Aside from helping you open and extract RAR files, WinRAR also allows you to create and open ZIP archives, as well as other archive formats. Find your RAR file and double-click it to open and extract its contents. Aside from manipulating your RAR files it also allows you to create your own RAR files and even encrypt them.Īfter you’ve installed the software, there’s nothing else you need to do. It was made by the developers of the RAR file format. WinRAR is the default option when it comes to software for opening RAR files. Use WinRAR to Create, Open, and Extract RAR Files on Windows # However, we recommend narrowing your choice down to two applications: WinRAR or 7-Zip. Depending on your goals, you might end up choosing a different app. There are plenty of applications that you can use to open and extract RAR files on Windows. How to Open or Extract RAR Files on Windows # That’s also done to simplify the download process. You may also come across RAR files that are split into parts. Using RAR files helps keep file sizes small, which in turn allows for faster downloads. You’ll normally come across a RAR file when downloading something from the internet, such as from a file-sharing website or when you’re downloading computer software.

The only downside of a RAR file is that before you can access the files inside it, you need to open the RAR file and extract its contents. It’s an analog of your normal folder on your computer where you keep multiple files and data, only it doesn’t take as much storage space.

What’s a RAR File? #Ī RAR file, short for a Roshal Archive Compressed file, is a compressed file that can hold one or more other files or folders inside it. Here’s everything you need to know about how to open or extract RAR files on Windows or Mac. However, you need special software to access the data inside RAR archive files. RAR is a compressed file format that allows you to download and transfer large amounts of data from one computer to another.

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