How to unzip a file on a Mac? ZIP is one of the most commonly used formats for file compressing. You can put a lot of files in a single zip archive and the file size is dramatically smaller than origin. That is why it is so popluar nowadays. But how do you extract a .zip file on a Mac? Since Mac doesn't natively support the .zip format, which means zip file can't be opened on Mac by default.
Download file (Step 1) Download file. (Step 1) MacSider.zip. Uploaded on 2020-12-19 13:12:47. File Size: 17.1 MB. On our website, you can find a great variety of video game mods files. You will be surprised by the vast selection – we offer you Farming Simulator 15, Farming Simulator 17, American Truck Simulator, Euro Truck Simulator 2, GTA5. A free download from the Mac App Store that supports ZIP, RAR, 7z and many more file formats, Dr. Unarchiver sports a simple user interface. Users can click and drag individual files from this window to the Finder, and even open files directly from the archive. 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. 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.
Actually, you will need a special archiving tool to extract the content of zip files. In this article, we show you three different ways to unzip a file on a Mac computer.
Part 1. How to Unzip a File in Mac Terminal
This method utilizes Apple's Terminal application, which is the non-GUI interface for Mac OS X and macOS systems. This text-based interface allows you to input both simple and complex commands for the OS to process. While most people are intimidated by command line work, it's actually not that hard once you get the hang of it. Unfortunately, a lot of things can go wrong if you enter incorrect commands, hence the apprehension for novice users. But if you'd like to give it a go, follow the steps shown below:
Step 1. Save your .zip file to a convenient location such as your desktop or documents folder.
Step 2. Open an instance of Terminal by going to Applications >>Utilities >>Terminal.
Step 3. Change the directory to where the .zip file is stored. This is an important step. To do this, type in the following and then hit Enter:
cd ~/users/username/desktop
Step 4. Make sure the file path is correct. Terminal needs to be in the right directory for the next command to work.
Step 5. Now use the following command to extract the .zip file and save the contents in a folder of the same name, and in the same location.
unzip samplefile.zip
A new folder of the same name will be created in your desktop or documents, and will contain all the extracted files from the original .zip file. If this method looks too risky, then how about trying a robust software utility that can do the same thing, but without all the command line input?
Cons:
- Risky if inputting wrong commands.
- Take much more time.
- The unzipped folder would be a mess with wrong parameter.
Part 2 : How to Extract a ZIP File on Mac with CleanGeeker
TunesBro CleanGeeker is a comprehensive utility to optimize the performance of your Mac by managing memory resources. However, it also has several other utilities built in, and one of those is a highly functional unarchiver tool that is perfect for unzipping .zip files and also unpacking archives such as RAR, Tar, GZ and several more.
CleanGeeker allows you to extract, save and even email the contents of .zip and other archive files to someone else. The intuitive interface just requires a drag and drop action, or you can import it using the 'Open Archive' option. Follow the instructions below to extract files from .zip.
Highlights of TunesBro CleanGeeker
- Extract content from varios archive files.
- Find and removal junk and cache on Mac.
- Obtain more space and running memory in one click.
- Uninstall apps that would be deleted in normal ways.
Step 1Install and Run TunesBro CleanGeeker
Download and install CleanGeeker on your Mac, and launch the application.
Step 2Import ZIP File and Unzip it
Click on Unarchiver in the left-side menu panel. Either drag and drop the .zip file into the window from Finder, or click 'Open Archive' and select the .zip file. The contents will automatically be visible within a folder with the same name as the archive file. You can now view the contents of the .zip file, extract and save them to another location or even email them to someone from the interface.
If you want simplicity, then this is the application for you. No command line work, no complex settings to confuse you, and literally no effort on your part except a couple of clicks.
Part 3. How to Open ZIP File by WinZip on Macbook Pro ($$$)
WinZip is a well-known archive/unarchive utility for Windows, and the Mac Edition is ideal for extracting .zip and other archive files on a Mac computer. It also provides data encryption options and can connect directly to cloud services like Google Drive and Dropbox. To use WinZip to unpack a .zip file, reproduce the steps below on your Mac:
Step 1. Download and install WinZip Mac Edition, and open the application.
Step 2. Click on the Files pane, navigate to the .zip file and double-click it.
Step 3. In the Actions pane, click on the down arrow and select the destination folder. You can also create a new folder to save the extracted contents. Finally, click on 'Unzip' to extract the content.
Cons:
- Very expensive ($29.95).
- Poor user interface.
- No additional feature.
Conclusion:
WinZip Mac Edition is a great tool, but it might look expensive if you're only going to be using it occasionally. On the other hand, something like CleanGeeker gives you a whole lot of other functions such as removing junk, duplicates and large files, uninstalling apps, erasing data permanently, optimizing your login items, cleaning up your memory and so on. Price-wise, it's not a hard decision to make considering the robust suite of tools you're getting in addition to the Unarchiver utility. If you're not comfortable with Terminal inputs, then either of these two applications will be the ideal alternative.
Related Articles & Tips
When you first purchased your Mac, one of the biggest deciding factors you considered is most probably disk space. But as years go by using your computer, its disk space seems to become smaller and smaller by the day, no matter how diligently you delete unneeded files and unused programs. In the computing world, one could never have too much storage space. There are some ways you could save space on your Mac, including manually deleting files and programs or automatically doing so with the help of apps designed to clean out junk such as Mac repair app. Another way — albeit less popular — to free up Mac space is to compress and zip files. In this article, we’ll show you how to zip a file on Mac, unzip it, and protect it with a password.
How to Zip a File on Mac
Converting any standard file to a compressed zip file the traditional way is effortless. You can do this to photos, videos, audio files, and documents, among others. 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 or folder. You will also hear a system alert tone to notify you of the recently completed compression.
You can now send these compressed files or folders via email. You may also choose to delete the original files and folders if you want to save on disk space, but note that you can’t readily open or view the zipped versions. You’ll need to unzip them first (more on that later).
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How to Zip Multiple Files on Mac
You can also compress multiple files and/or folders. Here’s how:
- First, you have to create a new folder in Finder or Desktop. Press Shift + Command (CMD) + N).
- Name the new folder.
- Drag the files you want to zip together to the folder you just created. IMPORTANT: Before dropping the files, hold down Alt to make sure that the files are copied to the new folder.
- Once all the files you want to zip together are in the folder, Ctrl+Click on the folder, then choose Compress.
- A new zip file should now be created.
- Drag the folder (not the zip file) you created earlier to the Trash.
How to Change the Save Location of Your Zip Files
By default, a zipped file or folder will be saved in the same place where the original is saved. But, you may also choose a dedicated destination for all of your compressed files. It is done by opening the compression app. In Mac, it’s called the Archive Utility. A simple Spotlight search can easily find it. After searching for the app on Spotlight, open it. Click the Archive Utility drop-down menu at the top of the screen, then click Preferences. Select the menu named Save archive, then select into. Next, choose your desired destination.
How to Open and Unzip a Zip File on Mac
Opening a zip file to view its contents is pretty straightforward. Just double-click on the file, and it will open. The zip file can still be seen in the location folder, but an unzipped copy will also be created in the same location. Meanwhile, if were sent a compressed file in a format other than zipping, such as .rar, you’ll need to use an app to decompress it, such as The Unarchiver. You can get this app for free from the App Store. Once installed, the app automatically works pretty much exactly like your Mac’s built-in zip tool. Just double-click the archive file, then the files and folders will be extracted and saved in the same location as the archive file.
How to Enable or Disable a Browser From Extracting Zipped ‘Safe’ Files Automatically
Some web browsers, such as Safari, automatically unzip downloaded compressed files that they consider to be safe by default. In Safari, these safe files include movies, pictures, sounds, PDFs, text documents, and archives. However, if you prefer to decompress downloaded zip files yourself, you can opt out of this feature.
In Safari, go to the drop-down menu. Locate and select Preferences, then click the General tab. Down below the window, you will see “Open “safe” files after downloading.” Leave the box checked if you want Safari to decompress these safe files automatically. Otherwise, untick the box.
How to Protect Your Zip Files With a Password
Now, here’s the more challenging bit. If you want to conceal some of your files, you can do so protecting it with a password. It is an excellent solution for highly confidential files since you probably won’t bother going through the quite complicated process to protect regular files. You may also do this for files that you are about to send through an unsecured messaging or mailing system. When you encrypt a zip file or folder, anyone who is trying to access the file using whether a Mac or PC will have to enter the password you create. To protect your zip file with a password, you’ll have to do it in the Terminal. As an example, let’s assume that the file is named softwaretested.jpg. Now, follow these steps:
- Open Terminal by going to Applications > Utilities > Terminal. You may also search for it on Spotlight.
- Type in cd Desktop then hit Enter/Return.
- Type in zip -e softwaretested.zip softwaretested.jpg, then hit Enter/Return.
- At this point, Terminal will ask you for the password. Type in the password you have in mind. Note that it will appear as if nothing is happening, but it’s designed this way so that the password will be concealed.
- When done typing the password, hit Enter/Return.
- The Terminal will ask you to verify the password. Type it again, then hit Enter/Return.
- Let Terminal finish the job. Status progress will be shown in the form of a percentage. When done, close the Terminal window.
Downloading Zip Files On Mac Decompression Failed
A Note on Naming Your Zip Files
If you plan to protect a zip file or folder with a password, it is recommended that you don’t put spaces on the file name as much as possible. Telling the Terminal to password-protect a file with a name that has spaces will require you to do extra work. For instance, if your filename is software tested.jpg, you’ll have to type the code so as:
zip -e software tested.zip software tested.jpg
It’s not that difficult, but you should take extra caution whenever dealing with a file with spaces on its filename.
How to Password-Protect a Zip Folder
If it’s a zip folder you want to put a password on, change the -e extension to -er. For instance, zip -er softwaretested.zip softwaretested.
Download Zip File On Mac Without Unzipping
How to Open a Password-Protected Zip File or Folder
Open Zip File Mac
If you were sent a password-protected zip file or want to open your encrypted files, just double-click on them as usual, then enter the password when asked.
7 Zip For Mac
Zipping files on Mac is just one of the ways you can save space on your computer and compress big files and folders before sending them to someone else. Know of other file compression tips and methods? Share them with us in the comments below!