Extract Zipped Files

[Erminia Scharnberg]

Zipped" or "Compressed" files are often sent as email attachments. The compression process helps to reduce file size. View the help page on how to Zip (Compress) Multiple Files if you would like instructions on creating a zipped file.

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I have 2TB of available storage on my Dropbox account, but am unable to open a ZIP file (approx. 3.2GB) -- instead, I'm getting an error message that says "Couldn't extract files. Can only handle files up to 512 MB." Any thoughts on how best to resolve this? Thanks.

Did this post not resolve your issue? If so please give us some more information so we can try and help - please remember we cannot see over your shoulder so be as descriptive as possible!

I actually CAN'T download a file onto my local computer because there is no fixed Internet where I live (center of Chicago) and I am forced to use cell data for everything. So that solution doesn't work for me. Especially as I would have to download and then upload the uncompressed data afterwards. Just one file would kill off my entire quota of transfer for the month.

I get the same error message - no useful information, no details as to why. I'm personally trying to extract a 1.3GB zip file and wonder if there is a hidden max file size. If so, why is it not made clear in the error?

Hey guys im having a problem opening folders I have downloaded from dropbox. I have since deleted it from dropbox (so cant try reloading the files). I have tried opening it 3 on different computers and im getting the same message. I tried using both windows 7 and windows 8.1

How big is this Zip file? Dropbox is known to have problems creating Zip files larger than 1GB or so. If you're using the built-in Zip support that Windows has, I would try a program like WinRAR, 7Zip or WinZip. Otherwise you may be out of luck.

Same here. Only, my compressed folders are from 1 to 116 MB. Not very large... I can't open any of the files when extracted, all broken. Pictures, txt files, pdf files, html files, mp3 files, nothing opens...

A strange thing happed to me... I've kept the broken zip archives - and they all work now, four weeks later. I changed my OS in the meantime (Mint to Ubuntu) but I don't know if that made any difference... I tried extracting one file at a time and all at once and it works, no problems whatsoever. Maybe you should try extracting one file at a time from the broken archive or something like that, or change the OS xD

Thanks so much for this answer. It worked for me and i have recovered hundreds of photos from my travels. If you are ever in nz let me know and i will buy you a beer!

Big shout out to mactorque who sorted it for me since i can hardly even turn a Mac on!

Its crazy that dropbox was not able to help with this issue.

Before you posted this I managed to get in touch with dropbox customer support which took a bit of hunting! However they repeatedly told me the fault was my doing, didn't believe what was happening to me and offered no solution!

Thanks so much!

ZIP files compress the data from a file, multiple files, or a folder into a smaller, single storage unit. Compressing data increases the efficiency of local and cloud-based storage systems and speeds up the exchange of data via email and text. It saves time and money and is an integral part of information and content management.

Apart from using third-party software, users generally cannot do more to evaluate the contents of a zipped folder without actually opening the ZIP file that contains it. You can view file names, but you cannot edit or execute any files without unzipping them. This feature makes ZIP files a convenient malware delivery device, particularly in email phishing scams.

Users can open ZIP files on a Mac in two ways. Selecting Quick Look from the drop menu only returns the total file size and its last modification date. Note that the macOS file manager Finder cannot preview ZIP file contents without third-party software.

Both iPhone and Android operating systems lagged a few years behind their desktop counterparts in offering ZIP file support. Apple introduced a file management feature to iOS in 2017. For iOS versions 11 and higher, the Files App will handle ZIP extraction by default. Users can open ZIPs on iPhones in five steps.

Organizing your document workflows with the right document management software can save you time and money. FileCenter DMS has built-in support for zipping and unzipping files and folders with easy-to-use menus. Knowing how to use basic data compression tools such as ZIP files speeds up and eases the exchange of information in your digital workspace. These tools contribute to the larger process of digital document processing that has become essential to business operations in all industries.

Therefore I've tried to use Process.Start() with the path to the zipped file as input. This causes my app to open a Window showing the contents in the zipped file. That's all fine, but the app will be installed on a server with none around to click the "Extract all files"-button.

ZipFile is contained in the assembly System.IO.Compression.FileSystem. (Thanks nateirvin...see comment below). You need to add a DLL reference to the framework assembly System.IO.Compression.FileSystem.dll

It is not always desired to write the uncompressed file to disk. As an ASP.Net developer, I would have to fiddle with permissions to grant rights for my application to write to the filesystem. By working with streams in memory, I can sidestep all that and read the files directly:

Free, and no external DLL files. Everything is in one CS file. One download is just the CS file, another download is a very easy to understand example. Just tried it today and I can't believe how simple the setup was. It worked on first try, no errors, no nothing.

DotNetZip works on PCs with the full .NET Framework, and also runs on mobile devices that use the .NET Compact Framework. Create and read zip files in VB, C#, or any .NET language, or any scripting environment...

If all you want is a better DeflateStream or GZipStream class to replace the one that is built-into the .NET BCL, DotNetZip has that, too. DotNetZip's DeflateStream and GZipStream are available in a standalone assembly, based on a .NET port of Zlib. These streams support compression levels and deliver much better performance than the built-in classes. There is also a ZlibStream to complete the set (RFC 1950, 1951, 1952)...

You may also try using zipfldr.dll. It is Microsoft's compression library (compressed folders from the Send to menu). It appears to be a com library but it's undocumented. You may be able to get it working for you through experimentation.

I use this to either zip or unzip multiple files. The Regex stuff is not required, but I use it to change the date stamp and remove unwanted underscores. I use the empty string in the Compress >> zipPath string to prefix something to all files if required. Also, I usually comment out either Compress() or Decompress() based on what I am doing.

You can do it all within .NET 3.5 using DeflateStream. The thing lacking in .NET 3.5 is the ability to process the file header sections that are used to organize the zipped files. PKWare has published this information, which you can use to process the zip file after you create the structures that are used. It is not particularly onerous, and it a good practice in tool building without using 3rd party code.

It isn't a one line answer, but it is completely doable if you are willing and able to take the time yourself. I wrote a class to do this in a couple of hours and what I got from that is the ability to zip and unzip files using .NET 3.5 only.

Compressed GZipStream objects written to a file with an extension of .gz can be decompressed using many common compression tools; however, this class does not inherently provide functionality for adding files to or extracting files from .zip archives.

The Unzip package is lean, and it did the job for me - it didn't have the bug that DotNetZip had. Also, it was a reasonably small file, relying upon the Microsoft BCL for the actual decompression. I could easily make adjustments which I needed (to be able to keep track of the progress while decompressing). I recommend it.

Until now, I was using cmd processes in order to extract an .iso file, copy it into a temporary path from server and extracted on a usb stick. Recently I've found that this is working perfectly with .iso's that are less than 10Gb. For a iso like 29Gb this method gets stuck somehow.

I'm working on a project where the data source comes in daily as a zipped file. Is anybody able to show me how to unzip a file within my workflow? Alternatively, can I use a zip file within my workflow? I'm unsure if Alteryx would be able to work with that as an input when building out the workflow.

Thank you, this thread looks like the answer to my question. However, I am having a difficult time understanding where I need to make changes to fit my use case? I'm relatively new to using Alteryx and am pretty lost trying to understand the workflow.

The file you have attached is a batch macro. Usually what happens with something like this is that you have it saved to a macro repository and then you can drop it in a workflow like you would any other tool. This one looks like it is built for downloading of the zip file first. Do you already have your zip file? So if you already have a zip file in some sort of repository, you should be able to use chunks of this workflow to do the work. you are looking to do. pretty much the second half. Also it looks like it uses 7zip, so you will need that as well.

I think I'm following what you're saying. I do already have the zip file although, that in itself is a bit of a problem. Right now, the zip file is sent to me via email daily. I think use Power Automate to take that attachment from the email and drop it onto a shared drive. From there, I'd want Alteryx to pick up that zipped file in the workflow. I'm assuming the second half of the workflow does that for me.

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