How do you open a X.tar.gz file in Window 10?

The word 'tar' refers to the software utility program for archiving many files into an archive file. It was usually called a tarball for distributing or backing up file lots. This is very similar to the x.zip files in Windows.

Recently I needed to open a file of this type in my Windows 10 Professional and I looked at the various Apps in Windows Store. I finally decided to use the app, OpenZip shown here.

Open ZIP+_0.png

This iss downloaded from the Windows Store as shown.

Open ZIP+_1.png

I had downloaded the file with extension  tar.gz to the Downloads folder. After launching Open ZIP+,  I just browsed the file and extracted to a folder on the desktop.

Open Zip+_2.png

Extracted files were saved to a folder on the computer as shown:

Open Zip+_2.png 

Looks like this is a reliable app for this task. 

What is an XAP File?

Let me briefly explain what is XAP?

XAP is the file format used to install application software on Windows Phone 7.5/8 platforms and Silverlight Applications. This will change in Windows 8.1. You can look at the contents of an XAP file by renaming (by changing .XAP to .ZIP as it is ZIP formatted file) it.

XAP file of an App consists of the manifest, the required dlls and views.

Read about my XAP article here:
http://aspalliance.com/1844_DoubleAnimation_Basics_with_Silverlight_Application

Using XapDeploy.exe tool you can deploy to a connected device or a chosen emulator (choose emulator from drop-down list). To have emulators on a Windows 8.1 computer you should at least have the Windows 8.1 Professional edition.

Note: If you are using Windows App Studio Dev (http://appstudio.windows.com/?stay=1)   which is in Beta you can download the XAP file of your Phone project from there.