The Backup/Clean Tab

The Backup/Clean tab provides two WinZip services:

• Backup: Tools to back up your documents, photos, and other data.
• Clean: Tools to clean and organize folders on your PC, your network, or your cloud services.
  
  

Backup

WinZip provides two ways to handle your backup needs to suit both casual and advanced users:

• Simple Secure Backup: Uses the WinZip Secure Backup app to provide basic backup and restore functionality. WinZip Secure Backup provides predefined settings to back up your Desktop, Documents, Favorites, and Pictures folders, and with just a few clicks you can create custom backups to back up other folders.
• Advanced Secure Backup: Provides a more full-featured data backup facility. Predefined backups are available for your Documents library, Pictures library, and other locations, and you can use a Wizard-style interface to back up other locations, including locations in the cloud. Custom backup have many options that allow you to fine-tune exactly how you want your backup job to run.
  
  

To switch modes, click either Simple Secure Backup or Advanced Secure Backup in the Switch to group.

Important: WinZip's backup facilities are intended for data backup and archival only. They are not designed or intended to be used for full system backups. For example, WinZip backups may not be able to back up files that are currently in use, including Windows system files. For system backups you should use a tool specifically designed for that purpose.

Simple Secure Backup

To use Simple Secure Backup, just click the Folder button in the Backup group to launch the WinZip Secure Backup app.

Advanced Secure Backup

Advanced Secure Backup gives you the tools to create, edit, or run WinZip backup jobs. Please see WinZip Backups and the Job Wizard for full information about WinZp jobs.

Note: Advanced Secure Backup is only available in Pro or Enterprise versions.

Predefined Backups group

The following list shows all of WinZip's predefined jobs. Not all of the predefined jobs may be present in your installation of WinZip if your administrator has elected not to install any or all of the predefined jobs. The predefined WinZip backup jobs are:

• Documents Library: Runs a job that will zip the files and subfolders in your Documents Library.
• Pictures Library: Runs a job that will zip the files and folders in your Pictures Library.
• Desktop, Email, Docs, Favs: Runs a job that will zip everything in your Desktop, Email, Documents, and Favorites folders.
• All Libraries: Runs a job that will zip all of the files and folders in all of your Libraries.

Custom Backups group

• Run: Find and run an existing WinZip job or select a recently run WinZip job from the dropdown list.
• Create: Create a new custom WinZip job, one based on an existing WinZip job, or one based on files you have selected in WinZip's Files pane. Learn more 
• Edit: Edit an existing WinZip job. Learn more
  

Background Clean/Organize group

This tab allows you to enable, disable, schedule, edit, and run the background tools that are bundled with WinZip. These tools may help your computer to run more smoothly and efficiently.

The tools run in background, which means that you can continue working while they are running. You can run the tools manually, or you can schedule them to run periodically at a time and frequency of your choosing.

The tool windows provide you with controls to turn each tool off or on, set the number of days until the tool runs again, set what time the tool starts, set the date when the tool will start running. You can also run tools manually, modify their settings, and create and delete custom tools.

Note: You will be not be able to use this WinZip feature on Windows 10 if you turned off all app notifications or notifications from WinZip. To check this, open Settings from the Start menu, click System, and then open the Notifications & actions tab. Ensure that notifications are enabled and that WinZip is either not present or enabled in the list of apps.

Old Files

This set of background tools helps you maintain folders by deleting and/or archiving (zipping) files that have not been used recently. Click the button to show the WinZip Folder Maintenance Tools dialog, where you can schedule, run, or modify existing tools or create new ones. As installed, WinZip includes the following cleaners:

• Documents File Cleaner - this tool monitors the Documents folder and prompts you to archive and/or delete old files in there.
• Downloads File Cleaner - this tool monitors the Downloads folder and prompts you to archive and/or delete files that you have downloaded a long time ago.
• Pictures File Cleaner - this tool monitors the Pictures folder and prompts you to archive and/or delete old files in there.
• Quick Access File Cleaner - this tool monitors any folders you have added to WinZip Quick Access and prompts you to archive and/or delete files that have not been used recently.
• Recycle Bin Cleaner - this tool monitors the Recycle Bin and prompts you to clear out any files that it contains.
• Temporary File Cleaner - this tool monitors the temporary files folder(s) and prompts you to delete temporary files.
• ZipShare File Cleaner - this tool monitors the files in your ZipShare folders and prompts you to archive and/or delete files that have not been used recently.
  
  

Click Create a custom cleaner to create your own tool to clean specific folders and files.

Duplicate Files

The Duplicate Files background tool helps you find and delete duplicate files.

Click Duplicate Files to open the duplicate file cleaner window. The window lists any deduplicators you have already defined; you can schedule, run, modify, or delete your cleaners from here, or click Create a deduplicator to define a new deduplicator.

Photos

The Photos background tool helps to organize your photos by moving them to different folders, organized by date. For example, the tool can scan all of the pictures in the Pictures folder on your PC and move any that have not been accessed in 90 days or more to new folders named for the year (e.g., My Photos\2021) or year and month (e.g., My Photos\2021\02). The new folders can be located on your PC, your network, or a cloud service.

Click Photos to open the photo organizer window. The window lists any organizers you have already defined; you can schedule, run, modify, or delete your organizers from here, or click Create an organizer to define a new photo organizer.

Review Notifications

Use this button to review any notifications from the background tools that you may have missed.