Windows zip file associations are used to determine how Windows handles the opening of zip files. By default Windows can natively open zip files using Windows explorer. However, there are many software apps available that can also open zip files such as Bitser, 7-zip, WinRAR, Zipware and they may take over as the default program associated with opening zip files. If these applications are then later uninstalled the .zip file extension may be associated to a program that doesn't exist and hence fail to open correctly on your computer.
To fix this problem and restore Windows Explorer as the default program associated with zip files you can try any of the solutions listed below. Please note that while some solutions may work for one computer they may not work for another but hopefully you will find one that works for you :)
A.Zip file is a type of compressed file which reduces file size and also ensures that your downloaded files are not corrupt. To use your digital decorations, you'll first need to open your.Zip file. This process is also known as 'extracting' or 'decompressing'. (If you already know how to use a.Zip file, skip down to the bottom section.
- Select the folder or file (s) that you want to compress. Right click on a selected file and hover over the 7-Zip options.
- Open the.exe file you downloaded from the official site. Choose a destination folder. The default one is C: Program files, but you can change it by clicking on the three dots.
- A ZIP file is a compressed archive, used to reduce the size of large files. It makes them easier to send, save and store. They have the.zip extension. How to Open ZIP Files. If you have a ZIP file to open, make sure that the ZIP file extension is ticked in the WinRAR integration panel.
- If you open a Zip file and find Unzip and Install is grayed, but you know that the Zip file includes an install program with a different filename; you can either extract the contents of the Zip file and double click the install file or you can use the Unzip and Try button on the Tools tab. After you click Unzip and Try a dialog will open.
1) Change 'Open with' properties of a zip file
The easiest way to reset zip associations in windows is to:
1. Right click any zip file and select properties.
2. Click the Change button next to where it says Open with in the screenshot below.
3. In the Open with window select Windows Explorer from the list of programs
4. Tick Always use the selected program.. and click OK.
If you do not see Windows Explorer in the list above then click Browse and manually select Explorer.exe located at C:Windowsexplorer.exe as shown below. Finally click Open then OK.
All .zip files should now be associated with the original built-in windows default.
2) 'Open with' context menu
Similar to solution 1 above you can also right click the zip file in explorer, select Open with from the context menu and then select Choose default program as shown below.
Again the Open with window will be shown and you can select Windows Explorer from the list of programs, tick Always use the selected program.. and click OK.
3) Default Programs & Folder Options
To fix this problem in Windows 7 and 8 you can change file type associations for zip files by navigating to:
1. Control panel > Programs > Default Programs
2. Click Associate a file type or protocol with a program
Select the .zip extension, click the Change programs button and select Windows Explorer as the default.
In Windows XP the above options are not available but you can change .zip file extension associations by navigating to:
1. Control Panel > Folder Options
2. Click the File Types tab, select zip extension, click Change button and select Compressed Folders.
4) Use command prompt as administrator
You can also fix zip file assoiciations using the command line. Start the windows command prompt found in the start menu under Accessories. You will need to be administrator of the PC for this command to work. In windows 7 you will need to:
1. Right click the command prompt in the start menu and select Run as Administrator (not required in XP).
2. Type the following command: assoc .zip=CompressedFolder
5) Editing registry keys
In Windows 7 and 8 you can also try to repair zip file associations by deleting a specific user key in the registry:
1. In the Windows Start menu search box type Regedit
2. Run Regedit.exe and navigate to HKCUSoftwareMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersionExplorerFileExts.zip
3. Right click the UserChoice folder and select Delete. Answer Yes to permanently delete the subkeys.
6) Install Bitser (freeware)
If all else fails you can try and install Bitser (freeware) which can set file extension associations programatically. Under the options tab in Bitser you can associate or unassociate the .zip extension to Bitser. When you unassociate it, Bitser will automatically reset .zip extensions so that they are opened by Windows Explorer. Bitser will also do this when it is uninstalled. The default/native windows association is called 'CompressedFolder' which will appear after you un-check the box next to .zip and click apply as shown in the screenshot below. Bitser can be downloaded for free here
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Now it is easy to ZIP or extract (unzip) the files or folders using PowerShell. PowerShell has added features of the Archive module (Microsoft.PowerShell.Archive) from PowerShell 5.1 version.
If you have PowerShell older version (version 4.0 or less) then you can download and install the module from the website or through the command line. However, only download and installing or manually copying the Archive module to the Module folder won't work because it needs some dependent DLL files which are provided by .Net framework 4.5 so you need to consider upgrading .Net framework as well if it is below the 4.5 version.
Once you have the appropriate PowerShell version and .Net framework version, and if you haveinstalled the Archive module or if it is default installed, check the commands are supported for thearchive module as shown below. How to unlock android from computer.
So there are two commands included in this module. Compress-Archive command is to compress files and folders and to Expand-Archive to extract zipped data.
Compress-Archive command to compress the files and folders.
Before starting the examples of the Compress-Archive command, we will see the cmdlet syntax first.
Here, the main parameters are Source files / folders, destination path, compression level, force, and update.
Compression Level
There are three types of compression level.
- Fastest − Uses the fastest compression to reduce the processing time. It can lead to a larger file size.
- Optimal − Normal compression level. Processing time depends on the size of the file. This is the default compression level if you don't use compression parameter.
- NoCompression − Doesn't compress the source files. This means the size of the actual folders and files are the same after the zipped only there is no compression ratio.
Force
When specified this parameter, it will overwrite the files and folders.
Update
This parameter updates the files from the source to the destination which are newer or updatedinstead of zipping the entire content again.
Examples
1. To compress a single folder.
The above command will compress the folder C:temp the destination path C: with the ZIP name temp.zip and with the compression level Fastest.
If you try to zip the folders with the same destination name which already exists then it will pop anerror.
To overwrite the destination file, you need to use the –Force parameter.
If you want to update any file inside the temp folder and if you need to update the destination zip then you need to use –Update parameter. When you use Update the parameter you don't need to use the -Force parameter because –Update parameter will also overwrite destination files along with updating the files and even if the destination file doesn't exist, it will create a new file.
2. Zip multiple files and folders.
Multiple Files at different locations −
How To Zip Files In Windows 10
Multiple Folders at different locations −
How To Use Zip Files In Windows
Expand-Archive command.
Expand-Archive command is useful for extracting the ZIP files. This command is a simple comparatively Compress-Archive command as it needs only Source and the destination ZIP files.
In the below example, we are going to extract folderarchive.zip file to the destination location.
Where Are My Zip Files
Here, the Destination folder UnzipedFolder at the destination path doesn't exist but the cmdlet will create the folder automatically if doesn't exist. If the folder already exists then you need to use the – Force parameter to overwrite the files and folders.
