Downloading Zip Files On Mac

Posted on by

Compressed files are a great way of sharing a lot of content in a small packet. These packets are of .zip and .rar formats. Most of the computers are designedly able to deal with the Zip files. However, to extract Rar files, they need a specialized catalyst. So, in this article, I’m going to tell you how to open RAR files on Mac PC.

Contents

Open zip file mac

Here are the steps: In Finder, look for the file or folder you want to compress and zip. Right-click or Ctrl-click on it. Select “Compress name of file or folder.”. Wait for the compression process to finish. Larger files may take time to end compressing. Once done, a new.zip file will appear in the same location as the original file. Download Free iZip is the best way to manage archives on MAC OS X. IZip is the easiest way to manage ZIP, ZIPX, RAR, TAR, 7ZIP and other compressed files on your Mac. Best of all it's completely free so you can zip, unzip & unrar your files without limitations! Download Free; View Features; Screenshots.

7 Zip For Mac

  • Select the Zip file you want to delete. Press Shift and Delete on your keyboard at the same time. Right-click the Zip file, and select Move to Trash. Right-click the Zip in Trash, and select Delete Immediately.
  • Mac Basics, Help and Buying Advice MacRumors attracts a broad audience of both consumers and professionals interested in the latest technologies and products. We also boast an active community focused on purchasing decisions and technical aspects of the iPhone, iPod, iPad, and Mac platforms.
  • 2 How to Open Rar Files on Mac?

All You Need to Know About Rar Files

Downloading zip files on mac

RAR basically stands for Roshal Archive Compressed. Rar files are the second most common archive file formats, after Zip files. These are used in abundance on the Internet for high data transmission and sharing. People use these rar files to lower the overall size and pack together several files and also folders into a single file. A single RAR file is hence small enough to transfer via mail or other sharing means. Just like other compressed archive files, you need to decompress or unzip the rar files after downloading or receiving them.

The file extension of a rar file is .rar (For example, MacMetric.rar)

The most beneficial aspect of RAR files is that they feature strong AES-128 encryption and have higher compression ratios.

Mac can easily decompress the Zip files while it requires a different software to decompress the Rar files.

How to Open Rar Files on Mac?

Mac operating systems are specifically designed to decompress the compressed file formats. They have Apple’s Archive Utility tool that is able to decompress a number of formats like ZIP, GZIP, TAR, etc but, it is not able to decompress RAR. Consequently, you must acquire help from another software in order to open RAR files on Mac.

So I’m presenting you a list of best software available for Mac OS to open RAR Files.

1. Unarchiver

Download Zip File On Mac Without Unzipping

If you are looking for a solution on how to open rar files on mac, then this tool is the best answer to all your problems.

Unarchiver is a free, small and simple to use software that unarchives several different kinds of archive files. Also, it is an open source program and supports formats such as Zip, RAR (including v5), 7-zip, Tar, Gzip, and Bzip2. One added advantage is that it can also open ISO, BIN disk images and some Windows.EXE installers also. If you are a newbie for using Mac or even if you are not but you just want guidance, follow these steps in order to learn how to use Unarchiver:

Step-1: Download and install Unarchiver from Mac App Store.

Step-2: Firstly, open Unarchiver. Once opened, make sure that the box beside “RAR Archive” is check marked, along with all the other archive types you want to open with the Unarchiver. Afterwards, switch to the “Extraction” tab located at the top of the application window and then, select your save location for the resulting file.

Step-3: Now just drag & drop your RAR or any other compressed file onto the Unarchiver’s icon, or right-click the RAR file on your Mac then select Open With and choose The Unarchiver, or double click the RAR file.

The Unarchiver will extract the files in that same folder. You can easily access them anytime you want.

2. UnRarX

UnRarX is a Mac OS X Cocoa software that allows you to decompress rar archives. It can also restore corrupted or missing archives using par2. It is a simple and easy software developed for people who like simplicity. Follow these steps in order to use UnRarX to extract your rar files:

Step-1: Download and install UnRarX from here.

Step-2: Launch the application and drag the rar files you want to extract to the application window. Or, right-click the RAR file on your Mac then select Open With and choose UnRarX.

UnRarX will then extract the rar file in the same folder and you can use them however you desire.

3. iZip

iZip is the best alternative for Unarchiver and UnRarX. It is a free, secure and simple to use program that can easily extract the rar. When you open an archive with iZip it appears as a removable disk in your OS X Finder. You can then easily manage your compressed files using Finder just like all the other files you manage. All view modes including cover-flow work fine. iZip also provides 256-bit AES ZIP encryption for extra security. One added advantage is that iZip has partnered with Files.com to provide secure free file sharing. You simply have to click the Share button to upload and share your files over the Internet. To learn how to use iZip, follow these steps:

Step-1: Download and install iZip from here.

Step-2: Launch the application. Now just drag the rar files you want to extract to the application window and let it decompress it in the same folder. Or, right-click the RAR file on your Mac then select Open With and choose iZip.

iZip treats the archived files as removable storage and makes the task hassle free.

4. StuffIt Expander

StuffIt Expander is a free and amazing program to unzip rar files and several other file formats like Zip, GZIP, BZIP on Mac. It has a simple and easily understandable interface which makes the application loved by everyone. You can either download this application free separately or as an included feature with StuffIt Deluxe pack. To use StuffIt Expander, follow these simple steps:

Step-1: Download and install StuffIt Expander from here.

Step-2: Launch the application and then just drag the rar file you want to extract to application window, or right-click the RAR file on your Mac then select Open With and choose StuffIt Expander.

StuffIt Expander will then extract the files in the same folder. Afterwards, you can enjoy using the files anytime.

5. BetterZip 4

BetterZip 4 is yet another powerful tool to open the compressed archive files including the rar files. With BetterZip 4, you can also create archives and you can even view the content of an archive file without extracting it. The major drawback about this application is that it is not completely free to use but it offers a free-trial period. However, the app is worth every penny for people who need to handle different kinds of files on PC. Follow these steps to learn how to use BetterZip 4:

Zip Extractor For Mac

Step-1: Download and install BetterZip 4 from here.

Step-2: Launch the application and the drag the rar files you want to extract to the application window. You can also right-click the RAR file on your Mac then select Open With and choose BetterZip 4.

BetterZip 4 will then comfortably decompress the archived files within the same folder and you can use the files anytime you wish.

Conclusion

Rar files possess a slight edge over the other compressed archive files. However, unlike Zip and other formats, Rar files require a third-party software to get extracted on Mac. So, these were the 5 Best Rar Files Extractors available for Mac. You can use whichever you like and whichever suits your demands.
As a bonus, I’ll present you some other good apps and software to open RAR files on Mac:

  • MacPar Deluxe
  • B1 Free Archiver
  • RAR Extractor Free
  • Simply Rar (Mac)
  • Zipeg

That’s all. Start using any one of the tools to extract or open RAR files on Mac OS for free. Let us know if you are facing any issues with any of the tools mentioned in the article.

Related Posts:

You've downloaded a file from the Internet, and it's in Zip format. Or perhaps a friend has emailed you a Zip file. How do you open a Zip file? What is a .Zip file anyway?

What is a Zip file?

Zip files are compressed archives. The term 'Archive' in this context means that the file may contain one or more files, or even folders, much like folders on your hard disk. 'Compressed' means that mathematical techniques have been used to reduce the space needed to store the files, so that the size of the archive may be much smaller than the size of the files it contains. There are many different compression techniques in use today. 'Zip' is the name given to the compression algorithm originally developed by Phil Katz. It isn't the best, and it wasn't even the first, but it is certainly the most widespread. And the name neatly describes a way of packaging up a file or group of files.

In short, Zip files are a space-saving way of storing single files or groups of related files.

Files in a Zip archive will decompress to exactly their original state. This is called 'lossless compression.' The compression methods used with JPG image files or MP3 music files are called 'lossy compression' because some of the quality of the original image or sound is lost during the compression process.

Zip files are used because they take up less space to store, and take less time to send or download. They are also a very convenient way to package and send groups of related files. However, the files must be extracted or unzipped from the archive before they can be used. Although some Zip / Unzip applications make it look as though you can open a file directly from a Zip file, in fact they must extract a copy of the file to a temporary storage area and open this temporary copy. Windows cannot open a file or run a program directly from a Zip file.

Opening a Zip file

If you're using Windows XP, then your operating system has built-in support for Zip files. They are described as 'Compressed (zipped) folders.' Just double-click on a Zip file and it will open in Explorer, just like a folder. Double-click on a file inside the compressed folder and you may be able to open that too (but really, Windows has extracted a copy of the file to another location and is opening that, as described above.) But if you right-click on items in a compressed (zipped) folder, you'll notice that the same options don't appear on the pop-up menu. This shows that it is not a real folder.

If you're using Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows Me, Windows NT or Windows 2000 then you'll need to install a special application to open Zip files. The application that is usually recommended to use is WinZip. WinZip became popular because it was the first ever Zip / Unzip utility for Windows. But with each new release it has become bloated with features and options that most people never use. Many people are totally confused by it.

Download Zip Files On Mac

Open Zip files in Microsoft Windows

To open Zip files in Windows, Tech-Pro.net recommends BitZipper. It's much more powerful and versatile than WinZip, yet it's also easier to use. BitZipper is an archive manager that lets you open not only Zip files but 30 other popular compressed and encoded file formats. It can create archives using most of these formats too, and it's also a fast and flexible backup tool.

BitZipper has a Wizard interface making it ideal for novice users with no experience of working with compressed files. It also has a Classic interface (shown right) for more experienced users. BitZipper is a solid and stable application that can handle the largest Zip archives without crashing, something the built-in Zip support in Windows often can't do!

Download Zip Files On Mac

BitZipper runs on Windows 2000, XP and Vista.

Open Zip files in Apple Mac OS X

If you use an Apple Mac then you can can use Stuffit to open Zip files. Stuffit is one of the most long established Mac utilities. It gives you a complete set of tools for opening and creating the many and various types of compressed archive that you may come across on the Internet.

Stuffit can open Zip files, Rar files, Tar files and 27 other different archive types. It includes a 'Quick Look' feature that kets you you look inside archive files without opening them.

Open Zip File Mac

You can use Stuffit to create archives in the most popular formats as well. You can use compressed archives to save space on your hard drive or to compress MP3s, PDFs, photos and other files into convenient archives to send to friends and colleagues.

Free Zip Program Mac

Stuffit requires Mac OS X 10.4 or higher.