How to zip and unzip files on Windows and Mac

You download something and it ends in .zip. Or you need to email twenty photos and your mail program keeps complaining. Both problems have the same answer, and your computer already knows how to do it. You do not need to install anything.

A zip file is a single file that holds other files inside it, usually made a little smaller. Think of it as a box. To use what is inside, you open the box. That is called unzipping, or extracting.

How to unzip a file on Windows

Windows can open a zip file just by looking inside it, but the files are not really ready to use until you extract them. Extracting is the safe way, so do that.

1. Open File Explorer and find the zip file. Downloads are usually in your Downloads folder. If you cannot find it, see Where is my Downloads folder?
2. Right-click the zip file. It looks like a folder with a zipper on it.
3. Choose Extract All...
4. Windows shows a box with a folder location. Leave it as it is, or click Browse to pick another place.
5. Click Extract. A normal folder opens with your files in it.

On Windows 11 (version 24H2), Windows also handles some other kinds of packages, such as RAR, 7z and TAR files, without extra software.

How to zip files on Windows

This is the answer to the email problem. Put many files into one zip, then attach that single file.

1. Find the file or folder you want to pack. To pick several files, click the first one, hold Ctrl, and click each of the others.
2. Right-click one of the selected items.
3. On Windows 11, choose Show more options, then Send to, then Compressed (zipped) folder.
4. A new zip file appears in the same place. It is named after the item you right-clicked.
5. The name is ready to type over. Give it a clear name, such as March photos, and press Enter.

If you change your mind later, right-click the zip file and choose Rename.

How to unzip a file on a Mac

On a Mac this is even shorter.

1. Open Finder and find the zip file. Downloads usually land in Downloads.
2. Double-click the zip file.
3. The unzipped file or folder appears right next to it, in the same folder.

After that, you can drag the zip file to the Trash if you no longer need it. The unzipped copy stays.

If a zip file will not open, check that your Mac has enough free space. If it still fails, the file may be damaged. Ask the person who sent it to make a new zip and send it again.

How to zip files on a Mac

1. In Finder, find the file or folder. To pick several, click the first, hold Command, and click the others.
2. Right-click (or hold Control and click) one of the selected items.
3. Choose Compress.
4. A zip file appears next to the originals. With one item, it takes that item's name and ends in .zip. With several items, it is called Archive.zip.

Rename Archive.zip before you send it, so the person getting it knows what is inside.

Good to know

• Photos barely shrink. JPEG pictures are already compressed, so zipping them makes the file only a little smaller. The real benefit is having one file instead of many.
• The original files stay. Zipping makes a copy in a package. Your first files are still where they were.
• Passwords are not built in. Microsoft says Windows does not work with password-protected zip files, and Apple does not describe a password option for zipping. If a zip needs a password, you would need a separate program.
• Be careful with unknown files. Only open a zip that came from someone you trust.

Ask Key to do it

If you would rather not hunt for the file, you can ask Key. Key is a free assistant that lives on your Windows PC or Mac. You can speak to it or type, and both give the same result. It opens the real window and does the job there, then tells you what it did.

Say what you want in a few words, the way you would ask a friend. Key finds files by what is inside them as well as by name, and if two files could match, it asks which one you meant.

KeyVoice

Unzip the file I just downloaded.

opened Downloadsfound the newest zip fileextracted it into a folder

Done. The files from your download are now in a regular folder next to the zip file.

Checked: the new folder opens and the files are inside it.

While Key works, a small panel shows what it is doing, and you can stop it at any point. It checks the result before it tells you it is finished, and if it could not check, it says so.

If your Downloads folder is crowded, you may also like How to clean up your Downloads folder without losing anything. To find a file when you only remember part of what it says, try How to find a file by what is inside it.

Quick summary

• Unzip on Windows: right-click the zip file, then Extract All..., then Extract.
• Unzip on Mac: double-click the zip file.
• Zip on Windows: right-click, Show more options, Send to, Compressed (zipped) folder.
• Zip on Mac: right-click, Compress.

Once you have done it once, it takes about ten seconds.

Related guide: How to copy a file path on Windows and Mac

Related guide: Copilot alternative for Windows: what each assistant does, and how to choose