Create a .zip folder and add files to it in C++ MFC - c++

Question

I am working on an C++ MFC project and one step is to create a large zip file with many other files inside it which may have different paths
As of right now, I have a vector that correctly stores all the file paths as CStrings to each file I will need to collect and add to the zip file
The way I am thinking to tackle this is by creating an empty zip file in a specified folder such as: C:\foo1\foo2\foo3 . The zip file would be titled foo4.zip, so its path would be C:\foo1\foo2\foo3\foo4
Then I would add each file one at a time by iterating through the vector containing the file paths with a for loop
Is it possible to create an empty zip file and add files to it ? If so, how ? Or should I create a regular folder, add files to it, then zip the folder after storing all files ? Or maybe I could create a zip file while supplying it the vector or file paths ?
Which is the better option in which situation and how do I accomplish this in C++ MFC ?
I have done some research on the ZipFile Class in Microsoft's Online Documentation but from my understanding, this Class expects all the files to be zipped to be in the same folder, but in my situation, these files are scattered across many different folders.

Answer 1

I use the ZipArchive library which is freely available here:
https://www.artpol-software.com/
It has excellent help documentation (via download) and you can create zips, add files to zips etc and has full progress monitoring support.
Used it for several years. Later on I will update my answer with sample code.
Single File
try
{
rZipArchive.AddNewFile(strFile, CZipCompressor::levelDefault, false);
}
catch (CZipException* e_)
{
const gsl::not_null<CZipException*> e{ e_ };
e->ReportError();
AfxMessageBox(e->GetErrorDescription(), MB_OK | MB_ICONERROR);
e->Delete();
}
Multiple Files
rZipArchive.AddNewFiles(strFullPath, strFileSpec, false, CZipCompressor::levelDefault, false);
Creating the Zip
Admittedly I have not included the progress callback class as it is fairly easy to write and would be bespoke to your application.
But this code gives you a flavour of what you can do:
try
{
// Create archive and set basic details
zipArchive.Open(strBackupPath, CZipArchive::zipCreate);
zipArchive.SetGlobalComment(_T("xxx"));
zipArchive.SetRootPath(theApp.GetWorkingPath());
/* ================================================ */
CMultiProgressCallback callback;
callback.SetProgressCtrl(&m_ProgressBackupRestore);
callback.SetProgressTextWnd(GetDlgItem(IDC_STATIC_PROGRESS_FILENAME));
callback.SetProgressPercentTextWnd(&m_lblProgressBackupRestore);
zipArchive.SetCallback(&callback,
CZipActionCallback::cbMultiAdd | CZipActionCallback::cbCalculateForMulti);
zipArchive.AddNewFile(strRegPath, CZipCompressor::levelDefault, false);
/* ================================================ */
// Build group filter
ZipArchiveLib::CGroupFileFilter groupFilter;
// Files to include
groupFilter.Add(std::make_unique<ZipArchiveLib::CNameFileFilter>(_T("*.*")).release());
// Files to exclude
groupFilter.Add(std::make_unique<ZipArchiveLib::CNameFileFilter>(_T("exp*.htm"), true).release()); // Preview in Browser
groupFilter.Add(std::make_unique<ZipArchiveLib::CNameFileFilter>(_T("mwe*.xml"), true).release()); // Meeting Workbook Editor
groupFilter.Add(std::make_unique<ZipArchiveLib::CNameFileFilter>(_T("mwp*.xml"), true).release()); // Meeting Workbook Print
groupFilter.Add(std::make_unique<ZipArchiveLib::CNameFileFilter>(_T("sre*.xsl"), true).release()); // Sound Rota Editor
groupFilter.Add(std::make_unique<ZipArchiveLib::CNameFileFilter>(_T("srt*.xsl"), true).release()); // Sound Rota Temp
groupFilter.Add(std::make_unique<ZipArchiveLib::CNameFileFilter>(_T("gcal_*.tmp"), true).release()); // Google Calendar Temp
groupFilter.Add(std::make_unique<ZipArchiveLib::CNameFileFilter>(_T("*.bin3"), true).release()); // Outlook OAuth Cache
zipArchive.AddNewFiles(theApp.GetWorkingPath(), groupFilter, false, CZipCompressor::levelDefault, false);
/* ================================================ */
/* ================================================ */
// AJT v20.1.7 — Backup mode
if (eBackupWhat == COtherSettingsAutomaticBackupPage::EnumBackupWhat::Complete)
{
// Reset
groupFilter.Clear();
// Files to include
groupFilter.Add(std::make_unique<ZipArchiveLib::CNameFileFilter>(_T("*.*")).release());
// Files to exclude
groupFilter.Add(std::make_unique<ZipArchiveLib::CNameFileFilter>(_T("exp*.htm"), true).release()); // Preview in Browser
groupFilter.Add(std::make_unique<ZipArchiveLib::CNameFileFilter>(_T("mwa*.xml"), true).release()); // Meeting Workbook Assignment slips
zipArchive.AddNewFiles(theApp.GetWorkingPath() + _T("AssignmentSlips"),
groupFilter, // Files to include
true, // Recursive
CZipCompressor::levelDefault, // Compression level
false); // Skip initial path
}
/* ================================================ */
auto zipCloseResult = zipArchive.Close();
}
catch (CZipException* e_)
{
const gsl::not_null<CZipException*> e{ e_ };
zipArchive.Close(CZipArchive::afAfterException);
e->ReportError();
bExported = false;
e->Delete();
}
catch (CException *e_)
{
const gsl::not_null<CException*> e{ e_ };
zipArchive.Close(CZipArchive::afAfterException);
// Problem - tell user
e->ReportError();
bExported = false;
e->Delete();
}
if (bExported)
AfxMessageBox(IDS_STR_SETTINGS_SAVED, MB_OK | MB_ICONINFORMATION);
}
The ZipArchive library does have a commercial version where you pay for a license but in my case I did not need to purchase one. This is what it says:
The open source version of the ZipArchive Library is licensed under GNU GPL.
When you download the library you need to build the right version to create your required LIB or DLL for use with your application. Several Visual Studio platform files are provided. Just pick the one you need.