When you work extensively with files, you become familiar with a wide variety of them. However, others are practically unknown and you rarely encounter them . Such is the case with 7z files. Do you know what they are? How to open them? What they entail?
If you want to know more types of files beyond the typical zip, rar, images, videos, documents, etc. then this interests you, since you will not only know what they are, but also how they can be opened and how to create them yourself. Go for it?
What are 7z files
Before anything else, the first thing you should know about 7z files is what that means. We're referring to a compressed file format. Specifically, one created with an open-source program called 7-Zip. Hence the curious name 7z. It's essentially a compressed zip file , but to avoid the data loss that occurs in more common formats, it uses another format, LZMA, which reduces the size without compromising the quality of the contents. To give you an idea, it can reduce file size by up to 85% when compressing them, making it one of the best for creating small files (they're even better for sending because you can upload larger files).
What are they for
Are you wondering why use 7z files instead of the usual zip or rar? There's actually a reason for it, and it's important to know what these file types typically do.
In this case, these serve to:
- Contain large files inside, not only in quantity, but also in size. Only, unlike the others, it offers a format with a smaller size (they are more compressed but without losing quality, something that does not happen with other formats).
- Compress files as much as possible to send them through the mail electronic (Without giving you failures, they cannot be sent or they are uploaded to the cloud to be able to share them).
- Compress zipped files inside others into a single file. By having more compression you can fit more.
- Encrypt and protect the documents inside much better.
How to open 7z files
Not all operating systems have programs or drivers that allow you to open 7z files like a zip or rar file. In fact, in this case, you need external programs to open them. This is perhaps the biggest drawback because many people who aren't tech-savvy don't know what to do when they encounter this format and often end up discarding it for this reason.
However, it's actually very simple , and below we'll give you some tips depending on your operating system.
Open 7z files on Windows and Mac OS
Let's start with Windows and Mac OS. These are two very common operating systems, and Windows, in particular, is used by almost everyone. For them, the best program for handling 7z files is 7-Zip , a third-party software that allows you to compress and decompress files in a matter of seconds.
You can download this directly from its official website (we recommend this because it will help you avoid problems with viruses and other Trojans that can "nest" on your computer and even control it).
Once you download and install it, simply go to the file with that extension, right-click, and select 7-Zip to open it. It will automatically open the file, and then you just need to select the files you want, click "Extract," specify the destination folder, and accept.
Other alternatives, in case this program does not finish convincing you or you do not want to have too many on your computer, are:
- winzip. It is more popular and easy to use (in fact it is one that we use almost automatically).
- Winrar Similar to the previous one. In fact, it does the same thing as WinZip.
- The Unarchiver. This is exclusive to Mac OS and is one of the most powerful programs to compress and decompress. You find it in the Apple Store and you will only have to install it and start working with it.
Open 7z files on Linux
For Linux (which you can also use on Windows), there's PeaZip, a compatible program for compressing and decompressing files. It works like all the previous programs, so you won't find it difficult to use.
Is it the only one we have for Linux? The truth is that no, but it is the most used and recommended, which is why we propose it to you.
Open these files online
Finally, if you don't want to download and install anything, you have an online option (actually several, just type "unzip 7z files" in the search engine and tools will appear).
The one we recommend is EzyZip , although, if the documents are private or personal, we don't recommend doing this , especially because you will have to upload them to the cloud of that website and there you lose control of what they can do with that data (even if they tell you that they delete them in x time).
Advantages of this file format
Now that you know a little more about 7z files, you can probably discuss some of the advantages they offer compared to other file formats like RAR or ZIP. In general, they not only help compress data more efficiently while maintaining quality, but also minimize the size of each data set.
If that weren't enough, it's compatible with a huge number of formats, from Zip, Rar, Gz, DOCx, FLV… for both compression and decompression.
And there's more, something that sets it apart from other alternatives: file encryption. It can encrypt files for greater protection, but it can also split them into subfiles for faster data transfer (because smaller files download faster).
For all of the above, there is no doubt that 7z files are a good choice when you work with a lot of data on a day-to-day basis and have to move it or send it to other people. Did you know this file format? Have you ever used it or did you not know it existed and therefore how to use it (by zipping or unzipping it).