When it comes to being able to send documents or folders, you must always have weight limitations. Sending any file by mail is always conditioned to this factor, which is quite relevant. The solution that arises in these cases is the understanding to send it in a more comfortable way. In this article we explain all the possibilities when compressing both with the system’s native tool as well as the other third-party options.
How to unzip with the native macOS function
Although it is something that is not very visible in the interface, macOS integrates a native decompressor that can be used by any user. This allows you to compress any file or folder to be able to send it without taking up so much space but you can also perform the counter task. When decompressing any type of file, it is possible to have all the files that are inside and even the folders. When it comes to using it, there is no application as such, but it is integrated with the secondary button when selecting several files or intelligently when it is a .zip.
To be able to compress a file or a folder you simply have to select it and press the secondary button. It can also be clicked while you are pressing the ‘Control’ button. Among the options that appear for quick functions, you will simply have to select ‘Compress’, being able to choose the name of the file in the event that several documents are selected at the same time. This does not happen when only a single file that keeps this same name is compressed.
Otherwise, when unzipping, you just have to double click on the compressed file. In an intelligent way, the system will understand what you want to do and will show all the documents that it has inside, storing them in the same place where the .zip is.
Why use an alternative to the macOS decompressor
It is undeniable that it is much more convenient to have a tool natively to be able to perform the tasks of compressing or decompressing. In this way you become completely independent from other applications or programs that may even have some type of economic transaction. In addition, the fact of not having to perform installations and even causing a slowdown in the Mac is also important because it has apps that are not official.
But this compression and decompression tool is not perfect in the Mac ecosystem. It has some very important shortcomings that pose a great inconvenience when it comes to being productive. Above all, the deficiency is noted when it comes to working with different file extensions as it is not fully compatible. This is undoubtedly the big problem you have in this regard.
At the moment, the native tool only decompresses files that have a .zip extension . This is a major drawback that forces you to use other third-party tools that are open to other extensions. It is true that files finished in .zip are the most common that you will find on a day-to-day basis, but in some situation you may have to work with other files and here you will have an important problem in which you will be forced to other files options that are not native.
Third-party applications to unzip on Mac
The Unarchiver
Very simple program for macOS in which you can decompress different files with a wide variety of extensions. Specifically Zip, RAR (including v5), 7-zip, Tar, Gzip and Bzip2. Added to this is the work that can be done with formats that are not so widely used today, as well as the possibility of detecting and managing the encoding of file names in packages to avoid their corruption.
Decompressor
With this application you will be able to work with files that have many extensions, including the usual formats Zip, RAR, 7-zip, Tar and Gzip. In addition to this, it is also compatible with files that are protected with the password as well as a series of notifications that will notify you at all times of the status of the process you are performing. It is also important to note that the interface is customizable to adapt to all the needs you have.
RAR Extractor Lite
With quite adequate performance as well as a design that works quite well. It stands out for having a very low weight, being a light app when using it so that its installation is not a problem. It is true that if you want to make the most of it, you will have to purchase the pro version in order to have all the features available. In this way you will have all the possible extensions enabled when unzipping a file.
RAR archive
In this case, the application only has the capacity to decompress or compress files that have the RAR extension. In this way, it is also possible to edit the level of understanding at all times to always choose the quality that you have to assume. In addition, you can also perform a batch extraction in the event that you have several files available at the time of decompressing.
RAR Extractor and Expander
Get all the tools you need to be able to unzip or zip in one place. It has a very simple interface since it integrates perfectly with the drop-down menus when you click the secondary button on a specific file. That is why it is quite light and you will hardly notice that it is installed on your Mac although it will always be available to be used.
iPackr
This program has the possibility of taking and dropping all the files that you want to compress or decompress in a wide variety of extensions. Among the main ones are 7z, zip, rar, gz and bz2. In addition, you can also convert a file with a specific extension into a different one so that it is more convenient to send it to other people so that it cannot be confused with extensions that can be ‘strange’.
RAR Extract Expert
This extractor stands out for the ease with which it can be used on a day-to-day basis. It has the ability to support RAR, 7Z, ZIP, TAR, GZ, LHA, JAR, BZ2, SIT extensions and many others. It has the ability to integrate with the dark mode and even protect all the documents you want with a password so that no one except you can consult them.
RAR Extractor Pro
Without a doubt one of the most complete programs when it comes to extensions available. RAR, ZIP, 7z, pak, pkg, apk, tbz, sti, tar, xar, lha, lzh, hqx, bin, bz2, bzip2, bz, xz, iso, cid, nrg, mdf, taz and many others are included plus. The only problem it has is that it is a one-time payment tool.