Opening an SHZ File

The SHZ file type is primarily associated with QGIS.

SHZ	File extension: SHZ
	File type:	compressed archive

What is an SHZ file?

SHZ files mostly belong to QGIS. The SHZ file is not a single-use format but a name given to files that follow different internal structures.
An SHZ file is a ShapeZip file. It stores a compressed archive created with ZIP compression that bundles the standard components of an ESRI Shapefile (for example, .shp, .shx, and .dbf files). This format is widely used in GIS to hold spatial datasets. You can open these files with GIS software such as ArcGIS Pro or QGIS.
Other variants include:

A Stardew Valley save file as noted by Shadow Defender

A SHSWorks workspace file used in specific design applications

FilExt.com notes: The proper way to open an SHZ file depends on its actual content. If it is a ShapeZip archive, use a ZIP utility to extract and work with the underlying shapefile components. In other cases, a dedicated application matching the file’s use (such as a game or workspace editor) is needed.

How to open SHZ files

You need a suitable software like QGIS to open an SHZ file. Without proper software you will receive a Windows message "How do you want to open this file?" or "Windows cannot open this file" or a similar Mac/iPhone/Android alert. If you cannot open your SHZ file correctly, try to right-click or long-press the file. Then click "Open with" and choose an application. You can also display a SHZ file directly in the browser:. Just drag the file onto this browser window and drop it.

Online SHZ Text Viewer

Choose your .shz file to analyze

or drag and drop it here

Online File Viewer

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SHZ file format:

Every file has a defined file format, i.e. how the data is arranged in the file. Often, the file format can be deduced from the file extension or the initial bytes (called the signature). However, different programs can use the same file extension. Furthermore, a file extension can be renamed incorrectly and double-clicking on it will then display an error when it is opened. Exact knowledge of the format is therefore important in order to solve problems occurring in files. Our evaluation of the SHZ files is as follows:

The SHZ file extension is not common and predominantly uses a uniform format. However, the following two file formats are common:

• 85% of all SHZ files use the ZIP format, so several files are compressed and saved in one SHZ file. Primarily 4 to 30 files are included. You can see the included files and images by renaming the file extension to .zip and then double-clicking it. SHZ files can be up to 74 MB in size, but are often around 2 KB - 7 MB. Such files sometimes refer to cogb, wyndham, city, assets, pipes, drainage, footprints, stormwater, building, roads and upper.
• 7% of all SHZ files start with the bytes (12/11/2026), which are crucial for this file format. The contents of these files can even be read by a human. The file size is in the range of 1 KB to 1 KB. Several words can almost always be found in the files, e.g. (12/11/2026), DOOUTDSZREUEMNIQLSKCIAUVOGTGTJXHBVTRXGE, IEXCNWXZUZBKFERHIOZLPRNGGHYZOTHHFTEEZZOZXATPOWMOYJSIWGOUFSHOUIPP, IITXOLHKOYJNNAEDW, JSJVHHWKTU and JWPWLGGKIKPRFIAUIRKYT. A usual file name is SF_Memoirs.shz. Files like these are sometimes connected to memoirs.

All other SHZ files (8%) have different formats. These files sometimes refer to spherical, geelongtrees, footpaths, standard, centres, public, mach or pits. If you want to find out what your SHZ file contains, drag and drop it onto this page.