For work-related needs, you often have to deal with the widespread ZIP archives, but unfortunately, since it’s not very practical with the PC world, you still do not know how to manage these compressed folders.\u00a0If you have always received the help of friends and colleagues when it comes to the problem, it is time for you to learn to open ZIP files independently by using some special programs.<\/p>\n
But no, come on, do not spit the nose, that’s not the case!\u00a0You can be absolutely quiet!\u00a0Opening ZIP files is a really simple task;\u00a0I’m sure you will be able to learn and you’ll be able to do it in a blink of an eye, even if you are the first weapon in using your PC.\u00a0I am here for this very reason, and since I want to help you resolve this technology-related problem, I’m going to point you out a list of\u00a0programs to open ZIP files<\/strong>.<\/p>\n Ah, I almost forgot.\u00a0The programs I’m about to talk to you in the smallest details are completely\u00a0free<\/strong>, so you have no more excuses.\u00a0Come on, come on, sit comfortably and take a few minutes of free time: I’ll explain to you in detail how you’ll have to set up some famous software.\u00a0Once you have them installed on your PC or Mac, I’ll show you the steps to open ZIP files;\u00a0you will see that, at the end of the reading, the ZIP archives will no longer have secrets for you and you will be satisfied with what you learned, do we bet?\u00a0I wish you a good read.<\/p>\n In Windows operating systems, you can open a ZIP file without the need for any third-party program.\u00a0I say this from the time Windows manages ZIP files as compressed folders, just like classic file group folders.<\/p>\n What you need to do to open a ZIP file through the built-in Windows feature is simply locate the ZIP file you want to open and double-click with the left mouse button on it.\u00a0You will open a compressed folder view window, through which you can do the basic operations: you can open any file within the ZIP file with a double click on it, or extract all the content in a path you choose.<\/p>\n To extract the contents of the ZIP file on the latest Windows systems (Windows 8 or later), click the\u00a0Extract<\/strong>\u00a0tab\u00a0at the top of the window.\u00a0Then, click the\u00a0Extract All<\/strong>\u00a0button.\u00a0If you can not locate the tab, you can also proceed by right-clicking the ZIP file and selecting the\u00a0Extract All<\/strong>\u00a0item from the context menu that will appear to you.<\/p>\n A window will open asking you to select the file extraction path (typically the files are extracted in the same location as the ZIP file is allocated) and you will have to confirm the extraction with the\u00a0Extract<\/strong>\u00a0button.\u00a0Doing so will create a simple folder that will contain the contents of the ZIP file<\/p>\n Among the many programs to open ZIP files, I recommend using 7-Zip.\u00a0This is a great program with full functionality and efficient management of compressed archives, although its interface is sparse and reduced to the essentials.\u00a07-Zip also manages the opening of a large number of archive formats, such as RAR, CAB, GZIP, 7Z or ZIP files.\u00a0You can download it for free only on\u00a0Windows<\/a>\u00a0.<\/p>\n To get the program, go to its official website through the link I’ve provided and click\u00a0Download<\/strong>\u00a0at the version you want to download: 64-bit x64 if you have a 64-bit infrastructure system;\u00a0or choose the 32-bit x86 version.<\/p>\n Then open the\u00a07zxxxx-x64.exe<\/strong>\u00a0(64 bit) or\u00a07zxxxx.exe<\/strong>\u00a0(32 bit) file to start the installation procedure.\u00a0Click the\u00a0YES<\/strong>\u00a0button\u00a0on the window that will open the User Account Control;\u00a0then click\u00a0Install<\/strong>\u00a0and, as soon as the upload bar is full, click the\u00a0Close<\/strong>\u00a0button.\u00a0If a PC restart window appears, press the\u00a0YES<\/strong>\u00a0button.<\/p>\n Now, to open a ZIP file, you just need to right-click the ZIP file and select the\u00a07-Zip> Open<\/strong>\u00a0item from the context menu.\u00a0When you open the program, you can decide, for example, whether you want to open the archive content by double-clicking it or dragging it through the\u00a0Extract<\/strong>\u00a0button\u00a0by choosing the destination path using the\u00a0[…]<\/strong>\u00a0button\u00a0and then pressing\u00a0OK.<\/strong><\/p>\n You will surely be aware that opening ZIP files through 7-Zip is only done through contextual menus.\u00a0If you want to apply a file association between 7-Zip and ZIP compressed archives, you will need to open 7-Zip and reach the settings using\u00a0Tools<\/strong>\u00a0and then\u00a0Options.\u00a0On the\u00a0System<\/strong>\u00a0tab, highlight the\u00a0zip<\/strong>\u00a0entry\u00a0and double-click the adjacent column or the\u00a0All Users<\/strong>\u00a0column.<\/p>\n On MacOS operating systems, you can make the opening (or decompression) operation of a ZIP file without having to install any software.<\/p>\n The procedure for doing this is very simple.\u00a0You will need to select the ZIP archive you want to open and double-click with the left mouse button on it.\u00a0The contents of the archive will be extracted automatically in the same folder where the ZIP file is located.\u00a0Simple?\u00a0However, the built-in functionality may also be limited.\u00a0So I’ll recommend some software to download on your Mac to do this ZIP opening operation.<\/p>\n I’ve already mentioned 7-Zip, the free open source program for Windows.\u00a0You will be pleased to know that its main development code (p7zip) has been used to develop a free program, called Keka, for compressed archive management (such as ZIP files) for macOS systems.\u00a0This program is available for download through its\u00a0official website\u00a0.\u00a0By sharing the same 7-Zip core, this program manages the opening of numerous compressed archive formats (for example, RAR, CAB, GZIP, 7Z, or ZIP files).<\/p>\n However, keep in mind that its compatibility with the most commonly compressed archives is for the sole opening of these;\u00a0In fact, Keka manages the only creation of 7z, Zip, Tar, Gzip, Bzip2, DMG and ISO archives.\u00a0In your specific case, it will surely be your case to open ZIP archives.<\/p>\n To download it, open the link I provided you and click the green button on the left with the ”\u00a0Download Keka” script<\/strong>\u00a0.\u00a0When the download is complete, open the Keka-XXXX.dmg package and drag the program icon\u00a0to the macOS\u00a0Applications\u00a0<\/strong>folder\u00a0, as suggested by the window that just appeared to you.<\/p>\n You will now have to set up the association between Keka and the ZIP extension files.\u00a0To do this, right-click on a ZIP file and select\u00a0Get Information<\/strong>\u00a0(or the\u00a0cmd + i<\/strong>\u00a0combination\u00a0from the keyboard).\u00a0From the window that has opened, expand\u00a0Open with<\/strong>\u00a0and, from the drop-down menu, select\u00a0Keka<\/strong>\u00a0;\u00a0then press the\u00a0Edit All button\u00a0and then\u00a0Continue<\/strong>\u00a0to confirm the association of ZIP files with the Keka software.<\/p>\n From now on, whenever you double-click a ZIP file, Keka will automatically extract the content in the same folder where the compressed archive is located.<\/p>\n To create ZIP files instead, simply open the Keka application (you will find it in the list of software and applications installed on your MacOS by clicking on the\u00a0Launchpad<\/strong>\u00a0).\u00a0Now select\u00a0the ZIP file icon at the top<\/strong>\u00a0, choose the compression level and drag the files inside the Keka window to create a ZIP compressed archive.<\/p>\n If you also want to view the contents of a ZIP compressed archive, before proceeding with its decompression, I suggest you download iZip.\u00a0This software is distributed on macOS systems for free, through its\u00a0official website\u00a0.\u00a0What is its peculiarity?\u00a0It’s just that you can mount a compressed ZIP archive as if it were a virtual memory unit so that you can browse the content and extract only what you need.\u00a0How do you say?\u00a0Are you excited about this software and want to download it on your Mac?\u00a0Then go on reading so you can step by step the procedure to get it.<\/p>\n First, open the link to the iZip official website that I’ve provided and click the green\u00a0Download Now<\/strong>\u00a0button.\u00a0Once the download is complete, open the\u00a0izip.dmg<\/strong>package\u00a0and drag the program icon\u00a0to the MacOS\u00a0Applications<\/strong>\u00a0folder\u00a0as suggested in the window.<\/p>\n To associate ZIP files with the iZip software, you must proceed as i suggest you: Right-click any ZIP archive and select\u00a0Get Information<\/strong>\u00a0(or the\u00a0cmd + combination\u00a0from the keyboard).\u00a0From the window that is shown to you, expand the\u00a0Open with,<\/strong>\u00a0and select\u00a0iZip<\/strong>\u00a0from the drop-down menu;\u00a0then press the\u00a0Edit All<\/strong>\u00a0button\u00a0and then\u00a0Continue<\/strong>\u00a0to confirm the association of iZip with ZIP files.<\/p>\n By now double-clicking the left mouse button on a ZIP file, you will see a window on which you will have to press the\u00a0Open<\/strong>\u00a0button.\u00a0Two windows will then open: one is for the ZIP file that has been mounted as if it was a removable drive, through which you can browse the contents of the ZIP archive;\u00a0the second window is related to iZip software, through which you can manage some features.<\/p>\n First of all, from the scanner window, you can easily transfer all the contents of the ZIP archive or individual files by simply dragging them into any folder as you like.\u00a0You can also double-click them to open them directly from inside the compressed archive.<\/p>\n By using the iZip window, you can choose to perform some functions: you can close the ZIP archive by pressing the\u00a0button with the expulsion symbol<\/strong>\u00a0;\u00a0you can set a password on the ZIP file, using the\u00a0padlock button<\/strong>\u00a0; can open the ZIP archive screen by using the\u00a0button with a magnifying glass<\/strong>\u00a0;\u00a0you can finally create a new ZIP file or open it with the corresponding\u00a0New<\/strong>\u00a0and\u00a0Open<\/strong>\u00a0buttons\u00a0.<\/p>\n The programs and applications that are useful to open ZIP files for free are really many.\u00a0Here is a list of some of the most popular software that I recommend downloading to your computer.<\/p>\nIntegrated Windows functionality<\/h2>\n
7-Zip (Windows)<\/h2>\n
Integrated macOS functionality<\/h2>\n
Keka (macOS)<\/h2>\n
iZip (macOS)<\/h2>\n
Other programs to open ZIP files for free<\/h2>\n
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