cArchive

A single, dependency-free Visual Basic 6 class for creating and extracting ZIP archives and compressing/decompressing GZ (Gzip) files.

This class is a refactored combination of two VB6 projects:

• ZipArchive by wqweto
• cGZip by cyberzilla

cArchive merges their functionalities into a single, cohesive class, removing code duplication and leveraging a flexible Virtual File System (VFS) to handle both file-based and in-memory operations seamlessly.

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## Features

• ZIP & GZ Support: Full capabilities for both archive formats in one class.
• No Dependencies: Pure VB6 code. No need for external DLLs or OCXs.
• Flexible I/O: Works directly with file paths (String), in-memory data (Byte Array), and stream objects thanks to its VFS architecture.
• Strong Encryption: Supports AES-256, AES-192, AES-128, and legacy ZipCrypto 2.0 for password-protected ZIP files.
• ZIP64 Support: Create and extract ZIP archives larger than 4 GB.
• Progress Events: Monitor compression and extraction progress for long operations.

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## How to Use

1. Add the cArchive.cls file to your VB6 project.
2. Instantiate the class and start using its methods.

### ZIP Operations

Creating/Extract a ZIP Archive

The process involves adding files one by one/folder and then compressing the archive.

Private Sub CreateZip()
    ' Example: Create a simple ZIP file from folder input
    With New cArchive
    .AddFromFolder App.Path & "\input\*.*", Recursive:=True
    .CompressArchive App.Path & "\output\archive.zip"
    End With
    
    ' Example: Create a simple ZIP file from folder input with password include empty folder encrypt using ZipCrypto (by default)
    With New cArchive
        .AddFromFolder App.Path & "\input\*.*", Recursive:=True, IncludeEmptyFolders:=True, Password:="!Password123#"
        .CompressArchive App.Path & "\output\archive_password.zip"
    End With
    
    ' Example: Create a simple ZIP file from folder input with password include empty folder encrypt using Aes-256 (by default)
    With New cArchive
        .AddFromFolder App.Path & "\input\*.*", Recursive:=True, IncludeEmptyFolders:=True, Password:="!Password123#", EncrStrength:=3 '3=AES-256,2=AES-192,1=AES-128,0-ZipCrypto default
        .CompressArchive App.Path & "\output\archive_password_aes.zip"
    End With
    
    'Extract File to folder
    With New cArchive
        .OpenArchive App.Path & "\output\archive_password.zip"
        .Extract App.Path & "\extract", Password:="!Password123#"
    End With

End Sub

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### Gzip Operations

Gzip is a stream-based format, typically used for compressing a single file or data stream. The VFS-enabled methods allow for flexible source and destination types.

Compressing/Decompressing File (File-to-File)

Private Sub GzFileOperation()
    With New cArchive
        'Compress File to GZ
        If .GzCompress(App.Path & "\gz\dummy.log", App.Path & "\gz\dummy.log.gz", acMaxCompression) Then
            MsgBox "Compressed to GZ"
        Else
            MsgBox "Failed"
        End If
        'Decompress GZ to Original File
        If .GzDecompress(App.Path & "\gz\dummy.log.gz", App.Path & "\gz\dummy.log") Then
            MsgBox "Extracted"
        End If
    End With
End Sub

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## License

This project is licensed under the MIT License.

MIT License

Copyright (c) 2025 cArchive

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## Acknowledgements

This class would not be possible without the foundational work of the original authors. It stands on the shoulders of giants.

• ZipArchive for VB6: A comprehensive ZIP archive management class by wqweto.

  • https://github.com/wqweto/ZipArchive

• cGZip for VB6: A Gzip compression class adapted from ZipArchive by cyberzilla.

  • https://github.com/cyberzilla/cGZip