Disabling Zip Folders

Some people love 'em and some people hate 'em. I hated them in XP and I still loathe Zip Folders under Windows Vista. A file ending in .zip is still a file in my book, and I don't like the way Windows Explorer wants to keep representing them as some sort of directory.

Unfortunately the erstwhile Windows XP method just doesn't cut the mustard under Windows Vista. Fortunately new registry edits are available.

Note that these have been tested successfully by myself under Vista Business Edition, without any problems. However it does cause Vista to 'lose' it's association of .zip files with the zip shell extension which usually opens them, so you'll probably want to install a third party ZIP manager like WinZip or WinRAR afterwards.

The following is a .reg file which will directly edit your system registry. Simply double click on it after downloading (right click and Save Link As..) It can be opened by the curious, in a text editor (or web browser) for perusal.

DisableVistaZip.reg

For those who get a case of the willies after doing it, or who just wish to re-enable Zip folders, there's another .reg file..

EnableVistaZip.reg

Reboot after applying either of these registry edits, to see the news settings in action.