How the heck does one..

[General Woundwort]

[Looks over everyone's shoulders, taking notes for when the Highliner Mod is ready for upload...]

[trooper]

Using something else than Winzip for a web page is IMHO a mistake. (I'm generaly upset when I have to deal with a compression tool I don't have) Winzip has become a standard, it's efficient and it's free. For your personal use on your computer, choose whatever you want anyway.

To reply to the question, I usually put all files and folders I want to zip in a folder(let's call it "X").

With the windows explorer, right click on "X" -> add to zip. Without checking any option, the sub-directories of "X" will be saved in the zip file. The main folder "X" is the root of the zipped tree, and it doesn't appear when unzipping the files.

Exemple : to pack the "starship" shipset :

[minipol]

Winace (dunno about Winrar) has a feature in that it allows you to make the archive self extracting. Then the recipient doesn't need to have Winace installed in order to deal with the archive. He just has to know how to double click.

[Erax]

WinZip also makes self-extractors. First you make a normal .zip file, then you right-click on that file to create a self-extracting Version.

[trooper]

I usually don't like to open a .exe file that I've downloaded on an amateur and anonymous site... Basic Internet Use precaution.
I'd prefer a zip file, at least I know what is inside when I open it.