Image credit: Mia Baker
From time to time, we have to deal with zip files in our day-to-day work. Maybe your friend sends you a zipped archive of photos of the party you were in last week or maybe your colleague sends you a file of documents. It’s not that often, but it happens. Moreover, zip files are very useful, when sending emails using Google Mail, because there’s a limited amount of space that is allowed to be sent. If you’re running windows, there’s no big of a deal, unzipping the files. But what about Mac?
How to unzip files on mac computers. Unzipping a file on a mac computer is user-friendly and intuitive. 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.
Have you ever opened a zip file on Mac? Do you know the best way to do that? There are three main methods for it. You can use built-in utilities, Terminal or third-party apps. In this article, we’ll cover best zipping and unzipping options available for your Mac.
The Common Way
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The common way to zip and unzip files is by using your Mac’s Archive Utility, which can be accessed through Applications > Utilities folder. Archive Utility has the basic file compression functionality. You can quickly zip and unzip files and folders, to send to your friend or upload to Dropbox.
Archive Utility can easily zip single files and folders, by right-clicking it and choosing Compress function. When compressing multiple items, the process is about the same, with only a few minor differences. Instead of showing a name of file or folder that is being compressed, in the pop-up menu, the word Compress will be followed by the number of items that are being selected. Moreover, the zip file will be automatically called Archive.zip and will be stored in the same folder as the files you were compressing.
If you want to unzip your files, the process is, all the same, just reversed. You simply right-click the zip archive, choose “Open with” and then select Archive Utility. Moments later, the archive will be unzipped. The only downside is that Archive Utility has only these two functions – compressing and decompressing. If you would want to preview the content of your archive, protect it with a password, merge the archives or use the extended range of file types like RAR, you’d need special tools. Luckily for you, there’s a vast selection of those tools. You can check “Setapp” guide called The Easiest Way to Archive Files on a Mac to learn more.
Compressions Tips Using Terminal
Archive Utility’s lack of functionality can be fixed by using the Terminal. Have you ever used the Terminal on your Mac? If you’re not a programmer, chances are you haven’t. The reason is that it’s not that user-friendly. Instead, you can search third-party apps, that covers all the functionality of the Archive Utility, but at the same times packs high-end features.
These features can be adding comments to the archives and deleting files from archives without unzipping it. Moreover, most of the apps are fully integrated with the macOS workflow so they will work without problems. You can also find applications for zipping and unzipping files that suggest passwords for you to use to encrypt archives.
Creating an Encrypted Archive
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Computer security is a very valuable thing in today’s digital world. Unfortunately, Apple’s Archive Utility doesn’t offer ZIP archives’ encryption with a password. The good thing is that there’s a way to do it if needed. The bad thing is that to do that, you’ll need to use the Terminal. To do so, you’ll need to open the Terminal, which can be easily accessed by pressing command + spacebar and typing “Terminal” into the search bar. In the opened window follow these actions:
- Type the following command: (single space) zip -e ~/Desktop/Archive.zip
- Drag the folder containing the files you wish to archive to the Terminal window and the command will look like this: zip -e ~/Desktop/Archive.zip /path-to-folder
- Lastly, press Enter and create a password to use for the archive and the encrypted file will appear on your desktop.
This process might look and feel a bit complicated and inconvenient, but if you need to use encryption only once or twice there’s no need to look for other alternatives. For those people who are encrypting files regularly, a third-party app is a must. It will make the process of encrypting archives effortless and much faster.
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In order to compress files/folders into a ZIP file or extract files from a ZIP archive in Windows 10, people tend to use software like WinZip or 7-Zip. Actually, Windows systems come with built-in Compressed Folder Tools so that users can compress and uncompress files/folders even without WinZip or any other outside zip tools installed. Now, this page will show you how to zip and unzip files in Windows 10 without WinZip software.
Part 1: How to ZIP files in Windows 10 without WinZip
I will introduce three different ways to create a ZIP file in Windows 10.
Way 1: by sending to the compressed folder
Right-click on the file or folder that you want to compress into a ZIP file, choose Send to > Compressed (zipped) folder from the context menu.
Tips: If you want to ZIP multiple files/folders together, you need to individually click on the files/folders while holding on the Ctrl key on your keyboard to select all the files, right-click on any one selection, and then select Send to > Compressed (zipped) folder from the context menu.
Way 2: from File Explorer
Step 1: Open Windows 10 File Explorer. Locate the file(s) or folder(s) you want to zip and select it/them.
Step 2: Select the Share tab and then click on the Zip button. Compressed Folder Tools will compress the selected file(s) and folder(s) into a ZIP file in the same location. You can rename the ZIP file or accept the suggested name.
Way 3: by dragging files into the existing zip file
Unzip 7z Files Mac
Step 1: Right-click on the Windows 10 desktop, select New > Compressed (zipped) Folder from the context menu to create a new zipped folder.
Mac Unzip Encrypted Zip Software Free
Step 2: Rename the new zipped folder or hit Enter to accept the suggested name.
Step 3: Drag the file(s) and folder(s) you want to zip into the new compressed (zipped) folder. Similarly, you can drag files or folders into any one existing zipped folder.
Part 2: How to unzip files in Windows 10 without WinZip
Step 1: Right-click on the .zip file you want to unzip, and then select Extract All from the context menu.
Mac Unzip File With Password
Step 2: In the 'Extract Compressed (Zipped) Folders' dialog, select one destination to save the extracted files, keep Show extracted files when complete checked, and then click Extract. Then it will display an extraction progress dialog box.
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Step 3: When the progress is 100%, it will show you the extracted files in the folder you just specified in Step 2.
Above is how compressed folder tools help zip and unzip files in Windows 10 without using WinZip software. The tool is only for compression file of ZIP file form, but can’t apply to RAR format. Learn more options to extract RAR file, see How to Unrar RAR Archive File with WinRAR/WinZIP/7-ZIP.
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