How to Open a TAR File on PC or Mac

A TAR file is compressed files with the extension .tar.gz. Opening TAR files with a Mac is easy, but the process is a little more complicated on a Windows-based computer, which requires you to download a third-party program like WinRar or...

Method 1 of 2:

Using a Mac

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    Images 1 of How to Open a TAR File on PC or Mac
    Open Finder
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    Images 2 of How to Open a TAR File on PC or Mac
    . You can find this in your Dock.
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    Images 3 of How to Open a TAR File on PC or Mac
    Navigate to your TAR file.
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    Images 4 of How to Open a TAR File on PC or Mac
    Double-Click the file. The file will decompress automatically.
Method 2 of 2:

Using a Windows-based PC

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    Images 5 of How to Open a TAR File on PC or Mac
    Open a web browser. Popular ones include Firefox and Chrome.
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    Images 6 of How to Open a TAR File on PC or Mac
    Navigate to https://www.7-zip.org/.
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    Images 7 of How to Open a TAR File on PC or Mac
    Click Download either the 32-bit X84 or 64-bit x64 file.
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    Images 8 of How to Open a TAR File on PC or Mac
    Choose a download location in the pop-up window. A pop-up box will appear asking you to choose a download location once you click Download.
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    Images 9 of How to Open a TAR File on PC or Mac
    Click Save. The .exe file will save in the location you picked in the previous step, which is most likely the Downloads folder.
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    Images 10 of How to Open a TAR File on PC or Mac
    Click the downloaded .exe file. Your browser will alert you when the download is finished.
    1. Click Allow changes if prompted.
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    Images 11 of How to Open a TAR File on PC or Mac
    Click Install. You will see a progress bar as the installation progresses.
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    Images 12 of How to Open a TAR File on PC or Mac
    Click Close.
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    Images 13 of How to Open a TAR File on PC or Mac
    Open 7-Zip File Manager.
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    Images 14 of How to Open a TAR File on PC or Mac
    Navigate to the TAR file. This program works just like the native file manager on your computer.
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    Images 15 of How to Open a TAR File on PC or Mac
    Click your TAR file. It will highlight in blue.
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    Images 16 of How to Open a TAR File on PC or Mac
    Click the extract button. This is at the top of the window and looks like a blue minus button.
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    Images 17 of How to Open a TAR File on PC or Mac
    Choose an extraction location. A window will pop up with options such as extraction location.
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    Images 18 of How to Open a TAR File on PC or Mac
    Click Ok. The files inside the TAR file will extract into the location you specified in the previous step, and you'll be able to open it from there.
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