How to unpack files. Unzipping files with WinRAR

An archive is simply one file into which other files have been stuffed to reduce the overall size. If you still sigh when you receive another file in a ZIP, RAR, 7-Zip or any other archive, then this article is for you.

Let's look at several possible options how to unpack the archive:

How to extract a ZIP archive using Windows 7
How to extract data from a RAR file using 7-Zip
How to unpack a damaged or multi-volume archive

At the end of the article you can watch a short video on the topic.

The easiest way to extract a ZIP archive

ZIP archives are regular files with a “.zip” extension. In fact, to simply unzip files from ZIP, you don’t need any programs; everything is already built into Windows 7 Explorer. To unzip files, just right-click on the file and select “Extract all...” from the menu.

A dialog box will appear where you will need to specify the path to unpack the files, or leave it as default (current folder). As you can see, in the example I have a “Checklist.zip” file with a zipped Word document. You can often find a PDF file in archives.

If you leave the “Show extracted files” checkbox enabled, then at the end of the unzipping procedure, another Explorer window will open with a new folder open.

You don’t have to unzip the files at all, but go to the archive file like a regular folder and open the desired file from there.

Unfortunately, Explorer cannot work with RAR files. For them you need to install one of the programs that will be discussed.

Using the program is almost as easy as extracting a ZIP using File Explorer. To do this, just right-click on the file and select one of the items from the “7-Zip” submenu:

“Unpack” – to open the unpack dialog
“Extract here” – to simply extract the files to the current directory
“Extract to “Folder Name”” - unzip the files into a folder with the archive name (I recommend)

The simplest are the second and third options, because... do not require any further action. If you select the first option, the following dialog will appear:

Here we can specify our unpacking path. If you select the “No paths” option, then all files from the archive will be in one heap, without subfolders. The “Overwrite” parameter is responsible for the mode of overwriting existing files. By default, the program will ask about each such file.

You can extract files not only from the right-click menu. If you double-click on the file, it will open in the 7-Zip program window. To unzip files simply select them and click the "Extract" button

Alternative free method - Hamster Lite Archiver

I also want to introduce you to one newfangled program, Hamster Lite Archiver. It is even simpler, free and has a modern interface. After installing it, new menu items also appear in the menu.

To unpack a rar or zip archive, right-click on it and select one of the options:

Extract files… - opens a dialog window
Extract Here – extracts files into the current folder
Extract to “Folder name” - unzip to folder

Despite the fact that the context menu items are in English, the program itself is in Russian. Apparently we haven’t gotten around to translating these points yet, but by the time you read this article the situation may have already improved.

The dialogue looks like this:

To unzip all files, simply click the “Unzip” button and select the folder where to put them.

How to unzip a file using WinRAR

The WinRAR program is widely used for working with RAR archives. The program can be downloaded from the developer's official website. Look immediately in the list for the Russian version of the program (Russian). Installing the program is very easy, just click “Next” all the time. The program is paid with a trial period of 40 days. After the trial period ends, the program continues to work, but begins to bother you with a window reminding you about the license every time you start it.

To unpack RAR, or any other archive, just right-click on the file and select one of the options:

Extract files... - the unpacking dialog will open
Extract to current folder – contents will appear in the current folder
Extract to “folder name” - extracts the contents to a new folder with the archive name (recommended)

The simplest options are the second and third. If you select the first option, a dialog will appear in which you can specify the specific path where your files will be placed and a few more parameters:

Click to enlarge

Update Mode:

Extract with file replacement - if the folder already contains the same files as in the archive, they will be replaced with new ones
Extract with file update is the same, but only older files will be replaced
Update only existing files - only the update will occur, the remaining files will not be extracted.

The “Overwrite mode” items are responsible for the behavior of the program when replacing existing files.

You can also use this dialog to unpack a damaged archive. By default, if a file has an error, it will not be unpacked. If you check the “Leave damaged files on disk” checkbox, the damaged file will be unpacked. If it is a video or music, then it can be opened. But, of course, the completeness of the resulting file will depend on the degree of damage to the archive.

You can also unpack files from the WinRAR program window. To do this, just select the required files and click on any of the buttons: “Extract...” or “Wizard”.

Click to enlarge

The WinRar program will also help you organize a backup of your information.

Please note that after installing any of the listed programs, the standard “Extract…” menu item in Windows 7 Explorer for zip archives may disappear.

How to unpack a multi-volume archive

Multi-volume archives are created to split one huge archive into several small ones. In this case, there will be numbers at the end of the file names, for example.z01, .z02, .z03 or part1, part2, part 3 or 001, 002, 003, etc. To unpack such a multi-volume archive you will need ALL the parts, otherwise nothing good will come of it. The process of unpacking a multi-volume archive is no different from unzipping regular files.

You just need to unzip the first file in the list in the usual way, and the rest will be downloaded automatically.

If, in addition to the numbered parts, there is also a “regular” archive, then this file must be unpacked.

Click to enlarge

Please note that multi-volume ZIP archives created by WinRAR can only be unpacked with the same program!

Other programs give an error and even if you crack! And vice versa, WinRAR does not understand multi-volume files created by other programs.
After unpacking, the unnecessary archive file can be deleted.

Conclusions:

I believe that this article gave a comprehensive answer to the question of how to unpack a zip, rar, 7z or any other archive. This can be done using Windows Explorer (ZIP only) or using the free programs 7-Zip and Hamster Lite Archiver or using the paid program WinRAR. Choose a method that is convenient for you and use it for your health!

Imagine how grateful your friends will be if you share this information with them on social networks! By the way, you can also create your own archives using these programs, but read about this in the following articles.

A ZIP archive is an ordinary file in which other files are stored. Archives are often used to reduce the total size of all files in total. If this is your first time encountering such archives, then you probably have a question about how to unpack this archive.

Below we will look at two methods that will allow you to unzip a ZIP archive.

Method 1. Using standard Windows tools

For that matter, to extract files from an archive, users do not necessarily need to install third-party programs, because this procedure can be quite successfully performed using standard Windows tools.

To do this, simply right-click on the ZIP archive and go to "Extract All" .

A new window will appear on the screen in which you need to specify the path on the computer where the extracted files will be saved. After that, all you have to do is press the button "Extract" to begin the unpacking process.

After a few moments, you can find the unpacked files in the folder you specified.

In addition, you can unzip files in a much simpler way: just double-click on the archive with the left mouse button, after which the files contained in it will open as in a regular folder.

Method 2. Using WinRAR program

WinRAR is the most popular program for unpacking various archive formats. The program has a Russian-language interface and all the basic functions that allow you to work with archives, i.e. you can both unpack and create archives. In addition, through this program, if necessary, you can.

You can download the program for free using the link at the end of the article. Having completed the simple installation procedure, all archives by default can be opened using this program.

To unpack an existing archive, just right-click on it and go to "Extract to files" . Also, with the help of this program you can, which, in fact, are also archives.

Specify the folder where the files will be extracted and click the button "OK" . After this, the program will begin unzipping, which depends on the number and size of files.

In addition, as in the previous method, you can double-click on the archive icon with the left mouse button, after which the same WinRAR window will open.

What do we end up with? You can easily unpack ZIP archives using standard Windows tools, but with RAR archives you can’t do it without third-party programs. WinRAR, in addition to supporting all known archives, allows you to pack files into an archive, and even set a password for the archive. But what method to use to extract files from a ZIP archive is up to you.

Download WinRAR for free

Download the program from the official website

Very often, users ask the question: “How to open a RAR file?” This file format is quite popular and is used in all versions of Windows, Linux, MacOS and even Android, but for some reason it causes difficulties for users to open.

RAR is a special file compression format; essentially it is an archive that has a high compression ratio; because of this, it has gained high popularity on the Internet.

To open RAR archives, the generally accepted WinRAR utility is most often used, which allows you to both create archives and extract files from them.

When working with the WinRAR application, the user can create compound and multi-volume archives, as well as set a password on them. At the moment, there are a huge number of different archivers that can work with the Rar compression format. I propose to consider the best programs for different operating systems.

If you have already paid attention, you probably noticed that by default there is a standard ability to open only Zip archives. Therefore, users often simply cannot open a RAR archive until they download a special utility. If you don't know what exactly you need, then consider several options.

WinRaR

Probably the most popular archiver for the Windows operating system. WinRar can not only open and extract files from an archive, but also allows the user to create archives themselves.

As always, you can download the program from the developer’s official website – www.win-rar.ru/download/.

It is worth paying attention to the fact that the program is shareware. There is a 30 day trial version which allows the user to try out all the features.

With WinRar installed, in order to place a file in an archive, just right-click on it and select “Add to archive”.

In order to unpack a compressed file, just left-click on it and in the program window that opens, click on the “Extract” button, which is located in the toolbar.

Main functions of WinRAR:

Ability to create archives of no more than 8GB;
Yes, email attachment, archive blocking and more;
Recovering damaged archives;
Availability of a file manager;

7-zip

Another equally popular archiver, created in 1999. The main advantage of 7-zip is that it is completely free and open source. The program has two versions:

Version with graphical interface;
Command line version;

Like the previous archiver, 7-zip does an excellent job with Rar archives, and also supports working with file types such as: tar, gz, tb2, wim, 7z. By the way, the main compression format for this program is Zip.

The user, at his discretion, can install several archivers on his PC at once, but by default the archives will be opened in WinRar.

Main advantages of the program:

Excellent speed of creating and unpacking archives;
Support for native 7z format, which has more advantages over zip;
A simple and intuitive interface that allows users to quickly understand the functions.

You can download 7-zip from the official website at: www.7-zip.org

FreeArc

Another absolutely free open source archiver. If you have FreeArc installed in your arsenal, then you will not have any questions about how to open a RAR file, since the program can work with all popular archive formats.

By the way, those who have already worked with this archiver have probably noticed that it has an excellent speed of operations, so it is at least twice as fast as many of its competitors.

By the way, this archiver can be easily connected to such popular file managers as Total Commander and Far.

Distinctive aspects of FreeArc:

High speed;
Ability to restore damaged archives;
Automatic sorting of archives by date, size, etc.;
A huge number of settings;
Clear interface.

TUGZip

A lesser-known free, open-source archiver that has proven itself not only when working with archives, but also with disk images.

If the standard functionality of the program does not suit you, you can easily supplement it with specially created plugins.

Main features of the program:

Creation of self-extracting archives;
Working with disk images: ISO, BIN, IMG and others;
Support for installing third-party plugins;
Restoring damaged archives;
Integration into the Explorer context menu;

I won't list all the features that TUGZip has. As you can see, there are plenty of them here and, probably, even more than the most popular archivers have. By the way, the program is independently updated via the Internet and has support for the Russian language.

IZarc

A fairly universal archiver that can also work with disk images.

The program is completely free and supports all modern archive and disk image formats. The main advantages include the following:

Ability to convert an archive into an image and vice versa;
Automatic integration into the Windows context menu;
Scanning archives for viruses using ;
Russian language support;

Having this archiver on your computer, you will no longer have questions: “How to open a Rar file?”

Hamster Free ZIP Archiver

Quite an interesting and at the same time advanced archiver, which combines functions that are not typical of most archivers.

It has features like:

Upload archives to popular cloud services: DropBox, Yandex Disc, Google Drive and others;
Share links to created archives with friends and work colleagues;
Supports all popular file compression methods;
Has a high compression ratio.

Therefore, if you want to keep up with the times, I advise you to take a closer look at this archiver.

PeaZip

Our list of archivers for Windows ends with PeaZip. This is a freely available free archiver that does not require installation on the device. All you need to do is copy the program to disk.

PeaZip is also a graphical shell for other archivers. The program has support for creating archives in its own Pea format.

Main functions of the program:

Working with multi-volume archives;
Support for all modern archives;
Checking the integrity of archives;
Creation of encrypted archives;

In general, a standard set of functions that are found in many archivers.

How to open a RAR file on Android and iOS mobile devices

As a rule, many mobile devices already come pre-installed with various archivers and file managers that can work with RAR archives. Moreover, most file managers allow you to view archives as if the user had opened a regular folder.

If your device does not have a program to open the archive, then you can use the options suggested below.

Popular programs for opening RAR archives on Android

Total Commander is a popular file manager that has migrated from computers to mobile devices. With its help, you can easily open archives on your smartphone, although the program interface is somewhat complex, which is why many users are looking for alternative programs.

ES File Explorer is another very popular file manager that, in addition to its main tasks, has a number of additional features that work great on rooted devices.

FX File Manager is one of the few file managers that can work in two window mode. The truth will not always be convenient for owners of gadgets with a small display.

Amaze File Manager is a less popular, but quite fast file manager that works without freezing. It is loved by users because of its interface, which is similar to Google services.

The best programs for iOS that can work with archives.

File Manager is probably one of the advanced managers that cloud storage users will like. Because it can upload archives to the cloud.

USB Disk Pro - allows you to preview files, and also has a bunch of other functions that will appeal to both beginners and advanced users.

Documents 5 is the best file manager that allows you to search for files on your device, copy and move, and also add to the archive.

How to open a RAR file on Linux

If you use the Linux operating system on your computer, then I can please you. You don’t have to search or download anything, since the distributions of this operating system already have built-in software packages for working with Rar archives. True, this set of programs does not have a familiar graphical interface.

To make it easier to transfer folders containing a large number of files over the network, they are subjected to an archiving process, when they are packed into a single file with the maximum degree of information compression. Users who have downloaded this archive unpack it and only after that they get access to all the information and files it contains. Despite the fact that the Windows Vista and Windows 7 operating systems include a built-in program for creating and unpacking archives, it is inferior in its capabilities to third-party archivers such as WinRAR and 7Z.

If you often work with archives, we recommend downloading and installing one of the mentioned programs on your computer - WinRAR or 7Z. It's very easy to work with them.

How to unpack a RAR archive
It should be noted that the WinRAR archiver was created by a talented Russian programmer Evgeniy Roshal, has full support for the Russian language and differs in versions depending on the system you have installed. Download the appropriate archive with the program for your system in the form of an installation file from the official website rarlab.com and install WinRAR on your computer.

After installing WinRAR, all archive files on the computer will be associated with this program as the one used to open them by default, and their icons will look like the icon of the archiver itself.

The following items will be added to the context menu called when you right-click on an archive file: “Extract files”, “Extract to current folder” and “Extract to [archive file name]”.

The following items will also be added to the context menu called up when right-clicking on a regular file that is not an archive in its essence: “Add to archive”, “Add to archive [file name].rar”, “Add to archive and send via e-mail", "Add to archive [file name].rar and send by e-mail."

Accordingly, now, to unpack any archive, just right-click on it and select “Extract” from the context menu and specify the location where it will be unpacked. To create an archive, you need to click on any file or folder in which a number of files are stored and select the appropriate method of adding to the archive from the context menu. We will not describe the difference between each method, since in practice you yourself will very quickly understand their nuances and find the most convenient option for yourself.

WinRAR is considered one of the best archivers, providing good speed, high levels of information compression and unpacking a large number of different archive formats.

How to unpack a 7Z archive
The 7-Zip archiver was developed by Ukrainian programmer Igor Pavlov. On the official website of the program 7-zip.org.ua you also need to select the installation file that matches your operating system. After the file is saved, install the program on your computer.

The menu of the program itself is well Russified, but for some reason the context menu is in English. But it's easy enough to figure out. “Extract files” - unpack files, “Extract Here” - unpack here into the current folder, “Add to archive” - create an archive.

Just like WinRAR, this archiver has a large number of supported formats and provides a high compression ratio. True, in the latter case, it is necessary to make a reservation and say that all archivers achieve good compression mainly on text-type files. Multimedia files are practically not compressed when packed into an archive by any archiver.

An archive is simply a single file that compresses other files to reduce its overall size. If you still sigh when you receive another file in a ZIP, RAR, 7-Zip or any other archive, then this article is for you.

For those who like to watch, I’m posting a video:

The easiest way to extract a ZIP archive

ZIP archives are regular files with a “.zip” extension. In fact, you don’t need any programs to simply unzip files from ZIP; everything is already built into Windows Explorer 7/8/10. Just right-click on the file and select “Extract all...” from the menu.

If you leave the “Show extracted files” checkbox enabled, then at the end of the unzipping procedure, another Explorer window will open with a new folder open. Or you can not unpack the files at all, but go into the archive like a regular folder and open the desired file from there.

How to unpack RAR archive

Unfortunately, Explorer cannot work with RAR files. For them you need to install one of the programs that will be discussed. The free program 7-Zip has long established itself as a simple and free archiver. Can unpack files 7z, zip, rar and others.

Using the program is almost as simple, just right-click on the file and select one of the items from the “7-Zip” submenu:

“Unpack” – to open the extraction dialog
“Extract here” – to simply extract the files to the current directory
“Extract to “Folder Name” - extract files to a folder with the archive name (I recommend)

The simplest are the second and third options, because... do not require any further action. If you select the first option, the following dialog will appear:

Here we can specify our path for the files. If you select the “No paths” option, then all files from the archive will be in one heap, without subfolders. The “Overwrite” parameter is responsible for the mode of overwriting existing files. By default, the program will ask about each such file.

You can extract files not only from the right-click menu. If you double-click on the file, it will open in the 7-Zip program window. To unzip files, simply select them and click the "Extract" button

Alternative free method - Hamster Lite Archiver

I also want to introduce you to one newfangled program Hamster Lite Archiver. It is even simpler, free and has a modern interface. After installing it, new items also appear in the Explorer context menu. To unpack a rar or zip archive, right-click on it and select one of the options:

Extract files… - opens a dialog window
Extract Here – extracts files into the current folder
Extract to “Folder name” - unzip to folder

Universal program WinRAR

The WinRAR program is very widely used for working with RAR archives, I only use it. The program is possible. Look immediately for the Russian version in the list. Installing WinRAR is very easy, just click “Next” all the time. The program is paid, but with a trial period of 40 days. After the trial period ends, WinRAR continues to work, but begins to bother you with a window reminding you about the license every time you start it.

To unpack a RAR file, or any other archive, just right-click on the file and select one of the options:

Extract files... - the unpacking dialog will open
Extract to current folder – contents will appear in the current folder
Extract to “folder name” - unzip the contents into a new folder with the archive name (recommended)

Update Mode:

Extract with file replacement - if the folder already contains the same files as in the archive, they will be replaced with new ones
Extract with file update is the same, but only older files will be replaced
Update only existing files - only the update will occur, the remaining files will not be extracted.

The “Overwrite mode” items are responsible for the behavior of the program when replacing existing files.

Using this dialog, you can unpack a damaged or incomplete archive. By default, if a file has an error, it will not be unpacked. If you check the “Leave damaged files on disk” checkbox, then the damaged archive will be partially unpacked. If it is a video or music, then it can be opened. But, of course, the completeness of the resulting file will depend on the degree of damage to the archive.

You can also unpack files from the WinRAR program window. To do this, just select the required files and click on any of the buttons: “Extract...” or “Wizard”.

WinRar will also help you organize a backup of your information.

Please note that after installing any of the listed programs, the standard “Extract...” menu item for ZIP archives may disappear from Windows Explorer.

How to unpack a multi-volume archive

Multi-volume archives are created to split one huge archive into several small ones. In this case, there will be numbers at the end of the file names, for example.z01, .z02, .z03 or part1, part2, part 3 or 001, 002, 003, etc. To unpack such a multi-volume archive you will need ALL the parts, otherwise nothing good will come of it. The unpacking process itself is no different from the usual one.

You just need to unzip the first file from the list in the usual way, and the rest will be downloaded automatically.

If, in addition to the numbered parts, there is also a “regular” archive, then it is this file that needs to be unpacked, it is the main one.

Please note that multi-volume ZIP archives created by WinRAR can only be unpacked with the same program! Other programs give an error and even if you crack! And vice versa, WinRAR does not understand multi-volume files created by other programs.

Conclusions:

So, you can extract files from zip, rar, 7z archives using Windows Explorer (ZIP only) or using the free programs 7-Zip and Hamster Lite Archiver, as well as using the paid program WinRAR. Choose a method that is convenient for you and use it for your health!

Imagine how grateful your friends will be if you share this information with them on social networks! By the way, you can also create your own archives using these programs.