How to unzip files?

All Windows and Apple operating systems support the use of ZIP files without additional third-party software. On either platform, you’ll find that zipping and unzipping files can be done in a few intuitive steps.

In Windows 10, users can open ZIP files in two ways. Windows allows users to preview ZIP file contents and even extract files within them individually.

• Double-click the ZIP file. File Explorer will show you the file’s contents. At this point, you can either open all the files contained by selecting Extract All in the top-right corner of File Explorer, or you can select individual files and open them one at a time by dragging them to a new location. Selecting Extract All in File Explorer prompts an option window that allows you to set the destination for the extracted files. The default destination is always the current location of the ZIP file.
• Right-click the ZIP file. Then select Extract All from the drop menu.

Users can open ZIP files on a Mac in two ways. Selecting Quick Look from the drop menu only returns the total file size and its last modification date. Note that the macOS file manager Finder cannot preview ZIP file contents without third-party software.

• Double-click the ZIP file. This prompts the macOS Archive Utility tool to unzip the file and create a folder of the same name in the current directory. The ZIP file automatically persists.
• Right-click the ZIP file. Then select either Open or Open With from the drop menu. Selecting Open prompts the Archive Utility tool in the same manner as double-clicking. If you want to open the ZIP file with third-party software, you can select Open With to change the default application.

For iOS versions 11 and higher, the Files App will handle ZIP extraction by default. Users can open ZIPs on iPhones in five steps.

• Open the Files App
• Scroll to locate the ZIP you want to open in Locations or tap Browse to search larger directories for files by name.
• To preview the ZIP’s contents, tap and hold the icon. Then select Quick Look from the drop menu.
• Tap the ZIP file.
• Files App will create a folder of the same name, which you can tap to open.

Users can open ZIPs on Android phones in five steps.

• Open Files by Google.
• Scroll to locate the ZIP you want to open or tap Browse to search larger directories for files by name.
• Tap the ZIP file to preview its contents.
• Tap Extract to unzip the file.
• If you wish to delete the ZIP file, select Delete ZIP file. Otherwise, click Done to create a folder of the same name.