Default Unzipper

how does one unzip files? i recall having the same unzipper in my (rt click popup) context menus across multiple PCs, but i have no memory of what app it is. the default one new PC (w10) came with looks totally diff! and i see no option to "add to context menu".

worse yet, it cannot for the life of it seem to remember what folder to unzip into! the old one i was used to always unzipped into w/e folder the zip file sat in. THIS one i have to click-click-click my way back to it from C: every damn time. and it can't do MULTIPLES! highlighting say 5 zips simultaneously and clicking "open" still only gets me 1 of the 5. whereas that app i was used to i could highlight dozens and dozens of them, rt-click "unzip each to separate folder", and voila!

i've used 7z and other oddballs at times, but this was pretty mainstream. i actually thought it WAS winzip. is there some other, more-common-than-winzip competitor out there? (perhaps that "unzip each to separate folder" wording rings a bell?)

tx

PS: rarely compress myself and rarely using quirky formats (like .7z). just tryna UNzip .zips and .rars, and LOTS of them.

 

There's winzip. But I use 7zip. You have options to unzip your file right within whichever directory you are already in... or specify the directory you want the files unzipped to. If you specify a nonexistent target directory, 7zip will create it.

Like you, I use the app mainly to unzip files. But I also use the app to encrypt file(s) that I wish to keep private. You know how with Office app, you can encrypt docs and spreadsheets? But what if you want to encrypt a photo or video? You zip them - and assign a password for unzipping/unencrypting. Just make sure that you "secure delete" the files after you are done with them!

 

quick afterthought. does winrar present itself the way i've described?

i could perhaps have mistaken the name "winrar" for "winzip" all these years.

no way i'd have done so for "7z".

(which, again, i have used as well. but it's not the one i'm thinking of.)

 

Type 'file association' in Search and scroll down the Name column to .zip. It will tell you what the current default app is and allow you to change it

 

huh? i KNOW what the default app is and WANT to change it. the whole thread is about *what* app to change it to!

 

Change it to whatever archiving program you have.

 

Seems OP is asking what app he has in his Win machine that allows him to zip / unzip files using the right click context menu. That app is simply Window's own built-in app. You know how Win bundles together a bunch of apps/utilities like disk clean or disk defrag or Photos, etc., etc. - all pretty much nameless (unless you spend time on the web to really dig deep)... and how almost all these semi nameless Win built-in apps will do the job... but just barely... and many people end up downloading fuller-featured 3rd party apps instead? It's why I opted for 7-zip and ditched Win's own very early on.

But you like the right click context menu to zip/unzip files? 7-zip will integrate itself the same way too. Just with many more features.

 

And we all know that how?

 

god, my english must be worse than i thought!

i was asking what app(s) to SEEK OUT/DOWNLOAD b/c the one(s) i have "in my Win machine" aren't very good!

i thought that was perfectly clear in the OP, but i guess not. i apologize.

in any case, i DLed winRAR, and that seems to do the trick. it's either the one i was seeking, or similar enuf (context menu, correct target folder, batch unzipping) to satisfy me.

in retrospect, i cannot believe how bad the default one (winzip) is! i mean, wrong target folder?! how can that get past day 1 of development?!

 

Really? Then why did I get your response below when I recommended 7-zip?

Weird when someone asks for a recommendation... is given one... but essentially ignores it... goes off on some tangent instead... and then repeats the question claiming misunderstanding... as if he was never given a recommendation at all??

 

Windows default is not WinZip, it is Windows Explorer. WinZip is a third party app.

 

Windows default is not WinZip, it is Windows Explorer. WinZip is a third party app.

it says "WinZip Univeral". it has a blue layout. it was the default unzipper that came with things, but i guess store may have added it after-market.

how does one unzip something with explorer itself?

 

Weird when someone asks for a recommendation... is given one... but essentially ignores it... goes off on some tangent instead... and then repeats the question claiming misunderstanding... as if he was never given a recommendation at all??

sigh. i really don't wanna drag this out further, but once again:

have had the SAME, VERY NICE unzipper across multiple PCs for a decade or more.

new PC caught me off guard by having a CRAPPY unzipper which caused me all sorts of headaches.

i asked if anyone recognized that "better unzipper" which i was used to (turned out to be WinRAR). i have dabbled with 7z before, and i know it is supposed to be great, but it was not the one i was describing and was looking for -- i specifically RULED IT OUT in my OP!

u either missed that or ignored it, and went ahead re-pitching it. that's fine, but again, it wasn't the one in question, so i repeated as much.

i don't see what the issue is here.

 

Right click the zip file and Open with Windows Explorer, how else?

 

which is where i find "winzip universal", nothing else. (until adding "winRAR")

hence my (mis)labeling that "the default".

 

Have you never noticed the browse option in open with?

 

Seems you answered your own question? WinRAR! So add WinRAR to your new PC (unless you already have). And maybe uninstall "Winzip Universal" while you're at it. Problem solved?

 

yes, the problem is solved...as i stated.

thanks again!