Google accounts come with a measly 15GB of storage & many users including students upload ZIP files to save space. It’s hard to use the given space for everything from photos to documents & Gmail attachments without running out of space. Use ZIP Extractor which is a Chrome app & an add-on to effectively manage ZIP files in Drive.
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Easily Extract ZIP Files Stored in Google Drive
Method 1: Using the ZIP Extractor Drive Addon
Installing the ZIP Extractor Addon
Step 1: Double click the ZIP file. Press the drop down button and choose Connect more apps.
Step 2: Enter the name of the Addon which is ZIP Extractor & press Connect to add it to your account.
Extracting ZIP files Using the Addon
Step 1: Open Google Drive & navigate to the ZIP file.
Step 2: Double click the ZIP file to check the contents of the ZIP file. Google by default lets users read the contents but doesn’t have the functionality to extract it. This is where ZIP extractor comes into play.
Step 3: Depending on the number of folders in the ZIP file, select the folder & press Open with Extractor.
Step 4: This will open ZIP Extractor in a separate window. Press Authorise to give access to your ZIP file.
Step 5: The addon will automatically start downloading the contents to begin the process of extraction. Wait patiently as it may take some time depending on the file size.
Step 6: Once the extraction is complete, press Extract now to store the extracted files in the same folder. Choosing the Change destination folder button will allow users to choose a different destination in Drive.
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Method 2: Using the ZIP Extractor Chrome App
Step 1: Visit the ZIP Extractor and download the Chrome app. The Chrome app & extension are no different in terms of functionality. Both are web apps but the choice is given for convenience sake.
Step 2: Once you see a pop-up window, select Add app again. This will install the web app to your Google Chrome profile.
Step 3: This will launch Chrome Apps window. Here you can launch the web app by press the ZIP Extractor icon.
Step 4: This launches a window which is similar to what was seen during the Drive add-on. After pressing Authorise, follow the same instructions as before.
Step 5: Choose the ZIP file from the Drive file path or extract a local file.
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Manage ZIP Files From The Google Drive App
Android users aren’t left out when it comes to handling ZIP files. There are plenty of file managers like Solid Explorer equipped to deal with the extraction of compressed files.
Step 1: Launch Google Drive & navigate to the ZIP file and select the file. This will prompt Google Drive to download the file locally. Once the download is complete, you’ll be prompted to choose between different files that are capable of handling ZIP files.
Step 2: Once the download is complete, you’ll be prompted to choose between different files that are capable of handling ZIP files.
Step 3: Choose the app you’re most comfortable with. In case you have only a single app capable of handling ZIP files, Android will automatically launch that app. After extraction, the files are available for use from the appropriate folders.
Conclusion
ZIP Extractor is a dead simple app that’s used to fill the void left by Google when it comes to handling compressed files.
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