If you don’t know how to open RAR files on Windows 10, we’re here to help! Being a computer user, you’ve probably heard of RAR (short for Roshal Archive) files.
Before getting into more extensive details, let’s understand what a RAR file is.
A RAR file or RAR archive is a popular archive file format and uses the *.RAR extension.
Other popular names for compressed files include ZIP files or zipped files. A RAR file or ZIP file is used to store one or more than one compressed files.
If there is a file with that same extension on your computer, you will need to use special software known as a RAR unarchiver to open an archive file and extract files.
Using a RAR file or a RAR archive has two significant benefits.
The first is that you can store both single or multiple files and folders inside a RAR file, making sharing files very convenient as you do not have to share individual files.
Furthermore, if you use a RAR file to send data to someone, the recipient can quickly download multiple files without worrying about downloading each one individually.
The second benefit of using a RAR file is file size reduction. RAR compression compresses data, so uploading and downloading larger and heavier files gets relatively straightforward.
Sharing your vacation photos with your family members will become highly convenient once you learn how to use RAR and start compressing files!
Consider this scenario: you have just returned from a vacation and took many memorable photos during your trip.
Now, your family members living in different parts of the country eagerly await a visual tour of your vacation.
With the help of this article, you’ll be able to share all the photos quickly and effortlessly
So, if you’re ready to learn how to share your files and folders with ease, let’s continue our journey and learn about opening RAR files on Windows 10!
Table of Contents
How to open RAR files on Windows 10
Using compressed files, folders, and archives
A RAR file uses a file compression algorithm to reduce the file or folder size. We won’t go into the details of compression algorithms or compression techniques for brevity.
While the obvious benefit of using compression for files is that they take less space on your hard drive, there are other benefits too.
For instance, using a ZIP file or a RAR file keeps your files well-organized and makes your computer tidy and clutter-free.
Another benefit of using RAR files is that they can be shared easily. For example, a RAR folder containing multiple files is quickly shared compared to uploading numerous files separately.
One more use of RAR files is that you can encrypt and password-protect them to prevent unauthorized access.
Yes, you read that right! It is very convenient to encrypt and lock your precious files inside an archive and put a password.
Once you lock a RAR archive, the only way to open it is by providing a password. So, a neat way to protect your personal files from others, eh?
Different software to open and create RAR files and archives
WinRAR
Many software options are available in the market that enables you to open RAR files, and RAR folders; the most popular one is WinRAR from RARLAB.
WinRAR is considered the best RAR file opener and RAR archive creator as it is native to the .RAR extension and RAR file format.
However, to use the full functionality of WinRAR, you need to buy the software.
How to open RAR files in Windows 10 using WinRAR?
WinRAR from RAR LAB is quite user-friendly, you can easily use it to open RAR files.
Please follow the steps below to open a RAR file in Windows 10:
- Launch the WinRAR software on your computer;
- Next, click on File>Open Archive. Alternatively, you can also use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+O;
- Next, WinRAR will ask you where your zip file, RAR file, or RAR archive is present. First, navigate to the path where your RAR file is present. Then select it and click “Open“;
- When you click Open, the WinRAR software will show all files present in the archive;
- Now, if you want to access the files present inside the RAR archive, click “Extract To“;
- Provide the destination folder where you want to put the archived files and click “Ok“. Depending on the size of the WinRAR archive, WinRAR will take some time to extract all files. You can then navigate to the destination folder you provided above to see all extracted;
- Congratulations! You have now successfully opened a WinRAR file on your Windows PC.
Other software to open RAR files in Windows 10
Numerous RAR opener and extractor software are available to do the same job as WinRAR. Some of the software is free, while you need to pay for others.
Popular alternatives to WinRAR include WinZip, 7-Zip, PeaZip, B1 Free Archiver, and ExtractNow. WinZip is also a paid software, while the others are free software.
Wrap up
RAR is an archive format that uses the *.RAR file extension. In addition, RAR files are compressed folders that can contain multiple files that have gone through compression.
File and folder compression uses data compression algorithms and reduces file size, saving lots of hard disk space.
Several utilities are available to open .RAR compressed files and folders.
WinRAR is the most popular software, however, other apps are also available for extracting and opening RAR files, as we discussed in the article.
We hope that you now managed to debunk the mystery of opening RAR files and folders on your computer.
Now, you can quickly share multiple files in a compressed folder using a RAR file creator of your choice.
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