Have you ever wanted to share a large file over the internet but couldn’t because of a size limit? It has happened to the majority of us. This is when the file compression comes into play. You may have come across ZIP files on Windows 11 that can be simply extracted using the built-in tools, but RAR files are not the same. So, in this post, you are going to learn How to Open RAR Files in Windows 11.
However, before we walk you through the process of opening and extracting RAR files in Windows 11, you must first understand the structure of RAR files.
What Exactly is a RAR file?
A RAR (Roshal ARchive) file is a compressed file that can contain additional files and folders. It takes up less storage space than any other file on the system while it is in its usual form. When you compress a file or folder with the WinRAR software, the resulting files have the ‘RAR’ extension or are simply RAR files.
RAR and Zip files are quite useful. It takes up less storage space and is also useful for organizing files or sharing files online. If the appropriate option is selected while generating the file, these files can be encrypted and password-protected. However, most RAR files will lack one or both of these features, therefore we won’t go further into the concept.
How to Open RAR Files in Windows 11?
There are no built-in techniques or tools in Windows 11 for opening or extracting RAR files. To extract the file’s contents, use the same WinRAR software that was used to create it. However, after the initial trial time, WinRAR requires a paid membership (40 days).
There are numerous free software options available on the web for opening and extracting the contents of a RAR file. We recommend that you use the 7-Zip program. It’s a free and open-source file archiver that can read and extract files in a variety of formats, including RAR.
- To get the 7-Zip software, go to 7-zip.org and choose from the 32-bit and 64-bit versions, depending on the version of Windows 11 installed on the PC. After downloading 7-Zip, locate the file and double-click on it to launch the installer, then follow the on-screen directions to finish the installation.
How to Open & Extract RAR Files using 7-Zip
After you’ve successfully installed 7-Zip, here’s how you may use it to open and extract files.
- First press WINDOWS + S to bring up the ‘Search’ menu, type ‘7-Zip File Manager’ into the text field, and then click on Open.
- In the 7-Zip File Manager, navigate to the location where the ‘RAR’ file is located and press Enter.
- Now, simply double-click on the file in the 7-Zip software To open and view the contents of a RAR file.
- The file’s contents will now be shown, the next step is to extract the data.
- To extract the contents of the RAR file, choose ‘File’ and then click ‘Extract’ on the top ‘Toolbar’.
- Now, under ‘Extract to,’ check the location where the file will be extracted and click the ellipsis next to it to modify the destination of the extracted file. Finally, at the bottom, click ‘OK’ to begin the extraction.
Note: You can extract individual files and folders from the RAR file by opening it, selecting the files you wish to extract, clicking the ‘Extract’ button at the top, and then clicking ‘Ok’ in the box that displays.
- When the file is extracted, navigate to the location you choose earlier to access the contents.
Summary
That’s it. This is how you can Extract and Open RAR Files in Windows 11 through the free software called 7-Zip. I hope you found this post to be useful, thanks.
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