How to Open a TAR File on PC or Mac

Last Updated: March 31, 2019

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 7-Zip.^{[1]
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Research source} This wikiHow teaches you how to open a TAR file on a Windows-based PC or Mac.

Method 1

Method 1 of 2:
Using a Mac

1
Open Finder
. You can find this in your Dock.
2
Navigate to your TAR file.

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3
Double-Click the file. The file will decompress automatically.

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Method 2

Method 2 of 2:
Using a Windows-based PC

1
Open a web browser. Popular ones include Firefox and Chrome.
2
Navigate to https://www.7-zip.org/.
3
Click Download either the 32-bit X84 or 64-bit x64 file.
4
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.
5
Click Save. The .exe file will save in the location you picked in the previous step, which is most likely the Downloads folder.
6
Click the downloaded .exe file. Your browser will alert you when the download is finished.
- Click Allow changes if prompted.
7
Click Install. You will see a progress bar as the installation progresses.
8
Click Close.
9
Open 7-Zip File Manager.
10
Navigate to the TAR file. This program works just like the native file manager on your computer.
11
Click your TAR file. It will highlight in blue.
12
Click the extract button. This is at the top of the window and looks like a blue minus button.
13
Choose an extraction location. A window will pop up with options such as extraction location.
14
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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