Open a .Zip File Without Winzip

This article teaches you how to open a ZIP folder to view its contents without using WinZip or another similar paid program.

Steps

Using Built-In Software

  1. Double-click the ZIP file. In Windows XP or newer, Mac OS X, and Ubuntu Linux[1], you can double-click the ZIP file and it will open in a new window. You can then copy the contents to another folder.
    • OS X will create a new folder next to the ZIP file when you double-click it, but may not open it automatically.[2]
  2. Right-click the ZIP file. In Windows and Linux, you can right-click the Zip file and select “Extract All…” or “Extract Here”. Extract All will allow you to set a path for the extracted folder to go, and Extract Here will uncompress the folder and leave it in the same location as the ZIP file.

Using a Mac

  1. Locate the ZIP folder. You can do so by typing its name into the Finder application. You'll see ".zip" attached to the end of the folder's name.
    • On a Mac, ZIP folders are called "compressed" folders.
  2. Double-click the ZIP folder. Doing so will prompt the ZIP folder to begin copying its contents to a regular folder in the same location (e.g., the desktop).[2]
    • Depending on how large the ZIP folder is, the copying process might take a long time.
  3. Double-click the regular folder. It will have the same name as the ZIP folder. Doing so will open the folder, allowing you to view the uncompressed contents.

Using Windows

  1. Locate your ZIP folder. You can do so by typing its name into the Start menu search bar in the bottom left corner of your PC's screen.
    • If you're using Windows 7 or earlier, click the ⊞ Win button in this corner first.
  2. Right-click the ZIP folder. Doing so will prompt a drop-down menu with options for opening it.
    • You can also double-click the ZIP folder if you simply want to view its contents.
  3. Click Extract All. This option is close to the top of the drop-down menu.
  4. Click Extract. It's in the bottom right corner of the window. Doing so will extract the ZIP folder's contents into a normal folder in the same location as the ZIP folder.[3]
    • You can also click Browse to choose an extract location (e.g., your computer's "Documents" folder or the desktop).
  5. Double-click the normal folder. It will have the same name as your ZIP folder. Doing so will open the folder, allowing you to view the non-zipped contents.

Tips

  • While .zip folders are easy to open, .rar or .7z folders require the use of a program such as 7-zip.

Warnings

  • Research any software you plan on downloading before downloading it.

Related Articles

Sources and Citations

  1. ↑ https://help.ubuntu.com/community/FileCompression
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 http://support.apple.com/kb/PH10915
  3. ↑ http://www.isumsoft.com/windows-10/zip-and-unzip-files-without-winzip-software.html
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