Open ZIP, 7z and RAR like a folder.

Double-click and you're inside

Tern Files opens ZIP, 7z, RAR and TAR files – also .tar.gz, .tar.bz2 and .tar.xz – like folders, in a normal tab. Above the list you see how many items the archive holds and how big they are packed and unpacked. This stays free after the 14-day trial.

Windows handles archives too: File Explorer opens ZIP files, and Windows 11 from version 23H2 can also deal with formats such as 7z and RAR. Tern Files works the same on Windows 10 and Windows 11. See Archives open like folders.

Look inside without unpacking

• Preview: select an entry and press Space – pictures, PDFs, text and Office files show up as usual.
• Open: Enter unpacks just that entry into a cache and opens it in its program.
• Drag: drag entries onto the desktop or into an e-mail – they are unpacked on the way.

Encrypted archives ask for the password. It is only kept in memory until you close the archive. See Password-protected archives.

Extract all or only what you need

Extract all (Ctrl+Shift+E) unpacks the whole archive next to it, Extract to … into a folder you choose. Single entries come out by copy and paste or by dragging. Extracting runs in the transfer queue, and Ctrl+Z removes the extracted files again. Entries whose paths would lead outside the target folder are left out.

Edit ZIP files in place

Inside a ZIP file you rename with F2, remove entries with Del and add files with Ctrl+V – no unpacking and packing again. The old version goes to the Recycle Bin first, and Ctrl+Z brings the archive back exactly as it was. Changed a document you opened from a ZIP? Tern Files offers to put it back: Save to archive.

7z, RAR and TAR files stay read-only: you can open, preview and extract them, but not change them. See Edit ZIP files.

Step by step in the guide