We are all always just a tad bit anxious to see what exactly is inside of a archive when it is sent to us as an attachment. You know, those files that come with *.zip or perhaps *rar extensions. Because Gmail currently has a limit of 25MB for attachments, you’ll often have to request that a group of files need to be zipped up in order to transmit a message. Just recently, Google announced that they now support the ability to look inside of zipped files to see their contents, and it’s quite easy for you to check out on your own.

When you encounter a zip file in a message, you can click on the “View” link.

This will then open up a separate Docs window showing you the files; note that familiar file extensions will load with an associated filetype logo.

You can then select a particular file and use the file menu to download files, or store them directly in Docs as a great way to back up your files.

This is also possible from the “Actions” menu available on the right hand side of a file as well.

Who says that you need to have an archive utility on your computer these days? No one is going to, especially if you’re using Google Apps. While you cannot create archives in Apps yet, one piece of the puzzle has been put into place.

Are you now using Google Apps to look at and/or download archived attachments that are sent to you?