Hi,

it is said in my textbook that "on an NTFS partition, a folder can be compressed yet all of the files in that folder can be uncompressed. and an uncompressed folder can contain compressed files."

this is counter-intuitive and doesn't make sense to me. i would say a folder is something like a container and contains files. how can a compressed folder and uncompressed files co-exist? (and vice versa?)

or maybe i misunderstood it and the author is saying "you can first create a blank folder, compress it, and then move some uncompressed files to that folder"? please give me some explanations.

Thanks,
Anthony

click Start, and then click My Computer.
You can only use NTFS compression for files and folders on drives formatted as NTFS. If the Advanced button does not appear, the file or folder you selected is not on an NTFS drive.
If you move or copy a file into a compressed folder, it is compressed automatically. If you move a file from a different NTFS drive into a compressed folder, it is also compressed. However, if you move a file from the same NTFS drive into a compressed folder, the file retains its original state, either compressed or uncompressed.
Files and folders that are compressed using NTFS compression cannot be encrypted.
You can choose to display NTFS-compressed files in a different color.
Compressing files, folders, and programs decreases their size and reduces the amount of space they use on your drives or removable storage devices. Drive compression decreases the amount of space used by all of the files and folders stored on that drive.

Windows supports two types of compression: NTFS compression and compression using the Compressed (zipped) Folders feature.