In the case of ZIP files though, when setting a different default app for the file type fails, many users are unable to extract the zipped file regardless of which tool they use. Fix the ZIP file association on Windows 10 On Windows 10, file associations don’t always stick and many apps continue to open with the stock apps. How to open a ZIP file on Windows 10Īs such, the third-party app will have to be set as the default app to handle ZIP files. That said, users are still unlikely to use the stock tool and will install other apps to handle a ZIP file. ZIP is one of the most common formats used to compress files and Windows 10 can easily extract a zipped file without needing a third-party tool for the job.

The file associates allow users to quickly extract a zipped file without having to select an app to do it each time. Third-party archiving tools like WinRAR, 7-zip, WinZip, etc, when installed, will normally have an option to set file defaults for the file formats that they handle.

Most Windows users will install a third-party tool to use in its place. Windows 10 has a basic stock utility for compressing and extracting files but it won’t work with all compression formats.