Windows 7: Different kind of question that has me stumped

I am in college (14 + and counting) years after graduating high school but I am going) while i was organizing my computer I wanted to compress a folder so i could email it to myself and put it on my laptop. One problem there is no icon to compress the folder. I am working on windows 7 professional. It is on my laptop but not on my desktop the one i was working on. I am too lazy to download it again on my laptop. Please see the attached screen shot to see what I am talking about. It just seems weird that I cannot compress zip folders.

Hello and Welcome !

Check this article Send To Context Menu - Remove or Restore Default Items

Hope this helps,
Captain

If I'm seeing that correctly, you are trying to compress a link. You can only compress a true file or folder.

Hi rbenn55,

Lemur is right. Locate the actual file, and right click it to see the compression option. Also, there's an application known as WinRAR. It's the best for archiving and zipping folders and files. You might like to consider downloading it from 'Here' and implementing it in your further computing. Best of luck.

Thanks,
Harvey Meale

Hello Geeks,

I think OP has the Send To > Compressed Missing. In Shawn's Tutorial he can Download the Registry key to restore it to defaults. And Yes WinRAR is good. 7zip is something i recommend more.

Thanks !

OK i got the parts but it still does not show up. yeah i guess i am trying to restore the compress thingy. please see the attached shot. Captain Jack shadow has it right i am trying to restore it. Thanks for all of your replies!! I had 7zip but i was afraid that since i did not have it on the laptop it would not have downloaded. So I got rid of it. wow a lightbulb is going off in my head I can download it onto the laptop!!!

Although Winrar is very good, I prefer 7zip myself as well.

+1 for 7zip

I am going to hijack this thread a bit (can I hijack my own thread?). I will download 7zip again and try the process again. The last computer i used regularly was the commodore 64C (seriously). After that I did not use a computer. I thought i could not afford one so I did not buy one. I am basically self taught in what i know which is the basics. But sometimes I am scared with messing in the "guts" of the computer thinking i may mess it up. So back in 2005 i thought it would be prudent to know how to use a computer. For what it is worth I am self taught in what i know so far. It is a good thing i did because for my job I need to know how to use one. any thoughts on how I can increase my confidence in the computer? By the way long time lurker.

Hi rbenn55,

Just spend more time on it. Simple things like browsing websites, and researching problems yourself are always great for building an understanding of computers.

Thanks,
Harvey Meale