Xceed .NET Libraries Documentation
Converting zip and self-extracting zip files

Welcome to Xceed .NET, .NET Standard and Xamarin Libraries! > Basic Concepts > Zip and streaming capabilities > Self-Extracting Zip Files > Converting zip and self-extracting zip files

A self-extracting zip file is a zip file that has the necessary information in its prefix (header) to unzip the files it contains without the need for third party applications such as WinZip ™ or even Xceed Zip for .NET. Therefore, converting a regular zip file only requires that the self-extractor binary be written in its prefix.  

Basic concepts - Converting a zip file to a self-extracting zip file

To convert a zip file to a self-extracting zip file, the following steps must be taken :

  • Retrieve a reference to a new or existing zip file using the ZipArchive class. 

  • Change the extension of the zip file to .EXE using the ZipArchive's Name property. 

  • Create and configure a XceedSfxPrefix object. The XceedSfxPrefix object contains all the information required to allow the file to self-extract. 

  • Assign the XceedSfxPrefix to the ZipArchive's SfxPrefix property.

Demonstration

The following example demonstrates how to convert a regular zip file to a self-extracting zip file.

VB.NET Copy Code

Imports Xceed.Zip
Imports Xceed.Zip.Sfx
Imports Xceed.FileSystem

' Retrieve a reference to an existing zip file.
Dim zip As New ZipArchive(New DiskFile("C:\Test\Fonts.zip"))

' Change its extension to .EXE.
zip.ZipFile.Name = "Fonts.exe" 

' Create and configure a XceedSfxPrefix object.
Dim sfx As New XceedSfxPrefix(New DiskFile("C:\Program Files\Xceed Components\Bin\Sfx\xcdsfx32.bin"))

sfx.DialogStrings( DialogStrings.Title ) = "Welcome to Xceed Zip for .NET!"
sfx.DefaultDestinationFolder = "C:\"
sfx.ExistingFileBehavior = ExistingFileBehavior.OverwriteOlderOnly

' Assign the prefix to the zip file.
zip.SfxPrefix = sfx

C# Copy Code
using Xceed.Zip;
using Xceed.Zip.Sfx;
using Xceed.FileSystem;
 
// Retrieve a reference to an existing zip file.
ZipArchive zip = new ZipArchive( new DiskFile( @"C:\Test\Fonts.zip" ) );
 
// Change its extension to .EXE.
zip.ZipFile.Name = "Fonts.exe"; {{< spaces>
 
// Create and configure a XceedSfxPrefix object.
XceedSfxPrefix sfx = new XceedSfxPrefix( new DiskFile( @"C:\Program Files\Xceed Components\Bin\Sfx\xcdsfx32.bin" ) );
 
sfx.DialogStrings[ DialogStrings.Title ] = "Welcome to Xceed Zip for .NET!";
sfx.DefaultDestinationFolder = @"C:\";
sfx.ExistingFileBehavior = ExistingFileBehavior.OverwriteOlderOnly;      
 
// Assign the prefix to the zip file.
zip.SfxPrefix = sfx;

Basic concepts - Converting a self-extracting zip file to a zip file

To convert a self-extracting zip file to a regular zip file, the following steps must be taken :

  • Retrieve a reference to a new or existing zip file using the ZipArchive class. 

  • Change the extension of the zip file to .ZIP. 

  • Set the ZipArchive's SfxPrefix property to null (Nothing in Visual Basic).

Demonstration

The following example demonstrates how to convert a self-extracting zip file to a regular zip file.

VB.NET Copy Code

Imports Xceed.Zip
Imports Xceed.FileSystem

' Retrieve a reference to an existing self-extracting zip file.
Dim zip As New ZipArchive(New DiskFile("C:\Test\Fonts.exe"))

' Change its extension to .ZIP.
zip.ZipFile.Name = "Fonts.zip"

' Remove the prefix.
zip.SfxPrefix = Nothing

C# Copy Code
using Xceed.Zip;
using Xceed.FileSystem;
 
// Retrieve a reference to an existing self-extracting zip file.
ZipArchive zip = new ZipArchive( new DiskFile( @"C:\Test\Fonts.exe" ) );
 
// Change its extension to .ZIP.
zip.ZipFile.Name = "Fonts.zip";        
 
// Remove the prefix.
zip.SfxPrefix = null;    

Things you should consider

The main questions you should ask yourself when copying items to a zip file are:

  • Do you want to display the status of the operation? See the Events topic. 

  • Do you want to change the location of the temporary folder. Set the ZipArchive's TempFolder or DefaultTempFolder property. 

  • Do you only want to do basic zip file operations? Use the QuickZip class.

 

 

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