How to Zip and Unzip Files on Your Mac Files you download from the Internet are often compressed or zipped so that they take up less space and arrive much faster than files that haven’t been compressed. You can easily identify compressed files by their extensions, such as.zip (a common standard used in OS X and Windows) and.sit. Before you can use these files, you must learn how to unzip files on mac computers for proper access – luckily the process isn’t that complicated! How to unzip files on mac computers Unzipping a file on a mac computer is user-friendly and intuitive.

StuffIt Expander® is a free download or included as a feature of StuffIt Deluxe®. StuffIt Expander® Mac free file extractor can be downloaded separately or as an included feature of StuffIt Deluxe®. Mac extractor, zip files extractor for mac rar files extractor for mac. How To Open.RAR files on Mac! FREE *2017* (QUICK AND EASY) - Duration: 3:14. Scorpen 7,841 views.

To unzip files on a mac, simply follow the steps below: • Double click the zipped file. • The file will automatically be decompressed by Archive Utility into the same folder the compressed file is in. • Access the extracted files by clicking the appropriate icons. Alternatively, if the method above does not work, you can right-click on the.zip package, and select Open With > Archive Utility (default). Apple and third party software Apple used to include a program called StuffIt Expander to decompress zipped files, but doesn’t now that OS X lets you unzip files (but not.sit files). However, StuffIt from SmithMicro Software still comes in handy for opening other types of compressed files, notably the.sit or.sitx compressed types. Go to or to download a free version of the software or to splurge for the Deluxe version.

In addition to compressing files, StuffIt Deluxe lets you encrypt and back up files. Actually free video converter for mac os. Meanwhile, you can archive or create your own.zip files through OS X, which is useful if you’re e-mailing a number of meaty files to a friend.

Right-click (or Ctrl-click) files you want to compress inside Finder and choose Compress Filename. The newly compressed files carry the.zip extension. The archive is created in the same location as the original file and is named originalfilename.zip. You can also choose File→Compress.

If you compress a lot of files at once, the archive takes the name Archive.zip. By default, compressed files are opened with the Archive Utility.

It appears in the Dock (in Leopard) while the files are being unsqueezed, unless you choose to open them with Stuffit Expander or some other program. How to zip files on a mac On the flip side, you can also archive or create your own.zip files through OS X, which is useful if you’re e-mailing a number of meaty files to a client or friend. Follow the step-by-step instructions below to easily zip files on a mac: • Right-click or Ctrl-click the multiple files you want to compress (whether on the desktop or inside the Finder). • Select Compress Filename from the pop-up menu. • The files are now compressed in a.zip extension and the archive is created in the same location as the original file name, except with the.zip appended to its name. On some Apple computers, you can also compress a file by simply choosing File→Compress.

If you compress a lot of files at once, the archive takes the name Archive.zip.

NEW UPDATE 2017.11.30 Hi there, Thanks for reading this SoftwareHow tip. It's been two years since I first published this post. Things have changed a lot when it comes to unrar apps for Mac. I was hoping that OS X (now we call macOS) could add this feature to its built-in Archive Utility app, unfortunately, it seems that Apple macOS team doesn't plan to do this. My MacBook Pro is now with the latest 10.13 High Sierra, and I have to rely on third-party apps to extract RAR files.

As for the best rar extractor app for Mac, the recommendation stays the same —. It's still free to download and use. However, it's worth noting that the app has been acquired by (the maker of, an awesome Mac cleaning app) and is now part of the MacPaw family.

You can read more from the press release. Also, I just found a more powerful app called — which allows Mac users to not only extract many types of archives, but you can also use it to create archives or preview content of an archive without extracting. Those additional features are not available in The Unarchiver or Archive Utility. I recommend BetterZip to those of you who often need to handle a different kind of files on a PC and Mac.