Step 3: Highlight the files you want to compress. Step 1: Make sure that the output format is “zip archive” in Preferences. Do the following to zip some files or folders in Archive Utility: It can run the same operations, creating or expanding (unzipping) archives, but the main difference lies in the Preferences, where several settings can be specified.įor instance, unzipped packages can be automatically erased. It’s one of the possible ways to compress files Mac users will find. Open Archive Utility for More OptionsĪrchive Utility can be opened separately from Finder to get more control over the zipping process.

It’s an especially apparent downside if you’re looking to secure the files in the package. Overall, Finder is great for quick zipping and unzipping, but it provides no configurable settings. The unzipping procedure is even simpler – double-click a ZIP file, and it will be extracted to the same directory.

Step 2: Control-click the selected files to open a context menu. Step 1: Select one or multiple files or folders. Creating a ZIP file in Finder requires you to do the following: Unsurprisingly, Apple provides a way to handle ZIP archives, which is included by default in macOS Finder, and it permits both Mac unzipping and zipping. And, for smaller archives, zipping and unzipping times are negligible. The downside, of course, is that packing and unpacking files takes time and requires an archive utility for Mac. Packaging files in ZIPs reduces their size by up to 50%. The ZIP archive is a file type that can contain multiple files or folders, which is usually smaller in size than the contained files would be otherwise. Use Third-Party Apps to Create ZIP Files on Mac

Zip files mac terminal