Programs for archiving files. Opening the ZIP archive

17.12.2021

In this article we will dwell in detail on the algorithm of actions in specific programs when unpacking data, using the last three groups of methods.

Method 1: WinRAR

One of the most famous archivers is WinRAR, which, although it specializes in working with RAR archives, can also extract data from ZIP archives.

Method 2: 7-Zip

Another archiver that can extract data from ZIP archives is the 7-Zip application.

Method 3: IZArc

Now let's describe the algorithm for extracting content from ZIP objects using IZArc.

Launch IZArc. Click on the button "Open".

The shell starts "Open archive...". Go to the ZIP location directory. With the object selected, click "Open".

The contents of the ZIP will appear as a list in the IZArc shell. To start unpacking files, click on the button "Extract" on the panel.

The extraction settings window opens. There are many different parameters that the user can figure out on his own. We are interested in specifying the unpacking directory. It is displayed in the field "Extract to". You can change this parameter by clicking on the catalog image from the field to the right.

Like 7-Zip, it is activated "Browse folders". Select the directory you plan to use and click "OK".

Change the extraction folder path in the box "Extract to" The unzipping settings window indicates that the unzipping procedure can begin. Click "Extract".

The contents of the ZIP archive were extracted to the folder whose path was specified in the field "Extract to" unzipping settings window.

Method 4: ZIP Archiver

Method 5: HaoZip

Another software product with which you can unpack a ZIP archive is the archiver from Chinese developers HaoZip.

The main disadvantage of this method is that HaoZip only has an English and Chinese interface, but the official version does not have Russification.

Method 6: PeaZip

Now let's look at the procedure for unzipping ZIP archives using the PeaZip application.

Launch PeaZip. Click on the menu "File" and select an item "Open archive".

The opening window appears. Go to the directory where the ZIP object is located. Having marked this element, press "Open".

The contents of the ZIP archive will appear in the shell. To unzip, click on the shortcut "Extract" in the form of a folder.

The extraction options window appears. In field "Target" The current path to unzip the data is displayed. If desired, it is possible to change it. Click on the button located immediately to the right of this field.

The tool starts "Browse folders", which we have already become familiar with earlier. Navigate to the desired directory and highlight it. Click "OK".

After displaying the new destination directory address in the "Target" press to start extraction "OK".

The files are extracted to the specified folder.

Method 7: WinZip

Now let's turn to the instructions for extracting data from a ZIP archive using the WinZip file archiver.

The main disadvantage of this method is that the version of WinZip in question has a limited period of use, and then you will have to buy the full version.

Method 8: Total Commander

Now let's move on from archivers to file managers, starting with the most famous of them - Total Commander.

There is another option for extracting files in Total Commander. This method is especially suitable for those users who do not want to unpack the entire archive, but only individual files.

Method 9: FAR Manager

The next file manager, in which we will talk about the actions of unpacking ZIP archives, is called FAR Manager.

Launch FAR Manager. It, like Total Commander, has two navigation panels. You need to go in one of them to the directory where the ZIP archive is located. To do this, first of all, you should select the logical disk on which this object is stored. We need to decide in which panel we will open the archive: on the right or on the left. In the first case, use the combination Alt+F2, and in the second - Alt+F1.

A disk selection window appears. Click on the name of the drive where the archive is located.

Enter the folder where the archive is located and navigate to it by double-clicking on the object LMB.

The content will appear inside the FAR Manager panel. Now in the second panel you need to go to the directory where the unpacking is performed. Again we select the disk using the combination Alt+F1 or Alt+F2, depending on which combination you used the first time. Now you need to use something else.

The familiar disk selection window appears, in which you must click on the option that suits you.

Once the drive is open, navigate to the folder where you want to extract the files. Next, click anywhere on the panel that displays the archive files. Apply combination Ctrl+* to select all objects contained in the ZIP. After highlighting, press "Copy" at the bottom of the program shell.

The extraction options window appears. Click on the button "OK".

The ZIP contents are extracted to a directory that is activated in another panel of the File Manager.

Method 10: “Explorer”

Even if you do not have archivers or third-party file managers installed on your PC, then ZIP archive you can always open and extract data from it using "Conductor".

There are several methods to unpack a ZIP archive using various programs. These are file managers and archivers. We have not presented a complete list of these applications, but only the most famous of them. There is no significant difference between them in the procedure for unpacking an archive with the specified extension. Therefore, you can safely use those archivers and file managers that are already installed on your computer. But even if you don’t have such programs, you don’t have to install them right away to unpack the ZIP archive, since you can perform this procedure using "Conductor", although it is less convenient than using third-party software.

Brief description of the program

The operating algorithm used in the WinRar program provides a high level of information compression density. This feature is very convenient, especially for those users who often have to work with files in large formats.
The application can even archive data that has already been compressed previously. It effectively compresses multimedia files, executable software, and various object libraries. With its help you can completely manage archived files, restore damaged information, encrypt data and much more. etc.

Key Features

archiving files and then deleting them;
the ability to create self-extracting archives;
select the required type of archive data – ZIP or RAR;
the ability to save the archive unpacking path;
continuous archive creation function;
the ability to add a special electronic signature;
protecting archives by setting passwords;
the ability to edit the archive;
quick viewing of the contents of archived files;
the ability to add data to a previously created archive.

Comparison of WinRar with similar applications

The most famous worthy competitor to the WinRAR program is 7-zip. Unlike WinRAR, 7-zip works using the LZMA algorithm, which compresses files a little more strongly. However, 7-zip works much slower, does not have such rich functionality, and is not as convenient for users to use.

Working with the program

Working with the program is quite simple. Every user can understand its mechanism. For example, in order to compress a file, you need to add it to the program and perform the necessary operation.
In the application you can view, delete, find archived files, etc.

WinRar interface

To carry out the work, you must first complete all the necessary settings.

WinRar Settings

Selection of formats

WinRar – powerful multifunctional archiver, which will help make data compact and optimize hard disk space.

CoffeeZip is a high-quality archiver that can be used on Windows OS as the main one. This program integrates into the Windows context menu, that is, it allows you to carry out basic operations directly from Explorer. Another advantage of this tool is that it is free to distribute.

IZArc is a high-quality archiver program with a clear and easy-to-use interface. IZArc is a prominent representative of the latest generation of archivers that work with any format, quickly compress and decompress data, while spending a minimum amount of operating system resources.

Bitser– a prominent representative of the line of free archiving programs. This application is primarily characterized by high speed procedures for archiving and unpacking data.

Explzh– an excellent free archiver that is incredibly popular. This development from Ponsoftware quickly won the love of users all over the world due to its versatility, versatility and efficiency.

Hamster Free Zip Archiver– an excellent archiver for novice PC users. It features an attractive, friendly and simple interface, a basic set of options, which are quite enough to work with all types of archives. Hamster is distributed free of charge and is quite popular software.

Bandizip is a new free archiver that is compatible with most archive formats that exist today. This tool is distinguished by its simple multilingual interface, speed and high compression ratio.

7z (7zip) archiver supports a large number of compression formats. In addition to its own format (7z), it can work with ZIP, RAR, CAB, GZIP, BZIP2 and TAR archives. When installed, the program is integrated into the Windows shell, and you can call it by right-clicking.

ZIP is an archive file format used to losslessly compress one or more files. It was created in 1989 to replace ARC compression.

What's in .ZIP files

A ZIP file, like other archives, is a collection of one or more files and/or folders, collected into one file for easy sharing.

The ZIP format (not only supports various compression methods, but also archives files without changing them. ZIP files are the best option when you cannot send several files (or an entire folder) at once, and they take up less space, so you can add additionally add other documents.Today this is the most popular archive format.

The most common use of ZIP files is to add software to a website. This saves space on the server, reduces the time required to download it to your computer, and hundreds of program files will thus be included with the installer.

Another example is downloading or sharing dozens of photos. Instead of sending each image by e-mail or saving one by one from the site, the sender can place the files in a ZIP archive for easier transfer.

How to open a .ZIP file

The easiest way to open a ZIP file is to simply double-click it and let your computer show you the folders and files it contains in Explorer. In the majority operating systems, including Windows and Mac OS, ZIP files are processed internally, so there is usually no need to install any additional software.

To create ZIP and encrypt data, special applications are used - archivers. PeaZip And 7-Zip- these are excellent and absolutely free programs, with which you can work with the ZIP format. The most popular archiver is WinRAR.

The ZIP file will also open on most mobile devices. iOS users install for free iZip, and owners of Android devices have the opportunity to work with ZIP files using B1 Archiver or 7Zipper.

7-Zip is a free, constantly updated classic archiver for Windows, appearance which resembles previously popular file managers. Its main window is divided into 2 parts, in each of which you can navigate through folders on your computer and, in addition to operations with archives, copy, move and delete regular files.

7-Zip is one of the most downloaded analogues of WinRAR. On our fan site you can download 7-Zip in Russian for Windows 10, 8, 7, XP and Vista in 32 and 64 bit, its latest version (starting from 16.x) and 7-Zip 9.20 (released in 2010 year).

You can use 7-Zip for any purpose (even on commercial computers) completely free of charge; it is completely free software, one of the few that have such a status today.

Installing 7-Zip deserves special attention - it is so simple that even a grandmother can handle it. In the small window of the installer, just click one “Install” button, and the archiver will then appear on your computer.

Launch 7-Zip and explore its capabilities.

Main features of 7-Zip

select any file (or several files and folders) on your computer through the file manager window and create an archive from it;
When creating an archive, you can specify its compression level and select its format. By default, 7z is selected, but bzip2, gzip, tar, wim, xz and zip are also available for creation;
7-Zip supports opening archives of most modern formats, including the RAR format;
created archives can be encrypted using a password;
The creation of multi-volume archives is supported (the size is selected before creation from a given list) and self-extracting (SFX) archives. That is, archives that do not require an archiver to extract, they have an EXE extension;
you can add your comment to any file through the 7-Zip menu (or by pressing the key combination CTRL+Z);
among additional features, not directly related to working with archives, we can mention the calculation of file checksums;
the 7-Zip interface is in Russian, but you can change it in the settings to any of the more than 80 available languages in the world;
The appearance of the archiver can be finely customized to suit you.

Advantages

7-Zip allows you to work with archives without launching the shell (just like WinRAR). Just right-click on any file or archive and select one of the archiver commands (unpack, compress, etc.) from the context menu. The list of commands in the context menu can be changed in the archiver settings;
Thanks to the "Drag-and-drop" function, you can archive any file by simply dragging it into the 7-Zip window, after which the archive creation dialog will appear;
In the archiver settings, after installation, you can use a convenient interface to easily associate individual archive formats (or all at once) with 7-Zip only for yours or for all users on your computer.

Flaws

Can't create RAR archives;
In the folder and drive navigation area (above each file manager window), there is no quick navigation to the desktop and other frequently used folders.

Download 7-Zip for Windows 10, 8, 7 and XP (32 and 64 bit) from the official website using the links below.

*from the official website