An unusual format has now been unpacked

7z is an archive file format. It works similarly to the ZIP format, but with some key advantages, such as superior compression and support for huge file sizes. However, it is not as common, so you may need additional help to open or extract the contents of a 7z file, depending on the platform.

If you have just downloaded or received a 7z file, below are instructions you can use to open or extract 7z files in Windows, Mac, and Linux.

Windows operating systems natively support ZIP files, but not the 7z format. Fortunately, the free and open-source 7-Zip application is all you need to open and extract the contents of 7z files.