My icloud photos are being converted to a pdf zip folder

Kimberly Gorzycki 0 Reputation points
2026-09-18T13:05:43.7+00:00

My icloud photos are being converted to a pdf zip folder that i cannot open once downloaded. How can i transfer a group of photos from icloud to an external zip drive? When i select one photo, it saves as a photo that I can open, but when I select several, it saves as a zip folder. When I attempt to open the zip folder, I get a message that Adobe Acrobat cannot open the zip folder because it is not supported. Please help!

Windows for home | Windows 11 | Files, folders, and storage
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  1. AI answer

    2026-09-18T13:05:58.6766667+00:00

    When multiple photos are downloaded together, they can be saved as a ZIP file instead of individual image files. That ZIP file is not a PDF, so Adobe Acrobat will not open it.

    To use the photos on Windows:

    1. Locate the downloaded zipped folder.
    2. Right-click the ZIP file.
    3. Select Extract All... and follow the prompts.
    4. Open the extracted folder and confirm the photos open there.
    5. Copy or move the extracted photo files to the external drive.

    A few important points:

    • A zipped folder is a compressed container for multiple files.
    • Windows can open and extract ZIP files directly.
    • If only one photo is downloaded, it may save as a normal image file instead of a ZIP.
    • If the external drive is intended to store a ZIP archive, the ZIP can also be copied directly to that drive without opening it first.

    If the photos are stored in iCloud and not fully on the device, use iCloud for Windows to access or import them in Windows. In the Photos app, iCloud Photos appears after installing iCloud for Windows, signing in, and enabling Photos in that app.

    AI-generated content may be incorrect. Read our transparency notes for more information.

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  2. DaveM121 934.5K Reputation points Independent Advisor
    2026-09-18T13:41:42.7833333+00:00

    Your description of the problem indicates the file associations on zip files have been incorrectly set to Adobe Acrobat.

    Right click the Zip file and select Properties.

    On the resulting properties dialog, click the Change' button.

    Then, in the resulting list, select 'File Explorer' to open the Zip file.

    That should reset the file associations on zip files on your PC.

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