How to Compress and Convert Files with a Right-Click on Windows
File Explorer's right-click menu can already zip files, extract ZIPs and rotate pictures. File Acture adds its own entry, File Acture, which compresses PDFs and photos, converts images, merges PDFs, removes metadata and creates or extracts archives in the background, with the settings you last used, without opening the app's window. On Windows 11 it sits under Show more options.
Updated September 24, 20264 min read
By the File Acture team
Most file jobs are small: shrink a PDF before you email it, turn iPhone photos into JPGs, zip a folder. Opening an app, finding the tool and dragging the files in takes longer than the job itself. Right-click the files in File Explorer instead and the job runs where the files already are.
What can File Explorer do from the right-click menu?
Select files in File Explorer and right-click. Windows 11 offers Compress to for ZIP files (recent versions also offer 7z and TAR), Extract All for ZIP files, and Rotate right and Rotate left for pictures. On Windows 10, Send to > Compressed (zipped) folder makes a ZIP.
PowerToys, a free Microsoft app you install separately, adds more, such as Resize with Image Resizer. What the menu can't do is compress a PDF, reach a file size, convert HEIC photos, strip metadata or make a ZIP with a password.
How to run File Acture tools from the right-click menu
Select one or more files in File Explorer, right-click and choose File Acture; on Windows 11, click Show more options first, or press Shift+F10. Pick a tool that fits the files, such as Compress PDF, Compress Images, Convert Images, Merge PDFs, Remove Metadata, Images to PDF, Create ZIP or Extract Archive.
The tool runs in the background with the settings you last used in File Acture, and saves to the output folder you chose there. A small panel shows the progress, and a notification tells you when the new files are ready. The originals are never changed.
Tools that need something typed, such as a password or page ranges, and the PDF editor stay out of the menu; open File Acture to reach them with the same files.
Tips for right-click jobs
Set a tool up once in the app, then use it from File Explorer.
- Set the target first. The menu uses your last settings, so set a size such as 1 MB once in Compress PDF or Compress Images.
- iPhone photos: set Convert Images to JPEG once, then HEIC to JPG is one right-click away.
- Mixed selection? Only tools that take every selected file make sense; select PDFs or photos on their own for more choices.
- Windows 11 menu: Shift+F10 opens the full menu with Show more options already expanded.
Is it available in the free version?
Running tools from File Explorer in one click is part of File Acture Pro. In the free version, the same menu opens the tool in File Acture with your files, where each run uses one of the 3 free runs on each PC, with up to 5 files per run. See pricing for Pro.
Either way the files are processed on your PC and never uploaded.
How to compress files from the right-click menu with File Acture
- 1
Select the files
In File Explorer, select the PDFs, photos or archives you want to process.
- 2
Open the menu
Right-click the files. On Windows 11, click Show more options, or press Shift+F10.
- 3
Choose File Acture
Choose File Acture and pick a tool such as Compress Images.
- 4
Let it run
The tool runs in the background with your last settings; a small panel shows the progress.
- 5
Open the results
When the notification says the files are done, open the output folder.
Compress and convert files with a right-click in File Explorer.
Free to try · runs on your PC
| Job | Windows by itself | File Acture |
|---|---|---|
| Compress a PDF | No | Yes, to a set size |
| Compress or resize photos | With PowerToys Image Resizer, resize only | Yes, to a set size |
| Convert HEIC to JPG | No | Yes, with your quality |
| Combine files into one PDF | No | Merge PDFs, Images to PDF |
| Remove location and metadata | No | Yes |
| Create a ZIP with a password | No | Yes |
Questions
Why don't I see File Acture in the right-click menu on Windows 11?
Windows 11 shows a short menu first. Click Show more options at the bottom, or press Shift+F10, to see File Acture. On Windows 10 it's in the menu straight away.
Which settings does the right-click menu use?
The ones you last used for that tool in File Acture, including the output folder. Change them in the app and the menu follows.
Can I compress several files at once from File Explorer?
Yes. Select them all, right-click and pick the tool; they are processed together and a notification tells you when they are done.
Does it work in the free version?
The menu opens the tool with your files in the free version. Running tools straight from File Explorer in the background is part of Pro.
Are the original files changed?
No. Every result is a new file, and the originals stay as they were.