Display or alter the compression of files on NTFS partitions.
Syntax COMPACT [/C | /U] [/S[:dir]] [/A] [ /I] [/F] [/Q] [/EXE[:algorithm]] [/CompactOs[:option] [/WinDir:dir] [filename [...]] Key /C Compress the specified files. Directories will be marked so that files added afterward will be compressed. /U Uncompress the specified files. Directories will be marked so that files added afterward will not be compressed. /S Perform the specified operation on files in the given directory and all subdirectories. The default "dir" is the current directory. /A Display files with the hidden or system attributes. By default hidden or system files are not displayed in the query output. /I Continue performing the specified operation even after errors have occurred. By default, COMPACT will stop when an error is encountered. /F Force the compress operation on all specified files, even those which are already compressed. Already-compressed files are skipped by default. /Q Report only the most essential information. /EXE Use compression optimised for executable files which are read frequently and not modified, Supported algorithms are: XPRESS4K (fastest) default XPRESS8K XPRESS16K LZX (most compact) /CompactOs Set or query the systems compression state. Supported options are: query - Query the systems compact state. always - Compress all OS binaries and set the system state to non-compact. never - Uncompress all OS binaries and set the system state to compact which remains unless an administrator changes it. /WinDir Used with /CompactOs:query, when querying the offline OS. Specifies the directory where Windows is installed. filename Specifies a pattern, file, or directory.
Used without parameters, COMPACT displays the compression state of the current directory and/or any files it contains.
Turning ON compression for a folder willl compress all the files within and any future files added.
Turning OFF compression for a folder willl not compress any future files added, existing files will be unchanged unless /S is specified.
Query the compression status of a file or folder:
compress C:\demo\*.txt
compress C:\demo\
Turn on compression for the C:\demo\ folder including all sub-folders:
compress /c /s:C:\demo\
Turn off compression for the C:\demo\ folder including all sub-folders:
compress /u /s:C:\demo\
Turn off compression for all .txt files within the C:\demo\ folder:
compress /u C:\demo\*.txt
“The truth includes all, and is compact just as much as space is compact” ~ Walt Whitman (Leaves of Grass)
ATTRIB - Change file attributes.
IEXPRESS - Create a self extracting ZIP file archive.
MAKECAB - Create .CAB files.
TAR - Store, list or extract files in an archive.
Compress-Archive - PowerShell.