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Is there a program I can get for Windows that simply extracts zip files I open in the same place with its own folder just like Mac OS?

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  • I'm kind of confused. Windows has come with ZIP extraction built-in for many, many years now. You don't need a separate program for it. (Though 7-Zip is worth having anyway.)
    – John Y
    Commented Feb 25, 2020 at 17:53
  • So the native experience in MacOS X when opening a ZIP file is a the contents are automatically extracted into its own folder, no UI is ever shown just a new folder is created. This is really useful in my case because my files need sibling files to work (as with source code for example). Windows abstracts the ZIP file like it's a folder, but it doesn't work 100% the same (file system won't recognise sibling files, drag and drop to applications won't work, file pickers might not go inside the actual zip file like Windows Explorer might etc)
    – Jay Wick
    Commented Feb 25, 2020 at 22:15
  • Maybe it's just a Windows sensibility, but I agree with @DrMoishe that automatic extraction isn't the best idea. But if I'm reading your comment on their answer correctly, you seem to be at least OK with the idea of right-clicking on a ZIP file to explicitly choose extraction. Well, that is already built into the context menu (as Extract All...) without any additional programs.
    – John Y
    Commented Feb 26, 2020 at 6:32

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7-Zip is a versatile free application that can be added to the context menu.

7-Zip Context Menu Options

There might be times when you don't want to automatically extract, so use the right-mouse click context menu to select it as a choice. The image shows how to add Extract Here to that menu. That said, it would be possible to edit the Registry to make the default operation (open) "Extract", but I would consider that dangerous (e.g. overwriting files, filling a partition, etc.).

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  • 7zip does look like the best bet atm. It might just be in the form of a specific command line incantation. I'll contribute to this answer if I ever find it :)
    – Jay Wick
    Commented Feb 25, 2020 at 3:08

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