- Free Mac Utility For Zipping Files Os X Mac
- Free Mac Utility For Zipping Files Os X Windows 10
- Zipping Files For Free
Do you ever create what in Mac-speak are Archive files? You know, the handy .zip files that you can create by right-clicking on a file or folder and selecting the option to Compress it? In OS X Tiger and older system versions, the action was called Archive. I'll be using the two terms interchangeably.
For our readers who aren't aware of this feature, or who are new to the concept of file compression for storage and distribution, .zip is as old as the hills. I don't know how old the hills are, but creating compressed files has been around for a very long time. It is a method for taking a single file or folder-full of files and creating a single, space-saving compressed file with a .zip extension. It serves as a container and is recognized universally by other systems. To extract the files and folders from a .zip file, it needs to be expanded.
Selecting Compress from the contextual menu will create a .zip file from the original folder.
Free Mac Utility For Zipping Files Os X Mac
If you want a free utility that only supports ZIP files, use the one built-in to the Finder already. If you want a free app that can create zip files without including the annoying.DSSTORE files. Zipeg is universal.rar and.zip file opener that works on Mac OS X Snow Leopard, Leopard, Tiger. If you ever needed just one photo, song or document from the huge archive that has been downloaded. The Best Free Operating Systems & Updates app downloads for Mac: Apple Boot Camp Support Software Apple Mac OS X Mavericks Apple Mac OS X El Capitan B. On your Mac, do any of the following: Compress a file or folder: Control-click it or tap it using two fingers, then choose Compress from the shortcut menu. If you compress a single item, the compressed file has the name of the original item with the.zip extension. If you compress multiple items at once, the compressed file is called Archive.zip.
So, if this feature is 'built-in' to OS X, and seamlessly just works, then what is actually doing the work of creating the .zip file and decompressing it to extract the compressed files? One just tends to shrug it off and say something to the effect of, 'I dunno … OS X just does it for me.'
There are apps which are dedicated to configure, create, and manage these .zip archive files (e.g.; BetterZip available on the App Store), and there are a number of commands and options that the more advanced users out there can issue from the OS X Terminal app. However, the no-nonsense utility installed on your Mac is called Archive Utility. This application is what manages the file compression and expansion activities in OS X.
- Apr 18, 2020 Zip files on mac Zipping/Compressing Files on macOS. Most of the operating systems have a feature to compress the files and folders into a zip file. Mac OS uses Archive Utility for this feature. When a user clicks the compress option, the Archive Utility will open, compress the files, and then quits automatically.
- Apple Mac OS X El Capitan Free VIEW →. OS X El Capitan features new options for managing windows, smarter Spotlight search, app enhancements, and faster performance.
You are likely to notice Archive Utility appear briefly when expanding a large .zip file. It will pop onto your Dock, then jump off as soon as it's task has completed.
So, where is Archive Utility actually located? If it's an app, then why isn't it located in either the Applications or the Utilities folders? It so happens that there is another folder of system-only 'utilities' and other resources hidden away inside the 'System Folder' at the root level of your startup drive. It's an out-of-site-out-of-mind kind of thing. In fact, you can't even search for Archive Utility in Spotlight.
One way Archive Utility can be found in Finder is via Go > Computer. Then, select your Mac's start-up drive, then /System/Library/Core Services/. You will see the Archive Utility app listed in there.
Archive Utility is found in the CoreServices folder.
Before I continue, I want to cover my backside by first warning you that Apple makes it hard to find and do certain things for a reason. They don't want to spend time on tech support calls just because curious Mac users go in and muck about things that don't concern them! So, while there are several items in the CoreServices folder that can be looked at and perhaps even launched to provide some functionality, I wouldn't advise it unless you know what you're doing!
When launching the Archive Utility app you won't see any windows open up on screen. However, you will see the ARCHIVE UTILITY menu, and it pops onto your Dock. It's a very simple app to use.
In the app's FILE menu, you are able to create an archive (.zip file) manually by selecting individual files or folders. You can't select multiple items to archive. For this you first need to place your files and folders into a single folder which you then select for the archive. The resulting .zip file will take on the name you give that folder. For example, if you have a number of image files stored in a folder called 'Vacation Photos', compressing that folder will produce an archive file called 'Vacation Photos.zip.' Of course, this is also true whether or not you use the Archive Utility to create the archive.
Finally, File > Expand Archive lets you manually select archive files to expand. In this case, you can select multiple archive files when prompted, by using the Shift- or Command-click selection methods.
I know… boooring! Keep going; the interesting features in Archive Utility are found in its Preferences pane.
I have set up the way I want Archive Utility to treat my archive and original files.
Looking at the Archive Utility preferences pane, the top half governs what actions the app takes when expanding archive files. You can tell Archive Utility where you want expanded files to be saved - either on your local storage drives or on servers and drives on your LAN. You can also indicate what to do with the original archive file. It can be left in place, moved to the trash, or deleted immediately. 'Keep expanding if possible' refers to the expansion of embedded archive files.
The bottom half of the Archive Utility preference pane offers you several options for what you want done after compressing a file or folder and where to save the newly created archive file.
![Free Mac Utility For Zipping Files Os X Free Mac Utility For Zipping Files Os X](/uploads/1/2/6/4/126497595/776466179.png)
By default, when you create an archive file the traditional way - from the desktop - the newly created .zip file will be located in the same directory as the original file or folder. This default behavior cannot be changed. However, you have options when using Archive Utility manually to handle the compression. You can set options for saving the archive files to a location of your choice. This can be anywhere on your local drives or on your LAN. You can also select a new destination for the original uncompressed files, or they can be left alone, moved to the trash, or deleted outright.
Free Mac Utility For Zipping Files Os X Windows 10
Archive Utility allows you to select which archive format to utilize. The .zip format is the most common format for Mac users.
You can also choose from several archiving formats; the familiar 'Zip archive (.zip)', a compression format that is fine for just about anything, the 'compressed archive (.cpgz),' and the 'regular archive (.cpio)' These last two are formats used typically in the UNIX environment.
Of all of the options that Archive Utility offers, whichever you choose depend on your own workflow requirements and how you store files and archives.
Remember, whatever options you set within the Archive Utility will only apply when working within the app. The default behaviors at the Finder level remain unchanged.
Zipping Files For Free
If your workflow and file organization require more flexibility in how and where files are archived and stored by the native OS X compression mechanism, then Archive Utility deserves a look.
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. 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 www.stuffit-expander.com or www.stuffit.com/mac/index.html 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.
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.
![Files Files](/uploads/1/2/6/4/126497595/761099170.jpeg)
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.