How to Extract Files: A Guide to Extracting Zipped Files

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When you receive a zipped file through email, the first question that comes to your mind is; how do I open this? Now that you are here, you can relax because this article is all about that! A zipped file is just like any other digital file. You can open it from any computer operating system only that you will have to do more than just 'double clicking' to access the files therein.

WinZip has all the solutions and relevant software to help you open ZIP files on Windows PC, Mac, Android, and iPhone devices.

What is a ZIP file?

A ZIP file is a group of files or folders that have been compressed together. This is done to make transportation of bulk files easy and reduce the time for sending and accessing the file inside. ZIP files are small in size and hence easily transferrable. A ZIP file has an extension (.zip), and the folder has the zipper image on it.

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Table of Contents

  1. What is a ZIP file?
  2. Common uses of ZIP files
  3. How to extract zipped files
  4. Why use WinZip?
  5. We can help

Common uses of ZIP files

Files and folders get compressed for two reasons:

Reduce the size of a folder:

Many devices come with limited storage space, and it is squarely upon the users to manage the available space. To ensure that your gadget stores as much as possible, you can compress your large files into ZIP files. For example, if your photos folder is consuming much of your space, you can use WinZip to compress that folder. The result will be a smaller folder but retaining the original photo quality.

Reduce the time for downloading, uploading, or sending files

Have you ever tried to download software or a movie that took hours? It is because the files were too big. Compressed files are best when downloading, sending, or uploading. They require only a short time to process and are therefore faster to download and upload.

How to extract zipped files

There are a couple of ways to extract zipped files, but using WinZip is by far the easiest and most convenient. Once you have successfully installed our software, you are just a few steps away from accessing your files. You must also have a zip file on your computer for you to open. And if you downloaded it from the internet or from your email, you will find it in your downloads.

  1. Right-click on the folder you want to open. From the dropdown, you'll see the option 'Open with WinZip.' Click on it to open the document.
  2. Alternatively, right-click on the "extract files option." Another dropdown menu will appear. This will prompt you to choose the folder or destination you want to extract your zipped file. You can extract the file in its current or different folder. Choose the action you want to take.

Why use WinZip?

Our award-winning solutions have been tested and proven with over 1 billion downloads so far. Unlike many other products in the market, we make sure that your data is protected. We ensure the quality of your data is retained by applying lossless compression.

WinZip is a one-stop-shop. It opens not only compressed files but also many. other formats such as: RAR, 7Z, BZ2, LHA, LZH, CAB, ISO, IMG, TAR, TAR.GZ, TAZ, GZ, GzIP, TGZ, TZ, UUENCODED, XXENCODED, MIME, ZIPX, ZIP, and BinHex.

You can use WinZip on all Windows 7, 8, 10, Vista, XP, and Internet Explorer 8 or later versions. It can also work well with Mac OS X 10.8, 10.9 and 10.10

We can help

We have all the utilities you need to zip, unzip, organize or send your file. WinZip gives you the best experience of managing your files.

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