Extract text from compressed archives (ZOO)
To convert ZOO archives to another format, you need Planet Zoo or other Compressed software.
To convert other file formats to the "Legacy Archive Format" file type, you need software like Planet Zoo or a similar tool.
The .ZOO file extension represents a collision between legacy computing history and modern gaming. Historically, it identifies a Compressed Archive created by the ZOO archiver, a command-line utility developed by Rahul Dhesi in the mid-1980s. These files store multiple compressed files and were popular on BBS systems before the ZIP format dominated the market. The main disadvantage today is accessibility; modern operating systems like Windows 11 or macOS generally do not support ZOO archives natively, leaving users unable to extract old data, software code, or text documents without specialized tools like 7-Zip or command-line emulators.
In a modern context, a .ZOO file is frequently associated with Planet Zoo, a construction simulation by Frontier Developments. Here, the file serves as a Blueprint or save file, containing proprietary instruction sets for zoo layouts and animal data. These files are strictly internal; they cannot be "opened" in Microsoft Word or viewed as images. A third less common variation involves Biomechanics Data used with MATLAB, storing kinematic data.
Conversion Best Practices:
Convert.Guru analyzes your ZOO file, detects the exact format, and lets you read the text inside.
Users also converted Z00, EMB, PDF, ALZ, B64, A01 and TS files.
If you want to convert ZOO file to TS, ZIP, RAR, 7Z, TAR, GZ, BZ2, XZ, LZMA, CAB, ACE or ARJ, you can use Planet Zoo or similar software from the "Compressed Archive Storage" category. In the File menu, look for Save As… or Export….
To convert XXE, 7Z, Z, PAK, LHA, DEB, UUE, TAR, LZH, ZIP, PKG or RAR files to ZOO, try Planet Zoo or another comparable tool in the "Compressed Archive Storage" category.
The history of Convert.Guru began over 25 years ago in California with Tom Simondi’s file-format database. A former contributor to Space Shuttle development and a software pioneer of the 1980s, Simondi established a trusted resource for file type analysis that was even referenced by Microsoft Windows XP. Today, we use modern technology to process and convert thousands of file formats while continually improving our ZOO converter.