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How to Split a Compressed Archive into Multiple Parts

Tap each step to follow along in order.

  1. Select the files to compress

    Choose the large file or folder that needs to be split into multiple parts.

  2. Open a compression tool that supports splitting

    Built-in compression tools often don't support splitting, so you'll need a dedicated archiving program with a split feature.

  3. Set the split size

    Set the size of each piece based on an email attachment limit or the capacity of your USB drive.

  4. Compress and split

    Once you start the process, the archive is created as several separate files at the size you specified.

  5. All parts are needed to extract

    Every split file needs to be kept in the same folder for the archive to extract correctly.

Send oversized files past the size limit

When a file is still too large to email or transfer over USB even after compressing it, splitting the archive into fixed-size chunks lets you send it in pieces without hitting a size limit.

Learn the basics of compressing files too

It's worth also knowing how to create and open a basic ZIP file, since splitting builds on the same underlying idea.

Frequently Asked Questions

If I lose just one part, can I still open the rest?

No, a split archive needs every single part present to extract properly, so make sure you transfer all the pieces together without leaving any behind.

Can a built-in compression feature split files?

The built-in compression feature on most operating systems doesn't support splitting archives, so you'll need to install a separate archiving program that offers it.