Free file extractor software helps you extract the one or more files contained within a compressed file, ending in extensions like ZIP, RAR, 7Z and many others. Compressing files is a very common practice to help keep downloads and backups organized and small.
The one advantage of Universal Extractor is that you can decompress files to a subdirectory, thus avoiding the 'can't create new folders' problem that many people experience in Windows 7. Let me know if one of these two approaches works for you. Regards, BearPup. Unzip compressed files in Windows 7. I am not able to make these selections manually as I have no way of knowing which files have been modified and need to be copied and replaced and which do not. Can W7 be made to sort these files and modify the selected data base accordingly. This thread is locked. You can follow the question or vote as helpful, but you cannot reply to this thread. Aug 31, 2016 Zipped (compressed) files take up less storage space and can be transferred to other computers more quickly than uncompressed files. In Windows, you work with zipped files and folders in the same way that you work with uncompressed files and folders. Combine several files into a single zipped folder to more easily share a group of files.
These programs, commonly called zip or unzip programs, are usually small, easy to install, and support lots of common compression formats.
File extractor programs are also sometimes referred to as packer/unpacker, zipper/unzipper, or compression/decompression programs. Regardless of what they're called, they all do the same thing — and the ones we've listed below do it for free!
PeaZip
What We Like
Integrates with Windows Task Scheduler.
Two-step verification.
What We Don't Like
Complicated setup.
No native Mac support.
Microsoft Windows users. Click one of these options to extract the file. This should open a program with additional options such as the location to where you want to extract the files. If you have installed 7-Zip, click 7-Zip and then Extract to 'xxxx ', where xxxx is the name of the compressed file. In the past compressing files and creating archive files in Windows by command line has been more difficult than it needed to be. Now with PowerShell 5.0 the Compress-Archive and Expand-Archive cmdlets make quick work of these simple tasks. PowerShell 5.0 is installed by default in Windows Server 2016. Compression ratio results are very dependent upon the data used for the tests. Usually, 7-Zip compresses to 7z format 30-70% better than to zip format. And 7-Zip compresses to zip format 2-10% better than most of other zip compatible programs. 7-Zip works in Windows 10 / 8 / 7 / Vista / XP / 2016 / 2012 / 2008 / 2003 / 2000 / NT. P7zip - the port of the command line version of 7-Zip to Linux/Posix. On 7-Zip's SourceForge Page you can find a forum, bug reports, and feature request systems. Compression ratio. We compared 7-Zip with WinRAR 5.20.
PeaZip is a free file unzipper program that can extract content from over 180 archive file formats, some of which are common and others that are lesser-known.
In addition to decompressing files, PeaZip can also create new archives in over 10 formats. These can be password-protected and encrypted with 256-bit AES encryption, as well as secured with a keyfile for added protection.
PeaZip has some advanced features, too, like scheduled archives and support for creating self-extracting files.
7-Zip
What We Like
Reliable AES-256 encryption.
For personal or commercial use.
What We Don't Like
Outdated interface.
Heavy on system resources.
7-Zip is likely one of the most widely known file archiving and extracting software, with support for a wide range of popular file formats.
Dozens of archive files types can be opened with 7-Zip, and you can create a new archive in a few popular formats. You can also create self-extracting files in the EXE format that can be launched and extracted without using any decompression software — this is great if you're sending an archive to someone but you aren't sure if they have the proper software to extract files.
7-Zip integrates with Windows Explorer so that you can right-click an archive file to pull the content out.
Something else we like about 7-Zip is that it doesn't try to install extra software or toolbars during setup. However, one downside is that there isn't a portable 7-Zip available from the developer.
Note
UnzipLite is another free decompressor program that's based on the 7-Zip project, so it looks and functions nearly identical to 7-Zip.
jZip
What We Like
Intuitive interface.
Portable version available.
What We Don't Like
Adds jZip.com links to new archives.
Tries to install adware on setup.
jZip is a free archive extractor that can decompress over 40 different file formats, like ones that have the 7Z, EXE, ISO, WIM, LZH, TBZ2, and ZIP file extension.
Password-protection is supported if you're creating a new archive, with either ZipCrypto or 256-bit AES encryption.
Drag and drop archives into jZip or just right-click a supported format and choose to extract the contents. It's really that easy to unzip an archive with jZip.
CAM UnZip
What We Like
Fast and lightweight.
User-friendly tabbed interface.
What We Don't Like
Annoying banner ad.
No full-context menu integration.
CAM UnZip is a free compressor and file extractor that works with ZIP files. It supports drag and drop to quickly open a ZIP file and can create password-protected archives.
There's an interesting feature in CAM UnZip where the program can be configured to automatically run a 'setup.exe' file if one is extracted from a ZIP archive. This can greatly speed things up if you'll be extracting lots of setup files.
During install, you're given the option to install CAM UnZip as a portable program that can be launched from a removable drive, or, of course, as a regular one that runs from your computer.
Zipeg
What We Like
Online video tutorials.
Thumbnail previews of zipped images.
What We Don't Like
Moderate to high resource consumption.
Slow-loading previews.
Zipeg is another free archive extractor similar to the others in this list that supports common formats like RAR, TAR, and ZIP, plus several others.
Zipeg doesn't allow the creation of new archives, but it handles unzipping files just fine. When the program first opens, you get to choose which file extensions you want associated with the program so that you can be sure that Zipeg is the one that opens all of your archives.
One particular feature worth noting is the option to automatically open nested archives, meaning that Zipeg will open archives stored within the archive, automatically. While this isn't very common, it is helpful when you run into an archive like that.
While there isn't support for showing Zipeg in the right-click context menu, which makes unzipping files really easy, Zipeg does support drag and drop into its program window.
Unzip-Online
What We Like
No installation necessary.
Compatible with all browsers and operating systems.
What We Don't Like
Tedious extraction process.
No archive creation.
Unzip-Online is an online archive file decompressor. Upload a RAR, ZIP, 7Z, or TAR file to Unzip-Online and it will show you the files inside.
You can't download all the files at once, which is unfortunate, so you must select each file individually to download. Also, password-protected files can't be extracted with Unzip-Online.
There is a max upload size limit of 200 MB per file, which is probably just fine for most archives.
RAR File Extractor
What We Don't Like
Limited functionality.
Only supports RAR files.
RAR File Extractor is a free archive unzipper that can extract RAR files.
There really isn't anything to this program except the initial screen, which lets you load a RAR file and choose where it should be extracted.
Zipper
What We Like
Online help document.
Fixes damaged and incomplete files.
What We Don't Like
Ugly interface.
Not user-friendly.
Zipper is another free archive decompressor that can open and create ZIP files.
Drag and drop is supported for opening a ZIP file in Zipper, but it can't open a 256-bit AES encrypted file.
The interface isn't nearly as easy to use as the other programs in this list, there isn't a Windows Explorer integration setting, and it takes longer than it should to create your own ZIP file because you must use the built-in file explorer to select data.
Given the other programs in this list, Zipper really shouldn't be your preferred choice for a file unzipper. However, it is a working option and can do the job correctly, even if it's not the easiest to use or most appealing program.
IZArc
What We Like
Multilingual interface.
Extensive file format support.
What We Don't Like
No customizable compression settings.
Slower than 7Zip.
IZArc is a free compression and extraction utility that works with 40+ archive file types, can repair broken archives, and supports scanning archives for viruses before opening them.
The program is easy to use because it can be integrated with the right-click context menu in Windows. You can use this menu to quickly open or extract any of the supported unpacking formats.
There's a really helpful feature in IZArc that lets convert between archive formats, such as RAR to ZIP and many other variations of all sorts of formats. This is also true for CD images, meaning that you could make an ISO file from a BIN, MDF, NRG, or NDI file.
Archives created with IZArc can be password-protected with 256-bit AES encryption or ZipCrypto.
A portable download called IZArc2Go is also available on the download page, plus a command line tool and an iOS app.
ZipGenius
What We Like
Full-context menu integration.
Lightweight and portable.
What We Don't Like
Inadequate help file.
Buggy performance.
Another free archive extractor and compressor for Windows only is ZipGenius.
Several formats are supported with ZipGenius, for both creating and extracting archives. You can password protect new archives, automatically exclude particular file types when compressing files, and even split an archive into several smaller parts for easier web sharing or storage.
When extracting an archive with ZipGenius, you can set up an antivirus program to automatically scan the results to ensure you're not opening an infected archive.
ZipGenius also supports converting an archive to the ZIP format to easily change the file type to this popular one. There's also an option in the settings to set the priority of ZipGenius to control how many system resources can be allocated to it when compressing and decompressing files.
Free Zip Wizard
What We Like
Step-by-step compression configuration.
Streamlined graphical interface.
What We Don't Like
No longer supported by the developer.
Speed varies based on compression settings.
Free Zip Wizard is a clean and easy to use free file decompressor that supports ZIP files only.
In addition to opening and extracting ZIP files, Free Zip Wizard can create new ZIP files that are password-protected and supports uploading a newly created ZIP file to an FTP server with the built-in FTP client.
When creating a new ZIP file, File Zip Wizard doesn't allow adding whole folders to the archive, but you can select more than one file at a time, which is helpful.
It's really easy to choose how much compression you wish to apply to the ZIP file with a slider setting — you can choose anywhere from no compression to maximum compression.
Something you might not like about Free Zip Wizard is that it shows an advertisement every time you close the program.
TUGZip
What We Like
Extracts files from disc images.
Creates self-extracting .exe files.
What We Don't Like
No context menu integration with Windows 7 and later.
Slow at extracting larger archives.
TUGZip is a free archive decompressor that integrates with Windows, making extracting archives much faster.
Like many other programs in this list, TUGZip can make self-extracting archives, but it also lets you add custom commands that run after the extraction completes.
You can add an installed virus scanner to the TUGZip settings to have it scan extracted files automatically, which is great to prevent a malicious file from an archive from infecting your computer.
TUGZip can also create batch archives, repair broken archives, and convert an archive to one of several formats like 7Z, CAB, RAR, or ZIP.
ALZip
What We Like
Multilingual support.
Novel EGG format facilitates Unicode support.
What We Don't Like
Consumes more system resources than WinZip.
EGG compression is painfully slow.
ALZip is a free archive compressor and extractor for Windows and Mac. It can extract files from 40 archive formats and create new archives in over five different formats.
AlZip supports scanning files right after they're extracted using your own antivirus program, which is super helpful if you're downloading lots of archives since they may contain malware.
In addition, ALZip supports drag and drop to open archives, and encryption when making a new one.
A really awesome feature we found in ALZip is the ability to preview the contents of an archive without opening it, called Peak in Archive. This works by simply right-clicking a supported archive (like a ZIP file) and viewing the file names in the context menu.
After installing AlZip, you must enter this free serial number to use it: EVZC-GBBD-Q3V3-DAD3.
BiGZiP
What We Like
Works with most operating systems.
Light on system resources.
What We Don't Like
No updates in a decade.
Documentation is no longer available.
There aren't too many options in BiGZIP that set it apart from newer programs except the compression settings. There are nine different compression levels you can select to better refine how compressed you want an archive to be.
Loading files into a new ZIP file with BiGZIP isn't as intuitive as some of the other programs in this list, but it does work if you need to make or extract a ZIP file.
BiGZIP is a very outdated ZIP archiver and extractor, with the last supported Windows OS being Windows 98 (Mac and others are also supported). However, we tested BiGZIP in Windows 10 and Windows 8 without any issues.
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To download BiGZIP, click the Download link on the left side of the download page, and then choose the link next to your operating system.
Filzip
What We Like
Detailed help file.
Add hidden files to archives.
What We Don't Like
Doesn't display elapsed and remaining time for extractions.
Limited file format support.
Filzip is another old program that hasn't been updated in quite some time. However, it supports context menu integration, encryption, custom compression levels, virus scanning, and other advanced settings and options.
This file extractor can also convert archives, split archives into smaller pieces, search for files in an archive by name/date/size, and create self-extracting EXE files from ZIP archives.
In addition to supporting regular archive file formats like the other programs from this list, Filzip can also open less common ones like UUE, XXE, and ZOO archives. Around 15 file types in total can be opened using Filzip, and it can also create archives in several file formats like ZIP, JAR, CAB, and BH.
Adding files and folders to an archive using Filzip is a little more difficult than many of the other programs in this list.
You probably heard the term 'zip' many times before. It's one of the most popular file formats that allows you to compress files to save space on your hard drive or to make it easier to send them over the internet.
Typically, you would use zip for archiving files you rarely use, or to send documents and pictures via email. In addition, zip is also commonly used to compress files and make them available for download on websites or through FTP servers.
Nowadays, lots of third-party software can handle zip compression, but if you're running Windows 10, you don't need to install extra software, because the OS supports zip natively.
In this Windows 10 guide, we'll walk you through the easy steps to zip and unzip files and save space on your computer's hard drive or just to make it easier to send them.
How to zip files to save hard drive space
To compress files using zip and save hard drive space, do the following:
- Open File Explorer.
- Navigate to the location with the items you want to compress.
Right-click on an empty space, select New, and click Compressed (zipped) Folder.
- Type a descriptive name for the folder and press Enter.
- Select the files and folders you want to compress.
Right-click your selection, and choose Cut.
- Double-click the newly-created compressed folder.
Right-click it and select Paste.
You can always add more files to the zip folder by repeating steps 5, 6 and 7.
How to zip files to share with other people
If you're only trying to compress files to make it easier to send them over the internet, you can do the following:
- Open File Explorer.
- Navigate to the location of the items you want to compress.
- Select the files and folders you want to share.
Right-click your selection, select Send to, and click on Compressed (zipped) folder.
- Type a name for the compressed folder and press Enter.
Once you complete these steps, you can, for example, attach the zipped folder to email to share files with other people. After you sent the email, you can safely delete the zipped folder, because it only contains a copy of your original files.
Alternatively, you can select the items you want to send, and from the Share tab, click the Zip button to compress.
How to unzip files on Windows 10
Windows 10 supports zip natively, which means that you can just double-click the zipped folder to access its content — and open files. However, you always want to extract all the compressed files before using them.
If you don't unzip the files, you won't be able to edit and save the new content in the same document, and if you're trying to install a piece of software, the installation process won't start.
There are at least two ways to extract files from a zipped folder:
Use the Extract All wizard
To extract all the files from a zipped folder, do the following:
- Right-click the compressed (zipped) folder.
Select Extract All from the context menu.
- By default, the compressed files will extract in the same location as the zipped folder, but you can click the Browse button to select an alternative location.
Check the Show extracted files when complete option.
- Click Extract.
Using the File Explorer
To extract all or individual files from a zipped folder, do the following:
- Double-click the compressed (zipped) folder.
- Select the file or files you want to extract.
Right-click your selection and click Cut.
- Navigate to the location you want to unzip the files to.
Right-click and select Paste.
Alternatively, inside the zipped folder, you can select the items you want, and on the Extract tab, select the location to extract the files. If the location isn't listed, click the More button, and then click the Choose location button to find the correct folder.
Wrapping up
Although there are tons of third-party software options designed to compress files, which can also handle additional compression file formats, you'll find that Windows 10 includes all the necessary functionalities anyone needs to zip and unzip files.
Free Unzip Compressed Files Program
Do you use Windows 10 or another software to handle file compression? Let us know your preferences in the comments.
Free Winzip Download Unzip
More Windows 10 resources
Windows 7 Unzip Utility
For more help articles, coverage, and answers to common questions about Windows 10, visit the following resources: