1. What is ZIP Reader?

ZIP Reader is a browser add-on that help you easily unzip a compressed file. Simply drag & drop a zipped file to a designated area in the app UI (top section). All the zip content will be listed in the UI. You can download each individual file by clicking on it or download all files to single folder. Please note that this app is only designed for viewing a ZIP file. For the inverse operation (zip a folder), you need to use a different application. There is also a reload button at the top left corner in the app UI. Clicking on this button will reload the app. If you want to extract multiple zip files, please do this one by one. It is also recommended to reload the UI after each unzip operation.

2. How can I work with this add-on?

As mentioned above, simply open the app UI, then drag & drop a desired zip file in the app UI (top section). Alternatively, you can click on the - Choose a zip file - button, to open the file selector and then select your zip file from there. Once the file is loaded in the app, you can view the content in the below section (section 2). At the bottom of the UI there is a button to extract all files to single folder. You can also extract individual files by clicking on each file. Once the unzip operation is done, please click on the reload button once to make the app ready for another unzip operation.

3. How can I download the source code for ZIP Reader?

To download the source code for this extension from Chrome Web Store, it is recommended to use Extension Source Downloader. With this addon, you can download the source code as a ZIP or CRX format to your machine. If you want to download the source code from the Firefox addons store, please open the firefox download link (if available) in the Firefox browser and then right-click on the - Add to Firefox - button and select - Save Link As... - item. Choose the destination folder on your machine and then save the file in XPI format. You can then rename the XPI format to a RAR or ZIP file. Some extensions may have a GitHub repo address, which you can use to download the source code as well. But, it may not be the latest version of the addon. Therefore, downloading the source code from the official web stores is the best option as it always gives you the latest version of the addon.

4. How does ZIP Reader addon work?

This addon uses the free and open source conversion library called ZIP.js. ZIP api is originally written in C and C++ languages. But within the browser, only JavaScript language is accepted. Therefore, this addon uses a compiled version of ZIP library in Javascript language. The compiled version is the result of Emscripten compiler. Please read this Wikipedia page to get more info about Emscripten compiler. All the original ZIP commands are also accepted in this Javascript compiled version. It is also important to note that, because this library is based on Javascript, it may NOT have the same performance as the C and C++ versions. Since it runs in the browser and has less resources comparing to the native C application. But, according to our tests it is useful for ordinary usage.

5. How do I turn the extension OFF?

When app UI is closed, this addon is completely OFF and has no usage (RAM/CPU) on your system at all. Alternatively, if you want to completely turn off the addon, please head to the extensions tab in your browser and then click on the disable button from there.

6. Is this extension available for mobile firefox (Firefox for android)?

Yes, this addon is available for all browsers and platforms including mobile Firefox and Opera browsers.

7. How can I reload the app UI?

When you open the app UI, you will see a reload button on the top left corner. Please press on this button to reload the UI. Also note that, reloading the UI will terminate all active unzip operations and reset the zip reader addon.

8. How can I download the extracted files?

Once a extraction is done, you can click on the - Extract all the above files to a single folder - button at the bottom of the UI. This will download all the extracted files to a single folder at the default download location in your system. If you want to extract just a single file, please find it within the UI and then click on the file in order to download it to your machine.

9. How can I change the download path for the extracted files?

To change the download location, please head to the settings tab in your browser and then find the download manager section. Within this section, you can adjust the download path. This will globally change the download location for all you downloads in your browser.

10. Can I also extract RAR files with this addon?

This addon is specifically designed for ZIP file formats. If you want to extract a RAR file, you need to install a separate addon. In future support for RAR file formats will be added.

11. Does this addon has a comparable performance to native ZIP applications?

No, since this addon runs the unzip operation in the browser, it is slower than the native ZIP applications. However, using the addon is very easy as it runs on all the browsers and platforms. Simply add it to your browser and it starts to work without any additional plugins. Please note that, for very large zip files, you still need the native application. This addon is only suitable for simple unzip operations.

12. Where can I find the privacy policy for ZIP Reader?

Please read the privacy policy for this extension here.