How to open ZIP, RAR, 7Z, TAR and GZ files on Windows 10

These step-by-step tutorials will show you how to open RAR, ZIP, TAR, GZ, 7Z, and other compressed files on Windows 10 using free software and online tools.


What are compressed files?

A Compressed file is a file that contains one or more files or folders and is smaller than the original file size. These files make downloading and transferring data faster and save disk space. Common compressed file extensions are .rar, .zip, .tar, .gz, and .7z.

Other compressed file extensions are b1, jar, xpi, arj, bz2, bzip2, tbz2, tbz, txz, cab, chm, chi, chq, chw, hxs, hxi, hxr, hxq, hxw, lit, cpio, deb, gzip, tgz, tpz, hfs, iso, lzh, lha, lzma, rpm, xar, z, taz, xz, dmg, cb7, cbr, cbt, and cbz.


File archivers

A file archiver is a program used to compress and uncompress files. A few popular file archivers are WinRar, WinZip, and 7-Zip.

Windows 10 File Explorer has a feature to compress and uncompress ZIP files.

You can also unzip compressed files online using B1 Online Archiver and Unzip-Online.


How to open a ZIP file on Windows 10 with File Explorer

  1. Open File Explorer.
    Open Windows 10 File Explorer
  2. Go to the ZIP file you want to unzip.
  3. Right-click on the ZIP file.
  4. Click on Extract All.
    Unzip a ZIP file in Windows 10
  5. In the 'Extract Compressed (Zipped) Folders' window, you click on Extract.
    Unzip a ZIP file in Windows 10

Windows will now unzip your ZIP file.


How to open ZIP, RAR, 7Z, TAR and GZ files on Windows 10 with 7-Zip

7-Zip is a free and open-source file archiver.

7-Zip supports the following formats:

  • Compressing and decompressing: 7z, XZ, BZIP2, GZIP, TAR, ZIP, and WIM
  • Decompressing only: APFS, AR, ARJ, CAB, CHM, CPIO, CramFS, DMG, EXT, FAT, GPT, HFS, IHEX, ISO, LZH, LZMA, MBR, MSI, NSIS, NTFS, QCOW2, RAR, RPM, SquashFS, UDF, UEFI, VDI, VHD, VHDX, VMDK, XAR, and Z.

You can download 7-Zip from https://www.7-zip.org.

  1. Open File Explorer.
    Open Windows 10 File Explorer
  2. Go to the compressed file you want to extract.
  3. Right-click on the file.
  4. Go to 7-Zip.
  5. Click on Extract Here.
    unzip compressed files using 7-zip

7-Zip will now extract your compressed file.


How to open ZIP, RAR, 7Z, TAR and GZ files on Windows 10 with WinRAR

WinRAR is another popular file archiver for Windows.

WinRAR supports the following formats: RAR, ZIP, CAB, ARJ, LZH, TAR, GZ, UUE, BZ2, JAR, ISO, 7Z, XZ, and Z.

WinRAR isn't free, but the company offers a 40-day free trial before purchasing a license to keep using it. But, as anyone who used it regularly knows, when those 40 days are up, you'll only get a frequent pop-up reminder about buying a license. You can continue using WinRAR for free forever.

You can download WinRAR from https://www.rarlab.com/download.htm.

  1. Open File Explorer.
    Open Windows 10 File Explorer
  2. Go to the compressed file you want to extract.
  3. Right-click on the file.
  4. Click on Extract Here.
    unzip compressed files using WinRAR

WinRAR will now decompress your compressed file.


How to open ZIP, RAR, 7Z, TAR and GZ files online with B1 Online Archiver

B1 Online Archiver is, as the name says, an online file archiver.

B1 Online Archiver supports the following formats: zip, rar, 7z, b1, jar, xpi, arj, bz2, bzip2, tbz2, tbz, txz, cab, chm, chi, chq, chw, hxs, hxi, hxr, hxq, hxw, lit, cpio, deb, gz, gzip, tgz, tpz, hfs, iso, lzh, lha, lzma, rpm, tar, xar, z, taz, xz, dmg, cb7, cbr, cbt, and cbz.

One advantage of an online archiver is that you don't need to install an extra program like WinRAR, WinZip, or 7-Zip on your computer. But because it's an online service, I wouldn't use it for secret, sensitive, or personal files because of privacy and security concerns.

  1. Open your browser (e.g., Google Chrome).
  2. Visit https://online.b1.org/online.
  3. Click on Select archive.
    Select archive on B1 Online Archiver
  4. In the next window, you go to the compressed file on your computer.
  5. Select the file.
  6. Click on Open.
    Open a compressed file on B1 Online Archiver
  7. B1 will now unzip the compressed file. Once it's complete, click on the file or the download icon next to it to download the file.
    Download a decompressed file from B1 Online Archiver

How to open ZIP, RAR, 7Z, TAR and GZ files online with Unzip-Online

Unzip-online is, as the name says, an online file archiver.

Unzip-Online only supports ZIP and RAR files.

One advantage of an online archiver is that you don't need to install an extra program like WinRAR, WinZip, or 7-Zip on your computer. But because it's an online service, I wouldn't use it for secret, sensitive, or personal files because of privacy and security concerns.

  1. Open your browser (e.g., Google Chrome).
  2. Visit https://unzip-online.com.
  3. Click on Uncompress files.
    Uncompress files button on Unzip-Online
  4. Click on Choose File.
    Choose File button on Unzip-Online
  5. In the next window, you go to the compressed file on your computer.
  6. Select the file.
  7. Click on Open.
    Open a compressed file on Unzip-Online
  8. Click on Uncompress file.
    Uncompress file button on Unzip-Online
  9. Unzip-Online will now unzip the compressed file. Once it's complete, click on the file to download it.
    Download a decompressed file from Unzip-Online

Windows