ZIP Extractor is a free tool that lets you access and create ZIP files in Google Drive and Gmail. We're proud to have more than 160 million users!
ZIP Extractor allows you to open a ZIP file of your choice and then unpack, view, and download the files within.
Start by opening or creating a ZIP file using one of the buttons below.
To begin, choose a ZIP file to open from Gmail, Google Drive, or your computer. You may also use drag and drop.
Once shown, click on any file within the ZIP to view or download it.
Press the "Extract" button to save the selected files to Google Drive.
The unzipped files will be saved in a new folder in Google Drive called "(Unzipped Files)."
After extraction, click "View Files" to access the unzipped files on Google Drive.
ZIP Extractor is a pure JavaScript web application that runs totally within your web browser. All extraction and decompression occur on your machine, not on a server.
ZIP Extractor can open files that are password encrypted. The password is only used on your computer to open the file; it is never sent over the network.
ZIP Extractor supports the following file formats: ZIP, RAR, 7-Zip (*.7z), TAR, GZIP (*.gz), BZIP2 (*.bz2), LZIP (*.lz), and XZ.
General Information about ZIP files.
ZIP files combine one or more files into a single file known as an archive, compressing and reducing their size. The ZIP file format is widely used for quickly storing and sharing groups of information in a number of professional and personal applications.
The ZIP file format originated in the late 1980s when it was widely used in pre-internet Bulletin Board Systems (BBSs). File transfer speeds were far slower back then than they are now. ZIP compression frequently reduced the time it took to transport files by minutes or hours. It also enabled many files and folders to be combined ("zipped") and sent as a single ZIP file. The recipient of a ZIP file would next use a decompression tool to extract or "unzip" the file contents on the user's computer.
Today, the ZIP file format is widely used, with billions of files in circulation. ZIP files are frequently used as Gmail attachments, Google Drive, and other cloud-based storage systems like Dropbox and Microsoft OneDrive.
ZIP files are commonly used in a wide range of industries, including medical, insurance, legal, mortgage, banking and finance, scientific, equities and trading, SEO (Search Engine Optimization), and education.
A vehicle insurance representative ZIPs and emails information about a customer's health insurance, homeowners insurance, auto insurance, or life insurance policy.
When purchasing a home, a real estate agent scans and ZIPs the sales contract before sending it to a mortgage broker for a home loan.
An attorney or lawyer from a law firm generates a ZIP file comprising a group of connected legal documents such as a will, trust, claim, or other estate planning documents.
A university student ZIPs a homework assignment and associated files before sending it to their instructor or professor in a classroom or online degree program.
A tax accountant ZIPs and emails a copy of a client's federal and state tax forms for inspection prior to filing with the IRS.
ZIP files can include numerous file kinds. PDFs, photos, videos, and Microsoft Office documents such as Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel, and Microsoft PowerPoint are all common file types that can be included in a ZIP package.
ZIP Extractor and most recent operating systems include capabilities for creating ZIP files.
To create a ZIP file on Windows or a PC, right-click on files in Windows Explorer and select "Send to -> Compressed (zipped) Folder."
On a Mac with Mac OS, make a ZIP file by right-clicking files in Finder and selecting "Compress [name_of_file]."
On a Chromebook running Chrome OS, select one additional file in the Files app and then "Zip selection."
In ZIP Extractor, click "Create New ZIP" and then add files and folders to compress, including Google Drive files. Drag and drop files and folders into the main screen to zip them.
In your web browser, utilize the URL shortcut zip. It is new to get directly to the ZIP Extractor "Create New ZIP" interface.
Double-clicking a ZIP file on Windows, Mac, or Chrome OS will extract (decompress) it.
ZIP Extractor offers the same decompression capabilities as ordinary operating systems, with the exception that it supports far more formats than the basic built-in functionality of most ZIP programs. ZIP Extractor is intended to work entirely in the cloud (but it can also open ZIP files on your machine). ZIP Extractor is a third-party tool that allows you to unzip ZIP files because Google Drive and Gmail do not have this feature built-in.
The ZIP file format supports basic password-protected ZIP files. ZIP files can also be securely encrypted using AES. This "strong encryption" solution is significantly more secure than the previous version. RAR and 7-Zip may also create password-protected file archives using robust encryption. ZIP Extractor fully supports opening ZIP, RAR, and 7-Zip files with all encryption formats. It can also produce ZIP files with standard and strong encryption.
The three most widespread file compression formats in use today are ZIP, RAR, and 7-Zip, with ZIP being the most common.
The ZIP file format is both an archive format (for storing many files and folders) and a compression format.
The ZIP file format was introduced in 1989, and its format and specifications have evolved since then. The formal ZIP file specification is available as an Application Note.
The ZIP file format offers a variety of compression algorithms, which are usually transparent to the user. ZIP files' conventional compression method, known as Deflate, is the most frequent. This is also the standard format that ZIP Extractors use when producing ZIP files. ZIP Extractor can open files compressed using additional algorithms such as LZMA, BZIP2, PPMD, XZ, and ZSTD. This is all done automatically.
RAR is a highly proprietary format thThe RAR file format (from Roshal ARchive, named after its author Eugene Roshal) is conceptually similar to ZIP files in that it allows you to archive (group) files and directories into a single file while simultaneously compressing the data. The RAR format, which dates back to the early 1980s, may achieve high compression ratios (resulting in smaller files). However, this comes at the sacrifice of performance, as RAR's PPMd and LZMA compression algorithms are generally more computationally demanding than ZIP's Deflate process.
At can only be generated with the WinRar software package or the associated command-line tool. Fortunately, the ability to read and decompress RAR files is "open source," and ZIP Extractor can extract any type or version of RAR file, including encrypted and password-protected RAR files. For further information, visit the Library of Congress.
The 7-Zip file format (also known as 7z) is a relatively recent compressed archive format that, like ZIP and RAR, allows you to group and compress numerous files and directories into one file. This format defaults to using the LZMA and LZMA2 compression methods. Similar to ZIP, the architecture of the 7-Zip format allows for the use of alternative compression algorithms such as BZIP2, PPMD, ZSTD, and even ZIP's own Deflate.
ZIP extractor can open all types of 7-Zip files, including encrypted and password-protected data.
The TAR file format (derived from Tape ARchive) is an older yet well-established format for reliably grouping groupings of files and directories. Originally intended for archival storage on tape drives, this has been upgraded throughout time and is still in active usage, particularly on UNIX/Linux systems. However, TAR files are significantly less prevalent than ZIP ones.
The TAR file format itself does not involve compression. For this reason, TAR files are nearly always accompanied by a separate file compressor. In this respect, the TAR file archives (groups) files and directories, whereas the compressor compresses the resulting TAR file into a smaller file.
ZIP Extractor can open and decompress TAR files created with any of the file compressors listed below.
After creating a TAR file, the file is compressed using one of the methods outlined below. For example, GZIP compresses the TAR file and gives it the extension *.tar.gz. Although less popular, the BZIP2, LZIP, and XZ compression methods can also be utilized.
The GZIP file format (*.tar.gz or *.tgz) compresses the file data using Deflate and includes some additional metadata. It is in widespread use, although with notable restrictions in practice. More information is available at gzip.org.
The BZIP2 file format (*.tar.bz2, *.tbz). BZIP2 compression is applied to the file data, and metadata is included, along with built-in data integrity checks for each compressed block. More information is available at sourceware.org/bzip2.
The LZIP file extension (*.tar.lz or *.tlz). LZMA compression is applied to the file, along with crucial characteristics like data integrity and indexing, to enable efficient multi-block processing and parallel decompression. More information is available at nongnu.org/lzip.
XZ file format (*.tar.xz or *.txz). LZMA2 compression is applied to the file contents with specific features that allow for parallel / multi-threaded decompression. More information is accessible at tukaani.org/XZ.
Further Reading
Data compression has an extensive and fascinating history. This field has given rise to numerous compressed file formats over the years. These formats range from those that are widely used now (as discussed above) to more obscure ones that never achieved popularity.