Here’s how to open a ZIP file in Windows 10, both natively and using third-party tools.
How to Unzip Files in Windows 10
Whenever you download a ZIP file that contains software you want to install, or a set of files from a friend, you’ll need to unzip it to use the contents properly.
To do this, browse to the folder containing the ZIP folder you want to open. If you’re not sure which ones they are, it’s a good idea to show file extensions in File Explorer. Open the View tab and check the File name extensions box so all files have their type at the end of their filename.
Now, right-click on the ZIP file you want to open and choose Extract All from the resulting menu. This will bring up a Windows dialog box that allows you to pick where you want the extracted files to go.
By default, the contents will go inside a new folder inside the same directory where the ZIP file is. It will also use the same name as the ZIP file, which you can change using the location box here. If you want to choose a new place for the unzipped files, hit Browse and you can extract to wherever you want.
Check Show extracted files when complete if you want to jump straight to the unzipped files when the process completes. Then hit Extract and Windows will unzip the files.
How to Unzip Files Using 7-Zip
The default file extraction option in Windows works for basic compressed file types. But if you work with less popular compressed files or otherwise need a more advanced tool for the job, you can use another file compression utility.
7-Zip is the best option for the job, in most cases. Once you’ve installed it, right-click on a ZIP (or other archive file format) and highlight 7-Zip. From there, you have several options.
Extract files gives you a new panel with options, while Extract Here will drop the files inside your current folder. Use Extract to “[Folder]” to create a new folder in your current directory with the same name as the zipped folder.
ZIP File Opening on Windows 10
It’s easy to unzip files on Windows 10 using these methods. The default method is good if you don’t want to install extra software, while 7-Zip can handle anything else you throw at it.
If you’re not familiar, why not learn a bit about file compression next so you know what these files actually do?
Image Credit: StepanPopov/Shutterstock
