The ZIP files are files that have been compressed to reduce the space they consume on the hard drive. It may be a single file or a bunch of them. An important aspect worth mentioning is that compressing a file doesn’t lead to any loss of data.

Why do You Need to Compress Files?

Say, you want to share a file over email but it’s larger than the size limit placed by the email service. In this case, you can create a compressed form of it and share it over email.

Also, if you are on a slow internet connection, zip files are the way to go since they would be shared quicker owing to the smaller size.

What if someone sends you a zip file? You can easily unzip them using the built-in Windows methods or opt for third-party software, such as 7-zip. In this article, we will focus both on the built-in methods and the 7-zip app, to unzip a file.

Unzip Files with Built-in Utility in Windows 11

To unzip a file, simply right-click on it and select ‘Extract All’ from the context menu.

In Windows 11, a ‘Extract all’ option has been added to the ‘Command Bar’ at the top. To unzip/extract a file, select it and then click on ‘Extract all’. You will only find this option available for compressed files.

No matter which method to unzip you choose earlier, the ‘Extract Compressed (Zipped) Folders’ window will open. First, select the location where you want to extract the files by clicking on Browse. If you already have a path copied to the clipboard, simply paste it in the text field.

If you want to open the extracted files once the process is complete, tick the checkbox for ‘Show extracted files when complete’.

Finally, click on ‘Extract’ at the bottom.

The selected file will now be unzipped and can be accessed from the location you selected earlier.

Extract Selected Files from the Zipped Folder

There may often arise a situation where you need to extract just a few files from the compressed/zipped folder. It can be conveniently done with the built-in method on Windows 11.

To extract a file or a set from a given bunch, double-click on the zipped folder to view the files in it.

Now right-click on the file that you want to extract, and select ‘Copy’ from the context menu.

Next, navigate to the location where you want to paste the files and press CTRL + V. The file you just pasted will not be compressed anymore.

You can similarly extract multiple files by selecting them all initially and then pasting them to the desired location.

Unzip Files with 7-Zip App

The 7-Zip is an effective third-party app that can unzip files along with offering various other functions. To download, go to 7-zip.org/download and chose the one that is compatible with your system.

After downloading the file, double-click on it to launch the installer and follow the on-screen instructions to complete the installation process. Once the app is installed, you can proceed to the unzipping process.

To unzip a file with the 7-Zip app, right-click on it and select ‘Show more options’.

Next, hover the cursor over ‘7-Zip’ in the legacy context menu and select ‘Extract files’ from the list of options that appear. In case you want to extract the files in the same folder, simply select ‘Extract Here’ and the files would be extracted in the same location as the compressed file.

If you chose the ‘Extract files’ option earlier, click on the ellipsis to choose the location for the extracted files, and click on ‘OK’ at the bottom.

All the files will now be extracted to the location you selected earlier.

Extract Selected from a Zipped File using 7-zip

Just as was the case earlier, you may want to extract a single file or a set of them from a given bunch. You could do that with the 7-Zip app as well. Here’s how you can do it.

To extract a file or a few of them, right-click on the file, and select ‘Show more options’ to launch the legacy context menu.,

Next, hover the cursor over ‘7-Zip’ and select ‘Open archive’ from the list of options.

Once you have the zipped folder open in 7-Zip, select the file(s) that you want to extract, and click on ‘Extract’ at the top.

Now, click on the ellipsis to change the location for extraction from the one selected by default, and then click on ‘OK’ at the bottom to extract the files.

The extracted files can now be accessed from the location you selected earlier.

That’s all there to unzip a file in Windows 11. The built-in method works just fine but if you prefer third-party apps owing to the ease of functioning and the quick processing, go with the ‘7-Zip’ app.