How to use the Extract ZIP
- Select the ZIP you received. You can add more than one.
- If the sender protected it, type the password; if not, leave the box blank.
- Click Extract and save the individual documents, or take everything at once with Download all.
Two kinds of ZIP password
Older ZIPs use ZipCrypto, a scheme from the early 1990s that is easy to attack but still widespread in scanner software and old accounting exports. Newer ones use AES-256, the method of WinZip, 7-Zip and WinRAR. Given the right password, both decrypt here.
Windows Explorer on many versions handles ZipCrypto only and reports an error on AES entries. That mismatch is behind a lot of "the compressed folder is invalid" messages when a client encrypts a ZIP properly; opening it in this page avoids it.
Odd file names and very large ZIPs
Archives made by old software sometimes stored names in a regional code page, so a Czech or Japanese file name can turn into question marks abroad. Modern tools set the ZIP Unicode flag, and those names come through exactly.
ZIP files over 4 GB, or with over 65,535 entries inside, rely on the ZIP64 extension; 7-Zip handles that too, with no setting to change.
Your original ZIP is left alone
The ZIP is mounted read-only and is neither modified nor uploaded. Extracted copies exist only in the page until you save them; closing the tab clears them.
A Word DOCX, Excel XLSX or EPUB file is itself a ZIP container. Rename a copy to .zip, open it here and you can pull out the original pictures embedded in a report.
Questions
Is there a size cap?
No fixed one. The unpacked documents are kept in browser memory until saved, so very big ZIPs are best opened on a desktop computer.
Can I strip the password from a ZIP?
Effectively yes: unzip it with the password, then use Download all. The new ZIP holds the same files and paths without encryption.