How do I open a ZIP file on Windows?

Using Windows 10, users can open ZIP files in four ways; using File Explorer, using the Command Prompt, using PowerShell, or by installing a third-party file archiver utility.

Using File Explorer

1. Right-click the ZIP file you want to open.

2. Select the “Extract All” option from the menu.

3. Choose a destination folder for the files to be extracted.

4. Click the “Extract” button to begin extracting the files.

Using the Command Prompt

If you’re more comfortable with command line interface than graphical user interface, you can use the Command Prompt to open a ZIP file.

1. Open the Command Prompt by searching for “cmd” in the Start menu.

2. Run the “ cd ” command to change the current directory to the one containing the ZIP file.

3. Run the “ expand -r ” command to extract the ZIP file. Replace with the actual file name of the ZIP file.

Using PowerShell

For those who prefer to leverage the power of PowerShell , here’s how to open a ZIP file in Windows 10.

1. Open a PowerShell window by searching for “PowerShell” in the Start menu.

2. Run the “ cd ” command to change the current directory to the one containing the ZIP file.

3. Run the “ Expand-Archive -Force .zip ” command to extract the files in the ZIP file. Replace with the actual file name of the ZIP file.

Using a Third-Party File Archiver Utility

If you don’t want to use the built-in tool provided by Microsoft, you may opt to install a third-party file archiver utility such as 7-Zip or WinRAR .

Using 7-Zip, here’s how to open a ZIP file:

1. Download and install 7-Zip from its official website.

2. Right-click the ZIP file you want to open.

3. Select the “7-Zip” option from the menu.

4. Choose “Extract files…” from the sub-menu.

5. Choose a destination folder for the files to be extracted.

6. Click “OK” to begin extracting the files.

Using WinRAR, here’s how to open a ZIP file:

1. Download and install WinRAR from its official website.

2. Right-click the ZIP file you want to open.

3. Select the “WinRAR” option from the menu.

4. Choose “Extract files…” from the sub-menu.

5. Choose a destination folder for the files to be extracted.

6. Click “OK” to begin extracting the files.

This is how to open ZIP files on Windows 10. It doesn’t matter which method you choose as long as it allows you to access the contents of the compressed file.