. The file(s) will be extracted to the directory specified by ExtractToPath, and given the names found in the archive or specified by the FileDecompressedName field of the file in the Files collection.

If Scan has not been invoked when ExtractAll is called, Scan will automatically be invoked, and the Files collection will be set to the values found in the archive. To manually set the decompressed filenames, Scan should be invoked before setting the FileDecompressedName field.

Invoking this method is equivalent to setting ExcludedFiles to the empty string, and then invoking Extract with "*" as the argument. Calling this method will cause the ExcludedFiles property to be ignored; to extract all files except those specified by ExcludedFiles, call the Extract method with the wildcard "*" as the method parameter instead of calling this method.

The BeginFile and EndFile events will be fired before and after each file is extracted, and the Progress event will be fired as the data is extracted. If WriteToProgressEvent is set to true, the decompressed data will be streamed out through the Progress event.

Example (Extracting from an Archive)

ZipControl.ArchiveFile = "c:\temp.zip" ZipControl.ExtractToPath = "c:\extracted\" ZipControl.ExtractAll()

IncludeFiles Method (Zip Control)

Specifies that the indicated files should be added to the archive.

Syntax

zipcontrol.IncludeFiles FileNames

Remarks

IncludeFiles may be used before Compress, to specify the files to be compressed. Invoking this method populates the Files collection accordingly.

Invoking the method does not create or alter the archive.

The argument should be a pipe ("|") -delimited sequence of one or more filenames. The filenames should be specified with paths if necessary, so that the files may be found on the local file system. The filenames will be stored as is in the FileDecompressedName field, and without a pathname in the FileCompressedName field of the Files collection.

Filenames may include the wildcards '?', '*', and '[ .. ]'. '?' will match any single character, and '*' will match an arbitrary sequence of characters. '[ .. ]' may be used to match any of the characters inside, or a range, such as '[a-z]'. A '\' can be used to escape wildcard characters.

If wildcards are specified, the file system will be scanned and all files matching the specified mask will be added. Moreover, subdirectories will be recursed into if RecurseSubdirectories is set to true. When recursing into subdirectories, relative path information will be stored in FileCompressedName field of the Files collection.

The ExcludedFiles may be used to limit the files to be compressed. This property is checked when Compress is invoked, rather than when IncludeFiles is invoked, so this property may be set before or after invoking IncludeFiles.

Note that invoking IncludeFiles will not reset the control, or remove old values of FileCompressedName and FileDecompressedName. This may be done by first clearing the Files collection.

Example

ZipControl.IncludeFiles("c:\test\* | c:\readme") ZipControl.ExcludedFiles = "*.tmp" ZipControl.Compress()

Reset Method (Zip Control)

Resets the control.

Syntax

zipcontrol.Reset 

Remarks

Reset resets the state of the control. The Files collection will be cleared, all properties will be set to their default values, and any files open will be closed.

Scan Method (Zip Control)

Scans the compressed archive.

Syntax

zipcontrol.Scan 

Remarks

This method will scan the archive specified by ArchiveFile. The number of files and their names and sizes will be determined and written to the Files collection.

After scanning the archive, the values of FileDecompressedName may be changed if desired, and any number of files may be decompressed. The Extract method allows you to decompress files of your choice, and the ExtractAll method will decompress the entire archive.

Changing the values of the FileCompressedName field or the number of files in the Files collection will invalidate the scan. If either of these is changed and Extract or ExtractAll is then called; Scan will automatically be called again, and these values will be reset to their original values.

Calling this method will frequently generate a trappable error if the archive is corrupt. This is not guaranteed, however, as Scan only examines the headers.

Example

Dim i As Integer ZipControl.ArchiveFile = "c:\temp.zip" ZipControl.Scan For i = 0 To ZipControl.FileCount - 1 Debug.Print "File Name: " & ZipControl.FileDecompressedName(i) Debug.Print "File Size: " & ZipControl.FileDecompressedSize(i) Next i

Update Method (Zip Control)

Will update certain files in an archive.

Syntax

zipcontrol.Update FileNames

Remarks

When this method is called, the control will attempt to update files in the specified archive with the current files listed in the files collection. You may use the FileNames parameter to tell the control which files in the collection/archive must be updated.

Filenames may be set to one or more filenames or directory names. Files may be specified with or without a path, and with or without wildcards. If a path is specified, files in the indicated directory will be affected; subdirectories will be recursed into if RecurseSubdirectories is true. If no path is specified but wildcards are, matching files in all directories will be affected. If a single filename without a path is specified, it must correspond exactly to the appropriate value of FileCompressedName.

Directories should end with a slash ("/"). If a directory is specified, all files and subdirectories in the specified directory will be affected.

A pipe character ("|") should be used to separate multiple file or directory names. Alternatively, the method may be invoked repeatedly.

BeginFile Event (Zip Control)

Fired before each file is processed.

Syntax

Sub zipcontrol_BeginFile(Index As Integer, Skip As Boolean)

Remarks

BeginFile is fired before each file is processed by the compressor or decompressor, as appropriate. Index contains the array index of the file about to be processed, and the FileCompressedName, FileDecompressedName, FileCompressedSize (decompression only), and FileDecompressedSize fields of the Files collection for this index contain more detailed information about the file about to be processed.

When extracting, an alternate location may be specified by trapping the event, and modifying FileDecompressedName and/or ExtractToPath. If FileDecompressedName is set to an empty string, the file will not be written to disk. If WriteToProgressEvent is true, the file will still be decompressed, and the data may be extracted through the Progress event.

This event may also be trapped while compressing. FileCompressedName and FileDecompressedName may be changed.

You may set the Skip parameter to true in order to skip the file completely while compressing or extracting.

EndFile Event (Zip Control)

Fired after each file is processed.

Syntax

Sub zipcontrol_EndFile(Index As Integer)

Remarks

EndFile is fired after each file is processed by the compressor or decompressor, as appropriate. Index contains the array index of the file processed, and the FileCompressedName, FileDecompressedName, FileCompressedSize, and FileDecompressedSize fields in the Files collection for this index contain more detailed information about the file processed.

Error Event (Zip Control)

Information about non-fatal errors.

Syntax

Sub zipcontrol_Error(Description As String, ErrorCode As Integer, Index As Integer, Filename As String, Ignore As Boolean)

Remarks

The Error event is fired when non-fatal errors occur during compression or decompression. Note that if this event is fired during decompression this may indicate that the archive is corrupt.

By default these errors will cause the component to fail with an exception. The exception may be overridden by setting Ignore to true. This will cause the error to be ignored, the file will be skipped if necessary, and the control will continue operation.

ErrorCode will correspond to one of the following errors:

Description contains a textual description of the error. Index and Filename contain the array index (where appropriate) and filename of the file being processed at the time of the error.

Overwrite Event (Zip Control)

Fired whenever a file exists and may be overwritten.

Syntax

Sub zipcontrol_Overwrite(Filename As String, Overwrite As Boolean)

Remarks

Overwrite is fired when a file is about to be overwritten, and would overwrite an existing file. The event is fired during decompression.

Filename contains the full name of the file, specified with its pathname.

Overwrite specifies whether or not the file will be overwritten. For Zip, Jar, and Tar, this is equal by default to the value of the OverwriteFiles property. For Gzip, this value defaults to true.

Either of the parameters may be changed when the event is fired. Changing the value of Overwrite will override the default behavior of the control, and cause the file to be overwritten or not overwritten, depending on the value set. If Filename is changed, the value of Overwrite will be ignored, and the file will be written with the specified name. If a file of the new name also exists this file will be silently overwritten.

Password Event (Zip Control)

Fired when a file is encrypted, and the file's password is incorrect.

Syntax

Sub zipcontrol_Password(Index As Integer, Password As String)

Remarks

This event is fired when the control attempts to uncompress an encrypted file and the decryption fails due to an invalid password. The file may be identified in the collection by the Index parameter.

Setting the Password parameter in this event will cause the control to attempt to decrypt and decompress the file again with the specified password.

If the Password parameter is an empty string when this event completes, an error will occur.

Progress Event (Zip Control)

Fired as progress is made.

Syntax

Sub zipcontrol_Progress(Data As String, Filename As String, BytesProcessed As Long64, PercentProcessed As Integer)

Remarks

The Progress event is automatically fired as compression or decompression is performed. When WriteToProgressEvent is true, the output data is provided through the Data parameter, allowing for it to be streamed out.

Filename contains the name of the file being written. If no file is being written, Filename will contain an empty string, and the output data will be provided exclusively through this event.

BytesProcessed contains the total number of uncompressed bytes processed. PercentProcessed contains the percent of uncompressed bytes processed, corresponding roughly to the running time of the operation.

For Gzip extraction only, BytesProcessed and PercentProcessed will reflect the number of compressed bytes extracted, as it is generally impossible to predetermine the total uncompressed size.

If WriteToProgressEvent is false, Data will contain null.

Config Settings (Zip Control)

The control accepts one or more of the following configuration settings. Configuration settings are similar in functionality to properties, but they are rarely used. In order to avoid "polluting" the property namespace of the control, access to these internal properties is provided through the Config method.

Zip Config Settings

Base Config Settings

Trappable Errors (Zip Control)

Errors

The following errors may be generated by the control. Note that frequently the error message will contain more specific information than what is listed here.

Note that some non-fatal errors may be trapped and explicitly ignored in the Error event. This will allow the control to continue operation even in case of error.

Zip Errors