Occasionally, at work or during more personal activities, we come across compressed files and need to decompress them to continue working. Files are sent this way to reduce their size or merge multiple files.
When we talk about compressed files, we must say that there are many types of files, but the most common are ZIP and RAR. The latter requires the RAR archiver to be used, especially on macOS. And that's the end of this article. Let's see how to decompress files on macOS.
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How to unzip RAR files on Mac?
Regrettably The native tools of the bitten apple do not allow opening RAR files. due to its exclusive and proprietary format. While RAR is not as popular as ZIP, it has a better compression algorithm. and works best with large files.
Once this is seen, we must know that There is no official version of WinRar for MacOS, as it's only available for Windows. However, there are other alternatives that do the job effectively, and we'll tell you about them.
Use Unarchiver
Unarchive It's a free and easy-to-use tool that lets you decompress hundreds of formats, including, of course, RAR. Using it, as we said, is incredibly simple. All we have to do is Download the app, right click on the desired file and choose «To open with">"The Unarchiver«.
Easy, right? However, there are also downsides. Due to its simplicity, it doesn't allow you to compress files or set passwords to protect your compressed files.
Archiver, a more professional alternative
If you have the need to go further and not just stay stuck in decompression, you can use Archiver. This is another tool that allows you to decompress, encrypt, and split files into parts, in addition to decompressing.
After downloading the application, we open it and, By simply dropping a RAR file inside, we will see all the files it contains.To unzip, simply click on the option "Extract«.
If you need to create RAR files, follow these steps:
- Select the files, drop them into Archiver and click on «File«.
- From the available formats, choose the RAR and specifies the name and the desired compression level.
- Here you can also «Encrypt» and set a password.
- And that's it!
Take the next step with BetterZip
BetterZip is a decompression tool for macOS that adds some improvements over its competitors, such as creating automations that run in a matter of seconds. To create them, you must do the following:
- Go to «Preferences» and then enter «Presets«.
- Check your preset settings in "Extract and save» and add the actions you want by clicking on the « sign+«
When you have finished this process, you simply have to drop the files into the application, press "Save or Extract» and select the option you created.
How to open a .tar on Mac?
The format ".tar» is another type of compressed file widely used in UNIX environments. Opening them is possible with the tool Unarchive, although we also show you another alternative and really simple method. It simply involves finding the tar file in Finder and double-clicking it. The operating system will take care of the rest.
Unzipping RAR files on macOS can seem challenging at first due to the lack of a native tool for this task. However, with the help of third-party software and the right steps, you can easily unlock the contents of these compressed files and access them, as we've shown you.