A few decades ago it was very common to use file compression: internet connections back then were much slower and every MB we could save on sending also meant much less waiting time at the end of the day. It’s not too much of a problem now, although compressed files still exist in our lives.
For this very reason, you can unzip files on Mac of any format without too much trouble. Let’s see how to achieve this.
Unzip Files on Mac: As E asy as a Double-Click
macOS is already ready to accept compressed files in the most popular and used format in the world: ZIP. If you download one of these .ZIP files from a website or receive it as an email attachment just double click on it and its contents will be unzipped into a folder with the same name as the file:
Then there are other rare cases these days, which receive or download compressed files in other formats such as RAR or 7Z. For this we can download The Unarchiver (free in the Mac App Store), which adds compatibility with these formats to the system. Once you’ve installed them, the operation is exactly the same: double-click to unzip.
In the Applesphere
How to unzip RAR files on macOS
If you want to do the opposite and are looking to compress a file to share with someone, it’s best to use the built-in macOS tool via the secondary menu. Click on any file or selection of files with the right mouse click (or by clicking on the trackpad with two fingers at the same time) and select “Compress files” from the menu that appears:
Done, the ZIP file will appear right next to it, ready to be shared with the method you prefer. It doesn’t make much sense with files whose format is already compressed (like JPEG images or MP4/MKV videos), but for large text files, we can save a lot of storage space. Or at least it’s a good way to bundle multiple files into a single package.
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The new
How to Unzip Files on Mac: Two Super-Quick Ways to Do It
was originally published in
Appleswill
by Miguel Lopez.
