Issue
Many applications come pre-packaged in a compressed ZIP or TAR file. Instead of unpacking these files on your local computer and then uploading the many extracted files via FTP—which can be time-consuming—you can simply upload the compressed file and extract it directly on the server. Plesk includes a built-in tool that allows you to do this from the control panel.
To extract an archive in Plesk, follow the instructions below.
Solution
- Navigate to your web hosting control panel and select the domain name you are wanting to unpack the files.
- Click on the tab Dashboard.
- Then under the heading "Files & Databases" click on Files
- This will open the file manager in the root folder, httpdocs of your website. If you are wanting to upload and extract the file to a different folder this would be the time to select the folder, you are wanting to upload the file too.
- Once you have uploaded the file you are wanting to unpack, click the check box to the left of the file.
- To the far right there is the hamburger menu, click on that and from the drop-down menu you can select "Extract Files"
- You can also select the file and from the button at the top of the file list, you will see the button "Archive". Click on that.
- You will be prompted to confirm by a popup. It will tell you what file you are extracting from, what directory the files will be extracted to and if you want to replace the existing files that have the same name.
- If everything is correct, Click "OK"
- You will see a confirmation that the files have been unpacked.
The following file extensions are able to unpack using the Plesk Extract files option.
- .zip
- .tar
- .gz
- .tar.gz
Once you have completed the full extraction, it is always recommended to remove the compressed file. This will be using space on your hosting plan. You can store it on your local machine if you ever need to upload it again.
Get in touch
For any additional help, give us a call on 0800 477 333 (8AM to 10PM, 7 days a week).