Windows Operating System provides a built-in feature to help users to view the contents of a ZIP file without the need to install a third-party program. This feature is known as File Explorer and it is available in all versions of Windows.
First, locate the ZIP file you want to view on your computer. Then, open the File Explorer window by clicking on the “Start” button located at the bottom left of your screen. You may also open the File Explorer window by pressing the Windows + E keys on your keyboard.
After the File Explorer window has opened, navigate to the location where you have stored the ZIP file. You may then double-click on the ZIP file to open it.
If you have Windows 10 installed on your computer, you can even take advantage of the ‘Preview Feature’. To do so, simply select the ZIP file in the File Explorer window and press the F3 key. Doing so will display a preview of its contents in the pane to the right.
Alternatively, you may use the ‘Extract All’ feature instead. To do this, select the ZIP file you would like to view and go to the “Compressed Folder Tools” tab at the top. From there, click on the “Extract All” option. A new window will be prompted, allowing you to specify the destination path where you would like to store the extracted files. Once the files are extracted, you may access them just like any other file in your system.
It is also worth noting that many third-party programs such as WinZip, 7-Zip, WinRAR are also available which provide extra features to view the contents of a ZIP file. However, if you simply want to view the contents without extracting them, the steps above should suffice.