Zip Folder And Its Content In Windows Runtime Apps

Here are the steps, 

Step 1:

Create a simple Windows Project. New Project, Visual C#, Windows 8, Windows, then click Blank App (Windows 8.1).



Step 2:

Let's add a button in MainPage.xaml :

• A button with the Click event.

Complete MainPage.xaml code snippet is:

<Page
    x:Class="ZipFolderContents.MainPage"
    xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml/presentation"
    xmlns:x="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml"
    xmlns:local="using:ZipFolderContents"
    xmlns:d="http://schemas.microsoft.com/expression/blend/2008"
    xmlns:mc="http://schemas.openxmlformats.org/markup-compatibility/2006"
    mc:Ignorable="d">

    <Grid Background="#FF5D3FE4">
        <Button x:Name="btn_ZipContents" Content="Zip Folder" HorizontalAlignment="Left" Margin="451,144,0,0" VerticalAlignment="Top" Click="btn_ZipContents_Click" Height="60" Width="204"/>
    </Grid>
</Page>

Step 3:

For testing purposes, we will read a folder from Documents Library, zip its content and save it in our application local folder.

So lets create a folder named ‘TestFolder’ in Documents Library. Inside the ‘TestFolder’, add some folders, text files, images, videos, etc.







Step 4:

For accessing Documents Library, we have to declar it in app capabilities. Right click on Package.appmanifest > View Code



In Package.appmanifest XML, update the Capabilities node with:

<Capabilities>
    <Capability Name="internetClient" />
    <Capability Name="documentsLibrary" />
  </Capabilities>

Step 5:

Now again in the Package.appmanifest designer view, we have to add File Type Association declarations as discussed here:  



Step 6:

In the code behind: MainPage.xaml.cs

Update your code with this:

using System;
using System.Collections.Generic;
using System.Diagnostics;
using System.IO;
using System.IO.Compression;
using System.Linq;
using System.Runtime.InteropServices.WindowsRuntime;
using System.Threading.Tasks;
using Windows.Foundation;
using Windows.Foundation.Collections;
using Windows.Storage;
using Windows.UI.Popups;
using Windows.UI.Xaml;
using Windows.UI.Xaml.Controls;
using Windows.UI.Xaml.Controls.Primitives;
using Windows.UI.Xaml.Data;
using Windows.UI.Xaml.Input;
using Windows.UI.Xaml.Media;
using Windows.UI.Xaml.Navigation;

// The Blank Page item template is documented at http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=234238

namespace ZipFolderContents
{
    /// <summary>
    /// An empty page that can be used on its own or navigated to within a Frame.
    /// </summary>
    public sealed partial class MainPage : Page
    {
        public MainPage()
        {
            this.InitializeComponent();
        }

        private async void btn_ZipContents_Click(object sender, RoutedEventArgs e)
        {
            try
            {
                string appFolderPath = ApplicationData.Current.LocalFolder.Path;
                StorageFolder destinationFolder = await StorageFolder.GetFolderFromPathAsync(appFolderPath);

                //Gets the folder named TestFolder from Documents Library Folder
                StorageFolder sourceFolder = await KnownFolders.DocumentsLibrary.GetFolderAsync("TestFolder");

                //Creates a zip file named TestFolder.zip in Local Folder
                StorageFile zipFile = await destinationFolder.CreateFileAsync("TestFolder.zip", CreationCollisionOption.ReplaceExisting);
                Stream zipToCreate = await zipFile.OpenStreamForWriteAsync();
                ZipArchive archive = new ZipArchive(zipToCreate, ZipArchiveMode.Update);

                await ZipFolderContentsHelper(sourceFolder, archive, sourceFolder.Path);
                archive.Dispose();
                MessageDialog msg = new MessageDialog("Success");
                await msg.ShowAsync();
            }
            catch (Exception ex)
            {
                Debug.WriteLine(ex.ToString());
            }
        }

        private async Task ZipFolderContentsHelper(StorageFolder sourceFolder, ZipArchive archive, string sourceFolderPath)
        {
            IReadOnlyList<StorageFile> files = await sourceFolder.GetFilesAsync();

            foreach (StorageFile file in files)
            {
                ZipArchiveEntry readmeEntry = archive.CreateEntry(file.Path.Remove(0, sourceFolderPath.Length));
                byte[] buffer = WindowsRuntimeBufferExtensions.ToArray(await FileIO.ReadBufferAsync(file));
                using (Stream entryStream = readmeEntry.Open())
                {
                    await entryStream.WriteAsync(buffer, 0, buffer.Length);
                }
            }

            IReadOnlyList<StorageFolder> subFolders = await sourceFolder.GetFoldersAsync();

            if (subFolders.Count() == 0)
            {
                return;
            }

            foreach (StorageFolder subfolder in subFolders)
            {
                await ZipFolderContentsHelper(subfolder, archive, sourceFolderPath);
            }
        }
    }
}

Step 7:

Run the application and click on Zip Folder button, you will get a success message if everything is OK. And ‘TestFolder.zip’ is created in: This PC, C , Users > [Your User Name] > AppData, Local, Packages, [App package name] > LocalState



That’s it.
Thanks, Happy Coding!

 

Read more articles on Windows Runtime Apps:

• File Read/ Write Operation In WinJS Applications Using Windows Runtime Component
• Asynchronous Programming In WinJS Applications With Windows Runtime Component