This wikiHow teaches you how to extract and open a GZ folder, a type of compressed (ZIP) folder. You can do this through a variety of programs on Windows computers, Macs, iPhones, and Android platforms.
Step
Method 1 of 4: On Windows Computer
Step 1. Download and install 7-Zip
Skip this step if you already have 7-Zip on your computer. To install 7-Zip:
- Visit
- Click " Download ” on the left side of the options “ exe, at the top of the page.
- Double-click the 7-Zip installation file.
- Click " Yes ” when prompted.
- Click " Install ”.
- Click " Close ” when the installation is complete.
Step 2. Open the “Start” menu
Click the Windows logo in the lower-left corner of the screen. The “Start” menu will open after that.
Step 3. Open File Explorer
Click the folder icon in the lower-left corner of the “Start” menu.
Step 4. Visit the GZ folder location
Click the folder containing the GZ folder on the left side of the File Explorer window.
You may need to click or browse through several folders to access the GZ folder storage directory
Step 5. Select the GZ folder
Click a folder to select it.
Step 6. Click the Home tab
It's a tab in the upper-left corner of the File Explorer window. Once clicked, the toolbar will be displayed under the tab “ Home ”.
Step 7. Click Copy path
This option is in the “Clipboard” section of the toolbar “ Home ”.
Step 8. Open 7-Zip
Click the 7-Zip app icon, which looks like a black and white “7z” text.
Step 9. Click the 7-Zip address bar
This bar is at the top of the 7-Zip window, just below the row of buttons (eg. Add ”, “ Extract , and others). After that, the content of the bar will be selected.
Step 10. Enter the GZ folder address
Press Ctrl+V to add the GZ folder address to the address bar, then press Enter key. You will be taken to the GZ folder and can see its contents afterwards.
Step 11. Click the folder icon
This icon is at the far left of the address bar. After that, the entire GZ folder will be selected so you can extract all its contents to a regular folder.
Step 12. Click Extract
icon “ - ” is in the upper-left corner of the 7-Zip window. A pop-up window will appear after that.
Step 13. Select the folder extraction destination
Click " ⋯ ” at the far right of the “Extract to” column, select a destination (e.g. “ Desktop "), and click " OK ”.
Step 14. Click OK
It's at the bottom of the window. After that, the window will close and the contents of the GZ folder will be extracted to a regular folder in the destination directory you specified.
After the process is complete, you can double-click the extracted folder to view the contents of the GZ folder
Method 2 of 4: On Mac Computer
Step 1. Download and install The Unarchiver
Skip this step if you already have The Unarchiver app on your computer. To download and install The Unarchiver:
- Open the app App Store on a Mac computer.
- Click the search bar in the upper-right corner of the window.
- Type " the unarchiver ” in the search bar and press the Return key.
- Click " INSTALL APP " under application " The Unarchiver ”.
- Enter your Apple ID password if prompted.
Step 2. Open The Unarchiver
Open Spotlight
type in unarchiver, and click “ The Unarchiver ” in the search results drop-down list.
Step 3. Click the Archive Formats tab
This tab is at the top of The Unarchiver window.
Step 4. Check the "Gzip File" and "Gzip Tar Archive" boxes
These two boxes are at the top of the window. With this option, The Unarchiver can extract and open the GZ folder.
Step 5. Open Finder
Click the blue face icon in the Dock.
Step 6. Locate the GZ folder
Click the GZ folder's storage directory on the left side of the Finder window. You may need to click or browse through several folders to access the GZ folder.
Step 7. Extract the GZ folder
You can extract the GZ folder by double-clicking it, although sometimes you need to specify a save location and click “ Extract ” in the lower-right corner of the window after double-clicking the folder. After the GZ folder has been extracted, you can open the extracted folder as you would a normal folder.
- If you receive a message indicating that The Unarchiver was unable to extract the contents of the folder to the selected directory, click the Apple menu icon in the upper-left corner of the screen, select “ System Preferences ", click " Security & Privacy ", click the tab " Privacy, and select the segment “ Accessibility " Click the lock icon in the lower left corner of the window, enter the password, click “ +", choose " The Unarchiver ” in the “Applications” folder, click “ Open ”, and lock the menu back.
- You can also open the GZ folder by selecting it, clicking on the menu “ File ", choose " Open With, and clicked “ The Unarchiver ” on the pop-out menu.
Method 3 of 4: On iPhone
Step 1. Download iZip
Skip this step if iZip is already available on your iPhone. To download iZip:
-
open
App Store.
- Touch " Search ”.
- Touch the search bar in App Store.
- Type " izip, then touch " Search ”.
- Choose " GET ”.
- Enter your Apple ID password or scan Touch ID.
Step 2. Open the GZ folder storage location
Touch the application that contains the GZ folder.
Since most email apps can't open the GZ folder, your best bet is to open the GZ folder through an online storage service like Google Drive
Step 3. Touch “Share”
The location of this option differs depending on the application that saves the GZ folder. However, you can usually find the option in one corner of the application window/page. Touch an option to open a pop-up menu at the bottom of the screen.
Step 4. Swipe the screen and touch Copy to iZip
It's a folder icon at the far right of the top app row in the “Share” pop-up menu. After that, iZip will be opened.
Step 5. Touch “X” on “Pro” notification
It's in the upper-right corner of the pop-up window. If you don't see a window asking you to upgrade your service to iZip Pro, skip this step.
Step 6. Touch OK when prompted
You can see this option in the pop-up notification with the message "Would you like to extract all files?". Choose " OK ” to extract the GZ folder file and open the save location so that you can view and open the extracted GZ folder files.
Method 4 of 4: On Android Device
Step 1. Download GZ folder to Android device
Open the app that saved the GZ folder, select the folder, and download it to the device's internal storage space.
Skip this step if the GZ folder is already saved on the device
Step 2. Download and open AndroZip
If AndroZip is already installed on your device, simply touch its icon to open it. To download AndroZip:
-
open
Play Store.
- Touch the search bar (“ search bar ”).
- Type androzip.
- Touch " AndroZip FREE File Manager ”.
- Touch " INSTALL ”.
- Choose " ACCEPT ”.
- Touch " OPEN ”.
Step 3. Select Continue
It's in the middle of the pop-up window that appears when AndroZip opens.
Step 4. Touch DOWNLOADS
This option is on the left side of the screen. After that, a list of recently downloaded files, including the GZ folder will be displayed on the screen.
You may need to touch the “ ☰ ” first to see the options.
Step 5. Touch the GZ folder
The folder will be selected and a pop-up window will be displayed.
Step 6. Touch Extract file here
It's at the top of the pop-up window. After that, the contents of the GZ folder will be immediately extracted to the “ DOWNLOADS ” in the AndroZip application. You can select the extraction results to open and view them.