Archivers are not particularly necessary applications, but every self-respecting user resorts to their use.
The most common purpose of archivers is to record large volumes of files into one archive for further storage or transmission. The Mac system has its own archivers, which differ in insignificant differences. So, here are the five best archivers for Mac OS X.
BetterZip is widely popular and the best archiver for Mac OS. The main advantage of the utility is the ability to open archives that were created on other similar applications. In addition, the user can choose from a wide list the type of archiving that he likes. The ability to view the contents of an archived file without opening it is inherent, which significantly raises the protection class of the application, thereby protecting the system from hacker attacks. In addition to all these advantages, there is a certain disadvantage, which the budget user does not really like. Manufacturers are so confident in the quality of the application that they charge a certain amount of money.
Keka
Although the archiver for Mac OS has an unpaid distribution, it cannot catch up and overtake its colleague BetterZip in terms of quality and performance. Maybe it's free? And the manufacturer does not want to improve the archiver. This is not yet known, but it should be noted that the application is quite functional, efficient and has a lot of format. Of course, the list of archiving is not as wide as in the previous application, but there is also something to demonstrate. Only the most popular RAR format, which is so widespread in the world of archiving, is missing. The minus is also the program icon, which has an "inadequate" appearance.
WinZip for Mac
Archiver for Mac OS, which came from the Windows world. Its feature for this operating system is paid distribution, besides, the payment is much higher than that of other similar utilities. But on the other hand, the payment for the application is worth it: there is a wide variety of formats for archiving and high rates of functionality. Everything an experienced user needs.
Zipeg
Zipeg is distributed free of charge, which makes it possible to expand the horizons of its use among users. Works actively when archiving a file, as well as when unpacking it. An advantage is the ability to unpack password-protected files.
The Unarchiver
A simple and quickly effective utility that focuses only on unpacking zipped files. An excellent solution for those who are used to receiving applications by mail in zipped form. Supports a wide range of unpacking formats, which is quite enough for users. Free and easy operation is the utility's strong point.
It is worth noting from this that you should not chase the first paid number if most of the functions are unclaimed. Each user will now be able to choose the required option for himself.
Category: Useful Tips
WinRAR is installed on Mac OS X from the command line.
Download the archive with the program and unpack it. Then launch a terminal and navigate to that unpacked folder in it. To do this, type the command:
After it, put a space and drag the unpacked WinRAR folder into the terminal window. The path to it will be automatically written after " cd", You get something like this:
Press Enter to move to the folder. Then run the installation as a super user.
sudo install -c -o% shortname% rar / bin
Instead of % shortname% write your username, then, after entering the command, press Enter... The system will ask you to enter the administrator password - enter it.
After that, WinRAR will be installed on Mac OS, after its completion, you can check its success by typing in the terminal command rar or unrar.
The creators of WinRAR have taken care of users of all popular modern platforms by releasing their own version of the archiver for each of them. They also did not pass by the Mac.
WinRAR for Mac OS X, as well as the version for Linux, does not have a graphical interface, the developers provide Mac users to work with the rar and unrar modules only from the command line. This is very strange, since the operating system from Apple, like many other products of this company, is focused primarily on facilitating the interaction of users with computers, and working with command line requires some special knowledge.
Nevertheless, WinRAR for Mac OS exists exactly in this form, the developers are constantly releasing new versions of the archiver for this platform without delays or delays.
The biggest advantage of WinRAR for Mac OS- creation of archives in RAR format. No other archiver knows how to do this (more precisely, it is not permitted by the RAR license). Even if you download a third-party archiver, the creators of which claim that it can create rar-archives, to activate this function in it you will have to separately download and install vinrar. Or its RAR module will already be built into the archiver and included in the price.
Among the shortcomings, we can note the lack of its own interface, so WinRAR is often downloaded on MAC OS for use in conjunction with another archiver.
The "rar" archive cannot be opened on "MAK" if you have not installed the archiver intended for this - WinRAR. Here you can download WinRAR for Mac OS X for free, or rather its console version (its correct name is RAR).
Unfortunately, WinRAR does not have a graphical interface on Mac OS, but this does not mean that it is difficult to use. It is enough to remember a couple of commands and the process of unpacking the archives will not cause you any difficulties.
Installation of WinRAR on Mac also happens from the console (from the terminal). The downloaded archive must be unpacked to your computer and enter the command install... The installation process is described in detail in this manual.
After installation, type the command rar(or unrar). If the archiver is installed correctly, you will see information about its version and a brief help on how to use it.
For help, type:
For example, to create an uncompressed archive, use the command:
rar a -m0 archive.rar folder /
With maximum compression, the command:
rar a -m5 archive.rar folder /
To unpack all files into the current directory:
unrar e archive.rar
Benefits of WinRAR for Mac OS
- Easy to use if you know the commands.
And there are not so many of them and their syntax is not complicated;
- It is possible to protect your archives with a password and encrypt all archived files;
- Choice of file compression ratio, uncompressed archiving of folders and files for easy storage and mailing.
disadvantages
- There is no graphical interface, you need to know the commands for working with archives.
Download WinRAR for Mac OS X ( latest version) from the official website at the link below.
Download WinRAR
* from the official site
Containing a tool for working with archives, macOS is also originally endowed with such. True, the capabilities of the built-in archiver are very limited - Archive Utility, integrated into the "apple" OS, allows you to work only with ZIP and GZIP (GZ) formats. Naturally, this is not enough for most users, so in this article we will talk about software tools for working with archives on macOS, which are much more functional than the basic solution.
This archiver is a comprehensive solution for working with archives in the macOS environment. BetterZip provides the ability to unpack all common formats used for data compression, with the exception of SITX. You can use it to create archives in ZIP, 7ZIP, TAR.GZ, BZIP, and if you install the console version of WinRAR, the program will also support RAR files. The latter can be downloaded from the official website of the developer, the link to which you will find in.
Like any advanced archiver, BetterZip can encrypt compressed data, can split large files into fragments (volumes). There is a useful search function inside the archive, which works without the need to unpack. Likewise, you can extract individual files without unpacking the entire contents at once. Unfortunately, BetterZip is distributed on a paid basis, and after the trial period is over, it can only be used to unpack archives, but not create them.
StuffIt Expander
Like BetterZip, this archiver supports all common data compression formats (25 titles) and even slightly outperforms its competitor. StuffIt Expander has full RAR support, for which you don't even need to install third-party utilities, and it also works with SIT and SITX files, which the previous application also cannot boast of. Among other things, this software works not only with ordinary, but also with password-protected archives.
StuffIt Expander is presented in two versions - free and paid, and it is logical that the possibilities of the second are much wider. For example, it can be used to create self-extracting archives and work with data on optical and hard drives. The program includes tools for creating disk images and backing up information that is contained on drives. Moreover, you can set your own schedule to create a backup of files and directories.
WinZip Mac
Hamster Free Archiver
A minimalistic outwardly and functionally archiver for macOS, very simple and easy to use. Hamster Free Archiver uses the ZIP format to compress data, while not only the mentioned ZIP, but also 7ZIP and RAR can open and unpack it. Yes, this is significantly less than the solutions discussed above, but this will be enough for many users. If desired, it can be set as the default tool for working with archives, for which it is enough to refer to the application settings.
As the name implies, Hamster Free Archiver is distributed free of charge, which undoubtedly sets it apart from other similar programs. According to the developers, their archiver provides a fairly high compression ratio. In addition to the usual compression and decompression of data, it allows you to specify the path to save or place them in the folder with the original file. This completes the set of functionality of the "hamster".
Keka
Another free archiver for macOS, which, moreover, is in many ways not inferior to its paid competitors. With Keka, you can view and extract files contained in RAR, TAR, ZIP, 7ZIP, ISO, EXE, CAB and many more archives. You can pack data in ZIP, TAR and variations of these formats. Large files can be broken into parts, which will significantly simplify their use and, for example, uploading to the Internet.
There are not many settings in Keka, but each of them is really necessary. So, referring to the main menu of the application, you can specify the only way to save all the extracted data, select an acceptable compression rate for files when compressing, set it as the default archiver and set associations with file formats.
The Unarchiver
This application can be called an archiver only with a slight stretch. The Unarchiver is more of a compressed data viewer whose only capability is to unpack it. Like all of the above programs, it supports common formats (over 30), including ZIP, 7ZIP, GZIP, RAR, TAR. Allows you to open them, regardless of the program in which they were compressed, how much and what encoding was used.
The Unarchiver is distributed free of charge, and for this we can safely forgive its functional "modesty". It will interest those users who often have to work with archives, but only in one direction - exclusively for viewing and extracting packed files to a computer, no more.
Conclusion
In this short article, we covered the main features of six archivers for macOS. Half of them are paid, half are free, but in addition, each has its own advantages and disadvantages, and which one to choose is up to you. We hope this material was useful to you.
Daily articles and news from the Apple world.
Write about archiving files and archivers for Mac OS suggested by one of the readers who asked me a question: are there archivers and unarchives for poppies? I will try to describe what is in Mac OS "out of the box" and what else can be delivered in order to work comfortably with archives.
Archiving Utility - zip archives
One of the conveniences that I discovered in my time after switching from Win to Mac was the built-in Mac OS X support for zip-archives - one of the most common formats supported by many operating systems. To create a zip archive, just select the file (s) in Finder, right-click (or ctrl + click) and select "Compress" from the context menu. After that, a zip file is created with a copy of the files and with the name "Archive.zip", if there are more than one archived files, or if there is only one file, then the name of the archive will coincide with the name of the original file.
Unpacking zip files is as easy as archiving. By default, the "Archiving Utility" is launched automatically by double-clicking on the zip-archive, which results in unpacking the contents of the archive into the folder of the same name, if there are more than one file. In addition, the original zip file remains untouched, that is, when unpacking, a copy of the contents of the archive is created.
The built-in zip support also manifests itself when downloading files from the web in Safari. After the zip is downloaded, it will be automatically unpacked by the same "Archiving Utility". In most cases, this is the default behavior, but sometimes it is annoying.
Working with archives from Mac OS X Terminal
More advanced users can create archives from the Terminal. There are several utilities for this in Mac OS X, for example, gzip, bzip2, tar. Moreover, if the first two are archivers, then tar is a "packer" of files - it archives a group of files into one without compression. Tar is used just in conjunction with gzip and bzip2, which, according to the "Unix-tradition", can clamp only one file: they perform one function, but good. Therefore, they usually first pack files or folders with files into a tar-archive, and then the resulting file is clamped with gzip or bzip2.
You can read more about these archivers on Wikipedia in more detail:,. Many people will certainly not want to bother with the Terminal for archiving files. But it's worth noting that bzip2, for example, compresses better than standard zip or gzip, albeit slower. In addition, gzip is used by Mac OS itself to archive logs, for example.
I often do manual file backups using the tar utility, which correctly saves information about files and folders (permissions, creation time, etc.). Alternatively, tar can be asked to compress the tar archive into bzip2. As a result, with one command, with the appropriate keys, we get a .tbz file, in which the files are correctly packed (tar) and well compressed (bz2).
Non-standard spsob - .dmg
Among the standard set of Mac OS programs there is Disk Utility, which is not intended for archiving files, but in principle it can be achieved from it. The idea is simple - creating compressed dmg images. To do this, in Disk Utility, go to File–> New–> Disk Image from Folder ... (Command + Shift + N shortcut) and select the folder with the files in the dialog that appears. Further, in the next dialog for saving the dmg-image, select the name and format of the image - "compressed". If I understand everything correctly, then the content will be clamped with the same zip.
I even once tested the compression ratio in dmg and zip. It turns out about the same - compressed dmg images are slightly (10% –15%) larger than a zip archive.
I took different types of files with a total size of 100 MB:
Third Party Archivators
The main reason why it is necessary to unpack rar files is the need to unpack rar files. It so happened historically that rar was at one time widespread on "one-sixth of the land." This is connected, in my opinion, with the ability to split a rar-archive into volumes (parts), a higher compression ratio than that of zip, and a set of all sorts of gimmicks like setting passwords on an archive and the like. The level of compression was important 5 years ago, when the price per gigabyte of hard disk space was high, burning to DVD was also an expensive pleasure, and you can't invest much in email.
As a result, many under Windows continue to use rar as the main archiver, and there are still a lot of files on the Web that are packed in rar.
Stuffit Expander
The program is called "must have". The main advantages are free and the ability to unpack a bunch of formats, including rar. Stuffit Expander does not know how to archive at all, for this there is its older (and paid) brother Stuffit Deluxe.
I won't be mistaken if I say that in 99.9% of cases, the Archiving Utility + Stuffit Expander is enough for a happy mac-life with a head.
Stuffit Deluxe
This archiver costs $ 79, but it already knows a lot more than Stuffit Expander. Firstly, it can clamp in more than 20 archive formats, including rar, sitx, cab and all the formats mentioned above. To be honest, I don’t use it, but if you often need to clip into something exotic for Mac, or you need to split archives into volumes for uploading to file storages (hello wares :), then Stuffit Deluxe will come in handy of course.
A good alternative to Stuffit Expander, and the built-in archiver in Mac OS, can be The Unarchiver. From the name it is already clear that the software is designed for unpacking files. The Unarchiver supports many archiving formats (including sitx from the Stuffit developers), integrates with the Finder, doesn't get confused with non-English filenames, etc. The Unarchiver is free and open-source.
Something like WinRAR for Mac is not yet available. The developers of the rar format have waited for the command-line utilities. It is distributed free of charge as a 40-day version (then you have to pay, although I don't know how they control it), and if sometimes you need to roll it up in rar and are friends with the Terminal, then nothing else is needed for normal work and a carefree life.
BetterZip
Not very expensive ($ 19.95) and quite popular archiver (thanks for the hint in the comments). Supports a lot of formats: IP, SIT, TAR, GZip, BZip2, RAR, 7-Zip, CPIO, ARJ, LZH / LHA, JAR, WAR, CAB, ISO, CHM, RPM, DEB, NSIS, BIN, HQX, DD. In addition, there is support for quick preview of the archive via Quick Look. To do this, you need to download a special plugin.
You should also pay attention to this archiver ($ 26). Like BetterZip, iArchiver is written in the best Mac-Usability tradition. Supports not many formats: clamps - Zip, DMG, 7-zip, Tar, Gzip, Bzip2, Z and CPIO; unpacks: Zip, RAR, 7-zip, StuffIt, Gzip, Bzip2, ARJ, Z, LhA, DMG, hqx, rpm and so on. In addition, it can convert rar archives to zip. In general, it is simple and straightforward.
Archiver for Mac OS - Fast and convenient archiver that supports RAR, StuffIt, 7zip and Zip archives. At the same time, it allows you to create encrypted data backups, and convert archives from one format to another.
Who said that working with archives should be boring and tedious? Archiver makes the process of reducing size, splitting files and decompressing archives fun!
ARCHIVES AS EASY AS SIMPLE
Archiver made working with archives easier. But we saw areas for improvement and, having made every effort, made working with archives even easier for you. Archiver 2 features a new interface, amazing speed and preview.
LOOK INSIDE
Unpacking an archive to see the contents? Forget it! With Archiver 2, you can browse the contents of the archives. Best of all, Archiver only lets you extract the files you really need. You just need to drag the files from the archive with the mouse.
HURRAH! DRAG & DROP
Don't worry about archives anymore - drag & drop is back. Smarter now! Just drag and drop files onto your icon or application window - Archiver will take care of the rest.
COMPRESS IMAGES AND AUDIO FILES
Tired of receiving messages about oversize attachments when sending email? It seems like it takes forever to download a file? Introducing Archiver 2's proprietary compression format that will truly reduce the size of your images and audio files.
MULTI-FUNCTIONALITY
Archiver 2 is ready to take full advantage of your Mac, allowing you to do more tasks at the same time. And it's amazingly simple! You just drag and drop more archives and Archiver unpacks them one by one.
THIS IS TOTALLY SECRET
Keep your data safe! With Archiver you can secure your data storage by creating encrypted archives protected by passwords you set.
SHARE AND COMBINE
Is this file too large to be stored on disk or sent by email? Archiver has always done a great job with both splitting and merging files. Archiver 2 also allows you to create multivolume archives. All you need is to specify the block size.
OPPORTUNITIES OF THE PROGRAM
- Intelligent drag & drop function
- Reduce the size of files and folders by compressing Zip, 7zip, RAR (using external RAR plugin), Gzip, Bzip
- Native compression format for images and audio files * Extract and convert all popular archive formats, including RAR, StuffIt, Zip, and 7zip
- View the contents of the archives
- Create encrypted and password protected archives
- Split and combine files
- RAR (rar, r00, r01, r02, ...)
- 7zip (7z, 7z.001, 7z.002, ...)
- Tar Gzip (tar.gz, tgz)
- Tar Bzip2 (tar.bz2, tbz)
- Tar Z (tar.Z) * CPIO (cpio)
- ARJ [readonly]
- CAB [readonly]
- LhA (lha, lzh) [readonly]
- StuffIt (sit) [readonly]
- StuffIt Expander Archive (sea) [readonly]
- BinHex (hqx) [readonly]
- MacBinary (bin, macbin) [read-only]
- Linux RPM (rpm) [read-only]
- PAX [readonly]
- Amiga Disk File (adf) [read-only]
- Amiga Compressed Disk File (adz, ADZ) [readonly]
- Amiga DMS disk archive (dms, DMS) [read only]
- Amiga LhF (f, F) [readonly]
- Amiga LZX (lzx) [readonly]
- Amiga DCS Disk Archive (dcs) [readonly]
- Amiga PackDev (pkd) [readonly]
- Amiga xMash Disk Archive (xms) [readonly]
- Amiga Zoom Disk Archive (zom) [readonly]
- HA Archive [readonly]
File archiving is relevant for all operating systems, so the need for 7-Zip exists on Mac OS as well. On this page you can download the program and learn about the peculiarities of its work and use on Apple products.
Features of the program on Mac
The need for a free archiver among Apple owners is no less than that of Windows lovers. However, 7-Zip is not available to users of the Mac OS operating system.
Not all alternative applications are gaining popularity; the Keka unpacker deserves special attention. The 7-Zip counterpart on Mac OS has no functional sophistication. The main thing is to compress and unzip documents. This is enough for the full use of the program within the 7-Zip substitute.
Formats for Keka to work on Mac OS:
| Archiving | 7z, ZIP, ICO, TAR, GZIP, BZIP2, XZ, LZIP, DMG |
| Unpacking | RAR, LZMA, EXE, CAB, WIM, PAX, JAR, APK, APPX, CPGZ, CPIO Archiving formats |
If the size of the archive does not allow sending it through email or instant messengers, Keka will break it apart, just like 7-Zip. There is no need to worry about the integrity, since after unpacking through software, the file is collected into a single document.
Keka supports encryption of archives. This allows you to securely exchange files by setting a password for working with documents. For 7z format, AES-256 technology is available, for zip - Zip 2.0.
Application settings:
- setting the default path for saving unpacked folders;
- adjusting the compression ratio of the archive;
- setting Keka as the default application;
- setting associations with the formats of some files.
It is impossible to make other changes to the program's operation, since the developers do not provide for other functions.
The drawback that distinguishes Keka from 7-Zip is the mandatory unpacking of documents. The user cannot view the archive without unpacking it. This is inconvenient when working with a large file size, where the size reaches several gigabytes.
Video: Keka Features and Settings for Mac OS.
Download the archiver for Mac OS
The Keka application, an analogue of 7-Zip, for Mac OS can be downloaded for free on this page. The software is distributed freely, so the user gets the official version.
7-zip
Keka
System requirements:
| Operating system | Mac OS X 10.9 or higher |
| CPU | 64-bit |
| Version | 1.1.5 |
| The size | 25.8 MB |
| Interface language | Russian |
Program installation
To install the Keka archiver, follow the link above and download the file to your computer. Run and wait for the end of the integration of the application in operating system Mac.After completing the process, the user gains access to the program via context menu by clicking on the appropriate button.
How to use the archiver on Mac OS?
Unlike 7-Zip for Windows, there is no file manager available for users in Keka.
