How to open zip files on an iPad and extract their contents

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You can't create zip files on your iPad, but opening a zip file to extract its contents is easy to do.

• Your iPad cannot create zip files that store multiple compressed files together unless you download a third party app.
• iPads can, however, provide access to the files contained within a zip, without having to install new apps or software.
• Here's how to open a zipped file on your iPad using the Files app that comes standard with the device.
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Zip files are great for storing lots of large files in one place without taking up too much room on your device, and they're an ideal way to transfer large amounts of data from one piece of hardware to another. That is, as long as you can get into the zip file and extract the individual files within.

Good news: if you have an iPad released in the past few years, you can open zip files and extract their files without having to download any new apps. While your iPad can't create a zipped file without third party software, you can always just create the zip on your computer, then send it to the iPad in question.

How to open zip files with an iPad

1. Locate the Files app - its icon is white with a blue folder - and launch it.

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The Files app is installed on your iPad by default.

2. Search for the name of the zip file (which will be "Archive" if you created it on a Mac and didn't rename it).

3. Click on the zip, which will have an icon that looks like a piece of paper reading "zip."

4. Tap "Preview Content."

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Open the zip and tap "Preview Content."

5. Now find the file you want to extract, and tap the icon of the arrow pointing up out of the box at the top corner of the iPad screen.

6. Tap "Save to Files" from the taskbar at the bottom of the popup window.

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Tap "Save to Files" in the Share menu.

7. Select the location where you'd like the file to be stored, then click "Add."

The file will be extracted from the zip and saved to your iPad. Repeat as necessary to extract as many files you want (or all of them) from the zip.

Related coverage from How To Do Everything: Tech:

• How to copy and paste on your iPad or iPhone, and from one device to the other

• How to backup your iPad to iCloud or a computer

• How to clear your browsing history on an iPad in three different ways

• How to make a zip file on your Mac computer, to save some storage space and clear digital clutter