Opening a Z File

The Z file type is primarily associated with 7Zip.

Z	File extension: Z
	File type:	archived file created for an operating system

What is a Z file?

Z files mostly belong to 7Zip by 7Zip. Z files are compressed files which are primarily utilized to store, or pack files on a Unix machine, where the compression algorithm within Z files is used to archive and save disk space whilst being a simple compression algorithm. Upon creation, Z files were commonly used when creating a compressed archive for magnetic tapes or for backup purposes of various databases when a reduction of space was required.

Main Usage: Z files are mainly used to create smaller and more unique files on Unix or Linux computers, as these files can be decompressed on Unix systems using the uncompress tool. Z files are slightly more well known within modern Linux computers than ZIP files due to the fact that they can only contain one file that has been compressed, as ZIP files can contain many different files. However, the compression algorithm within Z files has mostly been replaced by GNUzip compression, which instead creates GZ files instead of Z files, although, users are able to utilize the ZNEW utility to re-compress Z files into GZ files.

How do you open Z files?

You need a suitable software like 7Zip to open a Z 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 Z file correctly, try to right-click or long-press the file. Then click "Open with" and choose an application. You can also display a Z file directly in the browser:. Just drag the file onto this browser window and drop it.

Online Z File Viewer

Choose your .z file to view

or drag and drop it here

Online File Viewer

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How to extract texts from Z files or capture a screenshot to PDF, JPG, DOCX, TXT, ...

If you want to extract texts from Z file or capture a screenshot, you can use our free Online Z File Viewer:

To do this, click the button "Choose your .z file to view" on this page.
After your file is opened in browser,
click "Save as..." in the menu.
Then choose the file format (e.g. JPG, PDF, DOCX, TXT, ...) you want.
Download the converted file.

Programs that open and convert Z files:

7Zip by 7Zip
See the previous paragraphs to learn more about the main application. Z files are often referred to as 7Zip compresseds because this type of file is primarily created or used by this software.
InstallShield (archived file) by Flexera
Z is the extension of archived files used by InstallShield, an industry-standard utility used to create installation packages for Windows. InstallShield is used to properly install, configure, and update various software products of Windows on the systems of users. This file format is classified as Compressed. Related links: InstallShield Wikipedia page, Flexera Wikipedia page
Stuffit (archived file created for an operating system) by Smith Micro
StuffIt is an archiving software developed by SmithMicro and is compatible with most common operating systems. This program and its various versions were developed as a freeware archiving facility. Z is the extension of archived files developed in an UNIX based machine and can be extracted with a suitable archiving facility like Stuffit This file format is classified as Compressed. Related links: StuffitExpander, Stuffit versions
WinRAR (archived file created for an operating system) by Rarlab
Z is the extension of archived files created with the purpose of storing or packing files on an UNIX based machine. Files of these types can be extracted with the help of compressing or archiving utilities like WinRAR This file format is classified as Compressed. Related links: WinRar features
WinZip (archived file created for an operating system) by Corel
Archives created for storing files on an UNIX based machine are stored under file names with extensions Z. They are mostly archived in combination with files with extensions like TAR and TAZ and can be extracted using popular archiving utilities like WinZip. This file format is classified as Compressed. Related links: WinZip Wikipedia page
Zero Compiler (header file) by Xeno Innovations, Inc.
Zero Compiler is a programming language which initially took shape with the efforts of Damian J.Suess. Though this program is comparable to C++, VB, and .NET, the main objective of this program is the ease at which it can be brought down to an assembly level language. The header files of this program carry the extension Z. This file format is classified as Web (source). Related links: Zero Compiler download link

Z file extension format:

Every file has a defined file format, i.e. how the data is arranged in the file. The file format can be determined based on the file extension and the signature (the first few characters of a file). File extension, signature and file format must match; otherwise errors will occur when the file is opened. So a detailed analysis of a file is vital in order to determine the format and the associated program. Our evaluation of the Z files is as follows:

Files with the Z extension are quite widely used. This file type includes different formats for different programs. The following file formats are most commonly found in Z files:

45% of all Z files are associated with UNIX Compressed data. They consist of unreadable binary data. Most of these files are 24 KB to 4 MB in size. The file type was created 20 years ago but is still used today. Such files are related to data, grid, orig, latest, pendigits, netapp, thkods, optdigits, chorales, expanded, change, lisp and snap.
8% of all Z files are based on the zip format, i.e. a Z file contains several compressed files. A Z file includes 1 to 50 files. A little tip: If you rename the file extension to .zip and then double-click, you will see the included files and images. A typical file size is 75 KB. A usual file name is 20180601_new.lis.Z.

All other Z files (47%) have no uniform format, the following 7 formats can be found: InstallShield Z archive, zlib, GZIP and Unreal. These files are often connected to android, bundle, heroes, uasset, clean or save. You can get all the details of your Z file by dragging it onto this page or by clicking the button "Choose your .z file to view" above.

Technical Data for Z File Extension

File classification:

Compressed

Related files:

z01, 7z, psz, z02, fre, z03, grid, z05, zlib, lis, tra, zz, z17, zip, pax, z07, sum, z04, z08, %3f%3fz, zi_

Related links:

7Zip Wikipedia page, Developer info

Mime type:

application/x-compress, application/gzip, application/octet-stream

The following listing is compiled from the database produced by the 'Associate This!' program, selected data from the main FILExt database and file extension information submitted by users.

ProgramID: File.z, FileType: ZipGenius Z File, AppName: ZipGenius 1.4 Service Release 3

ProgramID: Filzip, FileType: Filzip file, AppName: Filzip
EXEFile: Filzip.exe

ProgramID: PAGZIP, FileType: PowerArchiver GZIP File, AppName: The most powerful Freeware Archive Utility
EXEFile: POWERARC.EXE

ProgramID: PicoZip, FileType: PicoZip Archive, AppName: PicoZip
EXEFile: PicoZip.exe

ProgramID: PowerDesk Archive, FileType: PowerDesk Archive, AppName: PowerDesk

ProgramID: PowerDesk.Archive, FileType: PowerDesk.Archive, AppName: PowerDesk
EXEFile: PDExplo.exe

ProgramID: PowerDesk.Archive, FileType: PowerDesk.Archive, AppName: PowerDesk Pro

ProgramID: StuffIt.Compressed.File.Expand, FileType: StuffIt Compressed File, AppName: StuffIt for Windows 8.0
EXEFile: stuffit.exe

ProgramID: StuffItArchive, AppName: Aladdin Expander

ProgramID: WinZip, FileType: WinZip File, AppName: WinZip
EXEFile: winzip32.exe

ProgramID: WinZip, FileType: WinZip File, AppName: WinZip Executable
EXEFile: winzip32.exe

ProgramID: ZipMagic Z

ProgramID: BitZipper.Z
EXEFile: %ProgramFiles%\BitZipper\BITZIPPER.EXE %1

ProgramID: File.z
EXEFile: %ProgramFiles%\ZipGenius 5\zipgenius.exe -open %1

ProgramID: PABZIP2
EXEFile: %ProgramFiles%\PowerArchiver\POWERARC.EXE %1

ProgramID: PAGZIP
EXEFile: %ProgramFiles%\PowerArchiver\POWERARC.EXE %1

ProgramID: PASZIP
EXEFile: %ProgramFiles%\PowerArchiver\POWERARC.EXE %1

ProgramID: PicoZip.z
EXEFile: %ProgramFiles%\PicoZip\PicoZip.exe %1

ProgramID: PowerDesk.Archive
EXEFile: %ProgramFiles%\Ontrack\PowerDesk\PDExplo.exe %1

ProgramID: PowerDesk.Archive
EXEFile: %ProgramFiles%\VCOM\PowerDesk\PDExplo.exe %1

ProgramID: StuffIt.Compressed.File.Expand
EXEFile: %ProgramFiles%\Aladdin Systems\StuffIt\\stuffit.exe -expand %1 -from_shell -override_open_tutorial

ProgramID: WinRAR
EXEFile: %ProgramFiles%\WinRAR\WinRAR.exe %1

ProgramID: WinRAR
EXEFile: E:\WinRar 3.4\WinRAR.exe %1

ProgramID: WinZip
EXEFile: %ProgramFiles%\SHAREW~1\WINZIP\winzip32.exe %1

ProgramID: WinZip
EXEFile: %ProgramFiles%\WINZIP\winzip32.exe %1

ProgramID: WinZip
EXEFile: C:\DOCUME~1\ESTELA~1\MYDOCU~1\DEFAUL~1\WINZIP\winzip32.exe %1

ProgramID: WinZip
EXEFile: D:\EXTRA_~1\SMALLP~1\WINZIP9.0\winzip32.exe %1

ProgramID: WinZip
EXEFile: G:\DOWNLO~1\WinZip\winzip32.exe %1

ProgramID: WinZip
EXEFile: G:\SW\WINZIP\winzip32.exe %1

ProgramID: WinZip
EXEFile: Y:\WINZIP\winzip32.exe %1

ProgramID: ZipZag.z
EXEFile: %ProgramFiles%\ZipZag\zipzag.exe %1

ProgramID: WinZip
EXEFile: %ProgramFiles%\WINZIP~1.1FR\winzip32.exe %1

ProgramID: StuffItArchive
EXEFile: %ProgramFiles%\Aladdin Systems\StuffIt 7.0\Expander\Expander.exe %1

ProgramID: File.z
EXEFile: %ProgramFiles%\!Ute\ZipGenius 5\zipgenius.exe -open %1

ProgramID: ACDSee.Z
EXEFile: %ProgramFiles%\ACD Systems\ACDSee\ACDSee.exe %1

ProgramID: StuffIt.Compressed.File.Expand
EXEFile: %ProgramFiles%\Allume Systems\StuffIt\stuffit.exe -expand %1 -from_shell -override_open_tutorial

ProgramID: PAGZIP
EXEFile: %ProgramFiles%r\PowerArchiver\POWERARC.EXE %1

ProgramID: 7-Zip.z
EXEFile: %ProgramFiles%\7-Zip\7zFMn.exe %1

ProgramID: IZArc
EXEFile: %ProgramFiles%\IZARC\IZARC.EXE %1

ProgramID: NetZIPFileType
EXEFile: %ProgramFiles%\Netzip\Netzip.exe %l

ProgramID: StuffIt.Compressed.File.Expand
EXEFile: %ProgramFiles%\Aladdin Systems\StuffIt Standard\stuffit.exe -expand %1 -from_shell

ProgramID: QZ4..z
EXEFile: %ProgramFiles%\QuickZip4\QuickZip.exe %1

ProgramID: Qzip.z
EXEFile: %ProgramFiles%\QuickZip\Quickzip.exe %1

ProgramID: StuffIt.Compressed.File.Expand
EXEFile: %ProgramFiles%\Aladdin Systems\StuffIt 7.5\stuffit.exe -expand %1 -from_shell

ProgramID: TzTAR
EXEFile: %ProgramFiles%\TUGZip\TUGZip.exe %1

ProgramID: UltimateZip
EXEFile: %ProgramFiles%\ULTIMA~1\uzip.exe %1

ProgramID: Filzip
EXEFile: %ProgramFiles%\Filzip\Filzip.exe %1

ProgramID: 7-Zip.z
EXEFile: %ProgramFiles%\7-Zip\7zFM.exe %1

ProgramID: WinZip
EXEFile: %ProgramFiles%\UTILIT~1\WINZIP\winzip32.exe %1

ProgramID: MimarSinan Codex
EXEFile: %SystemRoot%\explorer.exe /idlist,%I,%L

ProgramID: IZArcZ
EXEFile: %ProgramFiles%\IZArc\IZArc.exe

ProgramID: uzip
EXEFile: %ProgramFiles%\ULTIMA~1\uzip.exe

ProgramID: PowerDesk.Archive
EXEFile: %ProgramFiles%\PowerDesk\PDExplo.exe

ProgramID: PAGZIP
EXEFile: %ProgramFiles%\Accessories\PowerArchiver\POWERARC.EXE

ProgramID: ALZip.z
EXEFile: %ProgramFiles%\ESTsoft\ALZip\ALZip.exe

ProgramID: File.z
EXEFile: %ProgramFiles%\ZipGenius 6\zipgenius.exe -open

ProgramID: UltimateZip
EXEFile: %ProgramFiles%\UltimateZip 2.7\uzip.exe

ProgramID: StuffIt.Compressed.File.Expand
EXEFile: %ProgramFiles%\Smith Micro\StuffIt\stuffit.exe -expand -from_shell -override_open_tutorial

ProgramID: ACDSee 9.0.z
EXEFile: %ProgramFiles%\ACD Systems\ACDSee\9.0\ACDSeeQV.exe

ProgramID: Filzip
EXEFile: %ProgramFiles%\Filzip\Filzip.exe

ProgramID: StuffItEncoded
EXEFile: %ProgramFiles%\Aladdin Systems\StuffIt 7.0.2\Expander\Expander.exe

ProgramID: StuffIt11.Archive.Open.Generic
EXEFile: %ProgramFiles%\Smith Micro\StuffIt11\StuffIt11.exe -o

ProgramID: Z
EXEFile: %ProgramFiles%\PeaZip\PEAZIP.EXE

ProgramID: ACDSee 7.0.z
EXEFile: %ProgramFiles%\ACD Systems\ACDSee\7.0\ACDSee7.exe

ProgramID: IZArcZ
EXEFile: %ProgramFiles%\IZArc\IZArc.exe

ProgramID: LhaplusArchive_z
EXEFile: %ProgramFiles%\Lhaplus\Lhaplus.exe

ProgramID: 7-Zip.z
EXEFile: %ProgramFiles%\Utilities\7-Zip\7zFM.exe

Show all 67 listings To Top

a z archived file created for an operating system is a special file format by 7Zip and should only be edited and saved with the appropriate software.

How to solve problems with Z files

Associate the Z file extension with the correct application.
Update your software that should actually open archived file created for an operating systems. Because only the current version supports the latest Z file format. Search, therefore, e.g. on the 7Zip manufacturer website after an available 7Zip update.
To make sure that your Z file is not corrupted or virus-infected, get the file again and scan it with Google's virustotal.com.
Click here to open your .Z file online - secure, fast, and no downloads needed.