Open the mac archive download the program. Archivers for macOS
Archivers are not particularly necessary applications, but every self-respecting user resorts to using them. The most common purpose of archivers is to record large volumes files into one archive for further storage or forwarding. The Mac system has its own archivers, which differ in minor differences. So, here are the five best archivers for Mac OS X.
Widely popular and most best archiver for Mac OS is BetterZip. The main advantage of the utility is the ability to open archives that were created on other similar apps. In addition, the user can choose from a wide range of archiving types that he likes. Inherent is the ability to view the contents of an archived file without opening it, which significantly increases the protection class of the application, thereby protecting the system from hacker attacks. In addition to all these advantages, there is a certain disadvantage that 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 surpass its colleague BetterZip in terms of quality and performance. Maybe it's because it's free? And the manufacturer does not want to improve the archiver. This is not yet known, but it is worth mentioning that the application is quite functional, fast and has a lot of formats. Of course, the archiving list is not as wide as the previous application, but there is also something to demonstrate. The only thing missing is the popular RAR format, which is so common in the archiving world. Another disadvantage is the program icon, which has an “inadequate” appearance.
WinZip for Mac
Archiver for Mac OS, coming from the Windows world. Its peculiarity for this operating system is paid distribution, and the payment is much higher than that of other similar utilities. But paying for the application is worth it: there is a wide variety of archiving formats and high 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. Actively works when archiving a file, as well as when unpacking it. The advantage is the ability to unpack password-protected files.
A simple and quickly effective utility that is aimed only at unpacking zipped files. An excellent solution for those who are used to receiving applications by mail in archived form. Supports a wide list of formats for unpacking, which is quite enough for users. Freeness and ease of operation are the strength of the utility.
From this it is worth noting that you should not chase the first toll number, if most of the functions are unclaimed. Each user will now be able to choose the desired option for themselves.
Starting this review with such a title, I realized that not all readers would agree with me. There are so many apps on the Mac Appstore that work with archives, why is BetterZip the only one? I'll try to explain my point of view.
When choosing an archiver for Mac, I was guided by the following criteria:
- Ability to archive and unpack everything popular formats archives. Among the “desktop” ones, these are ZIP, RAR and 7Z. It would be desirable to be able to create archives of the less popular GZip and BZip. The ZIP format alone in the built-in archiver is no longer enough. Sometimes you need to work with RAR archives; it is often used on servers for incremental Reserve copy files.
- View the contents of the archive without the need to unpack, as well as update files in the archive. This is generally already a de facto standard for archivers, to which many are accustomed using WinZip and WinRAR. It's not at all convenient without it.
- Finder context menu integration. First of all, archiving selected files from the context menu.
- Flexible settings for creating archives and compatibility of created archives with Windows. These include archiving profiles and ignoring OS X service files and folders (have you seen what an archive created by built-in tools looks like in Windows?).
- Application design. This is where I get really boring when I nitpick the design of Mac apps and their icons. I appreciate OS X for its unique design and ease of use, and I can't stand looking at programs that look like something straight out of the 90s. Perhaps this point is not critical for everyone, but I am sure that I am not the only one.
- Application support. Personally, I rarely use apps latest version which was released 5 years ago.
Which archivers could have been included in this review, but were not included and why:
What BetterZip lacks is a library in Automator. It would be cool to be able to automate the process of creating or unpacking archives.
Let me remind you that BetterZip can be downloaded from the official website. It is possible to use the program for educational purposes. Cost today - $19.95 .
Thanks to Robert Rezabek for providing the BetterZip license.
Gone are the days when archivers were used solely to reduce file sizes in order to write as many of them as possible onto one floppy disk. Today, the main purpose of these applications is to record multiple files into one archive for ease of distribution and storage. This is the type of utility that, although not one of the most important, is still used quite regularly.
BetterZip
One of the most famous, popular and advanced archivers. Opens archives of almost everyone known formats, can create archives (though in in this case support for formats is not so wide), also allows you to view the contents of the archive without first unpacking it. It is possible to create protected archives and test existing ones. The only drawback of the program is that it is paid.
BetterZip
Keka
Also quite good famous archivist, which is popular due to its free nature. Capable of unpacking archives of most existing formats. It can also create archives, but the number of formats is not so wide (for example, it is not possible to create RAR archives). It is believed that the main drawback of this program is its not the most attractive icon.
Keka
WinZip for Mac
"Classic" from Windows world, which also came to OS X. A very advanced solution with good functionality and some useful additional features. At the same time, this same archiver is the most expensive of all that we are considering today.
WinZip for Mac
Zipeg
A free and very simple application designed only for unpacking archives, including those protected by passwords. All most popular formats are supported. If you don't need to create archives, then Zipeg can be good decision. There is a version for both OS X and Windows.
Zipeg
The Unarchiver
It is also a very simple utility that can only unpack archives. The most popular formats are supported, which is quite enough for most users. Additional features quite a bit, but this is fully justified by the absolute freeness of the application. This utility is one of the most popular.
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Write about archiving files and archivers for Mac OS suggested by one of the readers who asked me a question: are there archivers and dearchivers for Macs? I will try to describe what Mac OS has out of the box and what else can be delivered to make it comfortable to work with archives.
Archiving Utility - zip archives
One of the conveniences that I discovered at one time after switching from Win to Mac was the built-in support for zip archives in Mac OS X - one of the most common formats, which in many operating systems supported. To create a zip archive, just select the file(s) in the Finder, click right click mouse (or ctrl+click) and select in context menu"Squeeze." After which a zip file is created with a copy of the files and with the name “Archive.zip”, if there is more than one file to be archived, 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 just as easy as archiving. By default, the Archiving Utility is launched automatically by double click by zip archive, which leads to unpacking the contents of the archive into a folder of the same name if there is more than one file. In addition, the original zip file remains untouched, that is, when unpacking, a copy of the archive contents 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 default behavior is “just right,” but sometimes it’s annoying.
Working with archives from the Mac OS X Terminal
More experienced 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 in conjunction with gzip and bzip2, which, according to the “Unix tradition”, can only compress one file: they perform one function, but well. Therefore, they usually first pack files or folders with files into a tar archive, and then compress the resulting file with gzip or bzip2.
You can read more about these archivers on Wikipedia: , . Many, of course, will not want to bother with the Terminal for archiving files. But it is worth noting that bzip2, for example, compresses better than standard zip or gzip, although it is slower. In addition, gzip is used by Mac OS itself to archive logs, for example.
I often make manual backups of files using the tar utility, which correctly saves information about files and folders (permissions, creation time, etc.). In addition, 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 method - .dmg
Among the standard set Mac programs OS has Disk Utility, which is not intended for archiving files, but in principle this can be achieved from it. The idea is simple - creating compressed dmg images. To do this you need to Disk Utility“go” to the address “File–>New–>Disk image from folder...” (shortcut Command+Shift+N) and in the dialog that appears, select the folder with the files. Next, in the next dialog for saving the dmg image, select the name and format of the image - “compressed”. If I understand everything correctly, the content will be compressed with the same zip.
I even once tested the compression ratio in dmg and zip. It turns out approximately 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 Archivers
The main reason why people reach out to install some kind of program for working with archives is the need to unpack rar files. Historically, rar was widely used on “one sixth of the landmass.” This, in my opinion, is connected with the ability to split a rar archive into volumes (parts), more high degree compression than zip, and a set of all sorts of gadgets like setting passwords for an archive and the like. The level of compression was important 5 years ago, when the price per gigabyte of hard drive space was high, recording to DVD was also expensive, and you couldn’t invest much in email.
As a result, many people on Windows continue to use rar as the main archiver, and there are still a lot of files packed in rar on the Internet.
Stuffit Expander
The program is called " must have" The main advantages are that it is free and the ability to unpack a bunch of formats, including rar. Stuffit Expander cannot archive at all; for this purpose there is its older (and paid) brother Stuffit Deluxe.
I won’t be mistaken if I say that in 99.9% of cases, for a happy mac life, Archiving Utility + Stuffit Expander is enough.
Stuffit Deluxe
This archiver costs $79, but it can do much more than Stuffit Expander. Firstly, it can compress into more than 20 archive formats, including rar, sitx, cab and all the formats mentioned above in the text. To be honest, I don’t use it, but if you often need to download something exotic on a Mac, or need to split archives into volumes for uploading to file storage (hello Varez :), then Stuffit Deluxe will certainly come in handy.
A good alternative to Stuffit Expander, and the built-in archiver in Mac OS, may 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 developers of Stuffit), integrates with Finder, does not confuse non-English file names, etc. The Unarchiver is free and open-source.
There is nothing like WinRAR for Mac yet. The developers of the rar format have just waited for 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 download it in rar and we are friends with the Terminal, then nothing else is needed for normal operation and a carefree life.
BetterZip
Not very expensive ($19.95) and quite a popular archiver (thanks for the tip 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 archive preview via Quick Look. To do this, you need to download a special plugin.
It is also worth paying attention to this archiver ($26). Like BetterZip, iArchiver is written in the best traditions of Mac-Usability. 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 in zip. In general, it is simple and understandable.