What is compressed2txt?

Compressed 2 TXT is a Windows tool that converts files and folders into plain text so you can share them anywhere that only accepts text, like forum posts, chat messages, or pastebin sites that don't support file uploads. You just right-click a file, pick "Send to," and it generates a text file containing an encoded version of your data. Anyone can then copy that text into a batch file and run it on their own Windows machine to extract the original files. The tool works by first compressing your files using Windows' built-in compression, then converting the result into text using an encoding method similar to how email attachments were encoded in the early days of the internet. It offers two encoding options: BAT85, which is safer for posting on websites, and BAT91, which produces slightly smaller output but uses characters that some websites might mangle. You can optionally add a password by randomizing the encoding key, making it harder for someone to decode your files without permission. This is useful for anyone who needs to share files on platforms without attachment support, malware analysts sharing samples, IT admins posting configuration files, or developers sharing scripts and data dumps on message boards. If you've ever needed to send a small file through a channel that only accepts text, this tool handles that gap. What's notable is how the tool gives you fine-grained control over the tradeoff between file size and processing time. For files that don't compress well (like disk images or video files), you can skip compression entirely and save several minutes of waiting for almost no size benefit. The README walks through a real example where skipping compression on a 260MB file cut processing time from nearly five minutes down to under a minute. The project is also designed to work on older systems going back to Windows 7, relying only on built-in Windows tools rather than requiring additional software.