Getting a Program in E-mail: Extracting a Compressed (Zipped) Program
In this lesson, you will learn how to extract and run a program that you received from a friend or colleague through e-mail.
Your friends and colleagues may occasionally want to share their hard work with you. In the last lesson, you learned how to add your program to a compressed (zipped) file so it could be sent through e-mail. In this lesson, you will learn how to open and execute a program that you receive through e-mail.
Note
You should never open an attachment of any kind, including a .zip file, from a sender you do not trust. Unwanted or unsolicited attachments might contain viruses that could crash or hijack your computer, or steal your personal information. By the same token, you should not send your application to anyone who does not expect it.
Try It!
To extract a compressed (zipped) program
Navigate to the .zip file you created in the previous lesson. If you have not completed that lesson, take a moment to complete Sending a Program in E-mail: Creating a Compressed (Zipped) File.
Right-click the .zip file and click Extract All.
The Extraction Wizard opens.
In the wizard, click the Next button.
The Select a Destination pane displays.
Type the path for the folder into which you want to install the program, or click the Browse button to navigate to the folder, and then click Next.
The files are extracted and the Extraction Complete pane appears.
Select the Show extracted files check box, and then click Finish.
A new Windows Explorer window opens, bringing you to the folder that you chose in the previous step.
Double-click the ProgramName.exe file (where ProgramName is the name of the program) to run the program.
Note
All programs created with Visual Basic require Microsoft .NET Framework 3.5. If you are going to distribute your program through e-mail, make sure that the .NET Framework is already installed on the computers of any recipients.
Tip
The .NET Framework is distributed with many other programs. It can also be downloaded from the Microsoft Web site. You can check to determine whether the .NET Framework is installed by going to the Control Panel, opening Add or Remove Programs, and looking for Microsoft .NET Framework 3.5.
Next Steps
In this lesson, you learned how to extract and run a program that you received through e-mail from a trusted source. You also learned that it is dangerous to execute any file from a source that you do not trust. You have now completed the basics! You can take some time to explore Visual Basic on your own and write a few programs, or you can read suggestions for learning more about Visual Basic.
Next Lesson: Moving Forward: Where Do I Go from Here?
See Also
Tasks
Sending a Program in E-mail: Creating a Compressed (Zipped) File