The file archival process focuses around bundling a number of files into one single archive file, or in some cases, a series of such files. Many archive formats deploy file compression techniques to reduce the file size. The compression techniques usually do not cause loss of information from the files. Compressed files are easily transportable across a network, which quite often is the public Internet.
During archival, the contents of the files are serially concatenated and bundled together. The archive software also stores information like the file length and file names for each file for later identification. This helps in reconstruction of the files at a later date during retrieval. Most archive programs also store meta data about the files, such as, timestamp of last save, owner’s name, and access control information. The files are bundled together by a process called archiving or packing. The original files can be reconstructed back by a process called unarchiving or unpacking.