Extract text from compressed archives (ZOO)
To convert ZOO archives to another format, you need 7-Zip or other Compressed software.
To convert other file formats to the "Legacy Archive File" file type, you need software like 7-Zip or a similar tool.
A .zoo file represents one of two very different formats: a legacy compressed archive created by the ZOO archiver in the 1980s, or a proprietary game data file. In modern contexts, it is most frequently encountered as a blueprint or save file for Planet Zoo by Frontier Developments and the older Zoo Tycoon series by Microsoft. Additionally, a niche use case involves biomechanical analysis data within the MATLAB-based Zoo-System. To manage legacy archives, users typically rely on extraction utilities like 7-Zip or WinRAR. Game-related .zoo files are accessed directly within their respective game engines.
Legacy .zoo archives are obsolete. The format lacks modern compression efficiency, multi-threading support, and robust encryption. Standard operating systems cannot open them natively, requiring users to seek out third-party legacy software. Meanwhile, .zoo game save and blueprint files are heavily proprietary and closed-source. They contain highly specific spatial data, 3D object coordinates, and game logic that are strictly bound to their original engines. You cannot simply open a Planet Zoo blueprint in standard 3D software. Standard online converters fail completely because they lack the specific parsing logic required for these proprietary formats.
To restore accessibility to legacy archives, you must extract or convert the .zoo file into universally supported modern formats like ZIP, 7Z, or .TAR.GZ. This process extracts the enclosed files without altering the original data. For Planet Zoo blueprints, the underlying architecture is actually a compressed ZIP archive. Renaming the extension to ZIP allows you to extract raw XML strings and thumbnail images, though the 3D meshes remain locked.
Because most modern .zoo files are proprietary game files, they are extremely difficult to convert into standard document or 3D formats. Often, only the original software can properly read or export the embedded data. However, just drag and drop your file onto convert.guru to identify the format, view its internal structure, and extract its contents if our analysis detects a supported underlying format like ZIP or MAT.
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 7-Zip 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 7-Zip 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.