At the command prompt, I tried to use the compact/c command (followed by the
file name) at the command prompt to compress a file. I got the return
message:

0 files within 1 directories were compressed.
0 total bytes of data are stored in 0 bytes.
The compression ratio is 1.0 to 1.

The file was not already compressed.

Why didn't it work, and how do I get it compress my file?

On Wed, 4 Jul 2007 02:36:00 -0700, hmm wrote:

> At the command prompt, I tried to use the compact/c command (followed by the
> file name) at the command prompt to compress a file. I got the return
> message:
>
> 0 files within 1 directories were compressed.
> 0 total bytes of data are stored in 0 bytes.
> The compression ratio is 1.0 to 1.
>
> The file was not already compressed.
>
> Why didn't it work, and how do I get it compress my file?


Using this page as a reference, it looks like you might need the
/s[:<dir>] switch as well:
http://technet2.microsoft.com/window....mspx?mfr=true

If this folder has been compressed by XP's automatic compression in the
past, it will not compress more.

--
Sharon F
MS-MVP ~ Windows Shell/User

Thanks Sharon.

Please note I am only trying to compress a single file. The /s switch
appears to be for entire directories.

However, the web site you referred me to gave examples, showing that the
compact command is meant to be used from the current directory. By changing
the current directory to the one containing the file, compact worked.

Thanks again.

"Sharon F" wrote:

> On Wed, 4 Jul 2007 02:36:00 -0700, hmm wrote:
>
> > At the command prompt, I tried to use the compact/c command (followed by the
> > file name) at the command prompt to compress a file. I got the return
> > message:
> >
> > 0 files within 1 directories were compressed.
> > 0 total bytes of data are stored in 0 bytes.
> > The compression ratio is 1.0 to 1.
> >
> > The file was not already compressed.
> >
> > Why didn't it work, and how do I get it compress my file?
>
>
> Using this page as a reference, it looks like you might need the
> /s[:<dir>] switch as well:
> http://technet2.microsoft.com/window....mspx?mfr=true
>
> If this folder has been compressed by XP's automatic compression in the
> past, it will not compress more.
>
> --
> Sharon F
> MS-MVP ~ Windows Shell/User
>

On Wed, 4 Jul 2007 07:46:04 -0700, hmm wrote:

> Thanks Sharon.
>
> Please note I am only trying to compress a single file. The /s switch
> appears to be for entire directories.
>
> However, the web site you referred me to gave examples, showing that the
> compact command is meant to be used from the current directory. By changing
> the current directory to the one containing the file, compact worked.
>
> Thanks again.

You're welcome. I realize you were working with one file but the output you
posted referred to a folder. The automatic application of compact is on
the folder level. The examples on that page showed a target to a single
file but included its container in the command line. So just guessed that
including the folder path would make this task easier for you.

Anyhow, I'm glad you got the compact to work.

--
Sharon F
MS-MVP ~ Windows Shell/User