This tutorial explains what is a 7z file extension. Also learn how to create and open .7z file in Windows, Mac, and online:
In this tutorial, we will provide you with an understanding of this file format in detail. We will also learn to create and open files in 7z format.
We will also learn to use some tools to open .7z files on Windows, Mac, and online. Let us begin with what this file format is.
Table of Contents:
What Is A 7z File
A file with a .7z file extension is a file in archived/compressed format. This is one of the relatively new compression file formats available for use. It is an archive format that provides a high level of compression.
It is a part of 7-Zip software. Since 7-Zip is open-source software, so is 7z. This means that you need not purchase the software to use it. It is available for use free of cost.
How To Create A .7z File
In this section, we will see tools and steps to create .7z files on Windows OS and Mac
On Windows OS
It can be done with the tool described below:
#1) 7-Zip
As mentioned above, this file format is a part of 7-Zip software. This is a compressed and encrypted archive file created by 7-zip software. Therefore, if we want to create a 7z file or we may say if we want to compress a file in 7z format we should have 7-Zip installed on our system. Encrypted files use different algorithms. The files saved in this format use the AES algorithm with a 256-bit key.
This is referred to as AES-256 encryption.
Price: N/A. 7-Zip is open-source and can be downloaded for free.
Website: 7-Zip
Steps to convert a file to the 7z file format:
Once downloaded, follow the steps below:
#1) Open the 7-Zip application, you will get a screen as seen below.
#2) From this screen, browse and select the files you want to compress. We have selected the 3 files as shown in the below image.
#3) Click the Add icon. Now on the Add to Archive window, enter the desired details and click OK.
#4) All the files would be archived and placed in a folder at the same location as the original files.
On Mac OS
As seen above Windows users can create 7z files by using the 7-Zip utility, however, this utility is not available for Mac users. But Mac users also have a couple of choices available for converting files into this format.
Below, we shall take a look at two such tools available for Mac users.
#1) Keka
Keka is a free utility that can be used by the Mac users to convert a file to a 7z format. It can be downloaded from the website URL.
Price: N/A. Keka can be downloaded for free.
Website: Keka
Steps to convert a file to the 7z file format:
- Download Keka.
- Install the application on your system.
- Open the application and you would get a location to browse/select the files to be converted.
- Enter the required details.
- The compressed file gets created in 7z format at the same location as the selected files.
#2) Ez7z
Ez7z is a free utility that can be used by the Mac users to convert a file to a .7z format. It can be downloaded from the website URL.
Price: N/A. Ez7z is open source and can be downloaded for free.
Website: Ez7z
Steps to convert a file to the .7z file format:
- Download Ez7z
- Install the application on your system.
- Open the application and you would get a location to browse/select the files to be converted to 7z format.
- Enter the required details.
- The compressed file gets created in 7z format at the same location as the selected files.
How To Open A 7z File
Most of the operating systems have built-in support to create/open ZIP files, however, they do not have built-in support for these files. This file can, however, be opened using open source software like 7-Zip, WinZip, etc.
Open .7z File On Windows OS
As mentioned above Windows by default does not have built-in support for opening files in 7z format. In this topic, we will see how to these files on Windows operating system.
WINZIP
WINZIP is a 7z file opener utility. It can open a file in 7z format on Windows operating system and is free to use. It can be downloaded from the website URL.
Price: N/A. WINZIP is open-source and can be downloaded for free.
Website: WINZIP
Steps to open a 7z file:
Assuming that you have installed WINZIP on your Windows machine, follow the steps listed below to open a file “Sample.7z”.
#1) Open WINZIP on your system either from the Start Menu or by double-clicking its shortcut on the Desktop. The screen that opens looks like below (depending on the version of WINZIP installed on your system).
#2) Open the compressed file by clicking File -> Open.
#3) In the next few screens browse the location of the file.
#4) Now double click the folder “Interactive travel sample” within the zipped folder “Sample.7z” to view its contents. We need to view the contents to select if we wish to unzip one or more selected files from it.
#5) Now using Ctrl + Click, select the files that have to be unzipped. We have selected 3 files as seen in the screenshot below.
#6) In the rightmost section of the Window, under Actions, select the location where the zipped file is to be saved. We have selected C:\Unzipped Files in our case below. Now click Unzip.
#7) The 3 selected files are now unzipped and can be viewed at the location C:\Unzipped Files as seen in the screenshot below.
Open .7z File On Mac OS
Like the Windows operating system, the Mac operating system also does not provide in-built support to open 7z files. However, these files can be opened on Mac OS by using external software like the Unarchiver. The Unarchiver is a software that can unarchive different types of compressed files. The Unarchiver is best supported on OS X 10.6.0 and later.
The Unarchiver
The Unarchiver is a 7z file opener utility. It can open a .7z Mac file and is free to use. It can be downloaded from the website URL.
Price: N/A. The Unarchiver is an open-source and can be downloaded for free.
Website: The Unarchiver
Steps to open a file:
The steps are listed below:
- Download and install Unarchiver from App Store on your Mac machine.
- In Toolkit select Unarchiver.
- Drag Drop the 7z files to the left section of the Unarchiver window.
OR
Browse through to locate the file to be opened.
- Now press the Decompress button.
- You can now open the 7z file on your Mac system.
Open .7z File Online
In order to open a 7z file online without downloading any external software on your system, we have some online utilities available for it. One such utility is as mentioned below:
Archive Extractor
Open the above URL and you can simply open a file online without having to download or install any external software.
Price: N/A.
Website: Archive Extractor
Steps to convert a file to .7z file format:
Follow the steps below to open a file 7z online.
#1) Open the URL on your system and click the Choose file button
#2) Browse through to locate the file to be opened. Select the file and click Open.
#3) The file opening process begins and we can see this on the progress bar displayed as below.
#4) Once the above extraction process is complete, you get a screen as seen below. The extracted file can be downloaded by clicking in its name.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q #1) What is a 7z file?
Answer: It is one of the relatively new compression file formats available for use. It is an archive format that provides a high level of compression. 7z forms a part of 7-Zip software.
Q #2) Which Compression format does a 7z file use?
Answer: It uses the file compression algorithm known as LZMA.
Q #3) Can Windows open 7z files?
Answer: No, Windows OS does not have built-in support to open these files. To open a file in 7z format, we have to download and install a third-party application. There are a couple of such utilities available to open 7z files on a Windows machine, for example, WINZIP, WINRAR, etc.
Q #4) How do I open a .7z file on Mac?
Answer: It can be done by using third-party software like Unarchiver. Once downloaded on a Mac machine, this utility software can be used to open 7z files.
Q #5) What is KEKA Mac?
Answer: Keka is an archiver utility that can compress and decompress files on a Mac operating system. It is free-to-use software and can be downloaded from here.
Q #6) Can I use WinRAR to extract 7z?
Answer: Yes, WINRAR can be used to open a variety of file formats like 7z, RAR, ZIP, JAR, ISO, etc. However, it can create only RAR and ZIP files. This utility application was created by Eugene Roshal in the year 1995.
Q #7) How to open a .7z file without WINZIP?
Answer: Besides WINZIP, we can also open a 7z file using the 7-Zip software. This is due to the fact that 7z forms a part of 7-Zip software.
Conclusion
We hope after reading this article you will now be able to create and open files in 7z format on a system with Windows operating system and Mac operating system.
Although both the operating system does not provide built-in support to open/create 7z files, however, the availability of open-source utilities make it possible to create as well as open 7z compressed files.
Further reading =>> 5 Ways to open .pages file in non Apple devices