Google Drive is great for storing files and then easily collaborating and sharing them with others. And it does well in that aspect. However, one domain where it leaves a lot to be desired is the way it handles compressed files. It only allows you to view the file name and its extension. You can’t open and preview the actual file or unzip a single file from the ZIP in Google Drive. Say, you have 10 files inside a compressed folder, but you only want to extract two files. This is just not possible via Google Drive. You’ll have to decompress the entire zip file and then act on it as per your need. Learn more about how you can compress folders on Windows to save more space,
To overcome all these odds, there exists a handy Google Chrome extension. It allows you to preview all the contents of a ZIP file before you go ahead and extract it in Drive. Moreover, it also allows the extraction of only the desired number of files, rather than the complete ZIP or RAR file. Let’s see how this could be done. Also, have a look a the steps to set up Google Drive for desktop syncing.
Steps to Unzip Files from a ZIP in Google Drive
- Head over to the Chrome Web Store and download the ZIP Extractor extension.
- Click on Add to Chrome and then on Add from the pop-up menu.
- Next, head over to Google Drive and click on Drive. Go to More > Connect More Apps.
- Hover your cursor over to ZIP Extractor and click Connect.
- You’ll also get a pop-up asking the extension to be the default one for handling compressed files. I have it enabled but it depends on your personal choices.
- Now open any ZIP file from your Google Drive. Once you do so, you’ll first have to Authorize this extension with Drive. Until you do so, you can’t preview or extract individual files from the ZIP in Drive.
- Next, sign in with your Google Account and grant it the necessary permissions.
- Next to each file is a checkbox, tick mark only those files that you need to extract right now. Finally, click Extract to begin the process.
- You’ll have the option to preview each of these files present in the compressed bundle, before actually extracting it. To do so, just click on that file name.
So with that, we conclude this guide on how to preview and extract individual files from ZIP in Google Drive. Stick with us for more such Google Apps-related tips and tricks. Do share your thoughts on this extension as well. Drop in your views in the comments section below.
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