Open 7Z files

Full name

7-ZIP Compressed 7z Archive Format
Developer

7-Zip
Popularity

Have you encountered a problem with a 7Z file? Don’t you know which program opens a file with this extension? You will find all the information you need about working with a 7Z file here. In the further part of this page we have added a list of programs that should open your 7Z file. It is enough you choose a proper application for your operating system, download and install it.

What is 7Z file?

Files ending in .7z are compressed archives created with Igor Pavlov's free 7-Zip open source packaging program. 7-Zip uses the open-source LZMA compression method, but can also use LZMA2, PPMd or BZip2. 7Z is next to .zip and rar the most common pack formats.

More info

The LZMA compression method has a high compression rate and can also be provided with the strong AES-256 (256-bit) encryption, whereby the file names can be encrypted. The price for the high compression rate is a longer packing time.

The 7Z archive format can contain unicode file names (for example, Korean or Chinese characters) and has a maximum file size of 16,000,000,000 GB. Standard archives created with 7-Zip contain recovery data to repair the archive in case of corruption.

But you can also create so-called solid archives, which are sometimes considerably smaller (depending on the archived data), but contain no recovery data.

Programs which can open a 7Z file

Windows

Linux

Mac OS

How to open file with 7Z extension?

In order to open a file with 7Z extension one of the following programs must be installed on user’s system. If a problem with opening 7Z file occurred, it is highly possible that none of the listed programs is present on user’s system. Even if one or more said programs are installed, there may be issues related with given programs. In order to solve a problem with 7Z files, follow the instructions below.

Install WinZip or other program from the list

Most often resolving problems with opening 7Z files is very simple. Just install an appropriate program that supports such files. All of the listed programs support 7Z files, but may vary in offered function and purpose. Some programs may be capable only of viewing contents of 7Z files or offer file conversion options, but may not be capable of editing such files.

Set WinZip as the default program for opening 7Z files

It is possible that although a compatible program has been installed on user’s system, it is not used by the system to open it. This may happen because no default application was associated with this type of files. To associate 7Z files with given application, select "Open with" from drop-down menu (accessed by right-clicking on the file). Then select from the list the program or application you want to be used to open this type of file. If the WinZip applications is not on the list, select "Browse" option in order to manually locate the directory where WinZip has been installed.

Check the section that lists most common problems with 7Z files

Sometimes problems with opening 7Z files may not lie with the application itself, but can arise due to other causes, such as:

File data is corrupted
7Z files has been not been completely download from the internet (only a part of the data has been downloaded)
Currently used user account hasn’t been granted necessary privileges to open 7Z files (should that be the case, please contact your system administrator or IT specialist)
7Z file was being copied from a corrupted storage device and is incomplete or data is corrupted. (Copying files from unknown or untrusted sources should be conducted with great care as such files may contain malicious software, which can damage your system)