Matt Cone January 8, 2021 TutorialsMac
If you own a Mac, you’ll eventually need to transfer files and folders to others. To do that, you’re going to want to shrink - or compress - the files so they take up the least amount of space possible. That way, it will be easy to move your files via email, FTP, or even with an instant messaging application.
To unzip the contents, follow these steps: Click the Unzip button. From the drop down menu, choose to unzip your files to this Mac, iCloud Drive, Dropbox or Google Drive. A 'Finder style' window will open. You can browse to the folder where you want the files saved. Choose to unzip the Entire Zip file or Selected Items. How to Zip Multiple Files on Mac. You can also compress multiple files and/or folders. Here’s how: First, you have to create a new folder in Finder or Desktop. Press Shift + Command (CMD) + N). Name the new folder. Drag the files you want to zip together to the folder you just created. Select settings for ZIP to PDF conversion: you may choose a file format in a ZIP archive, add a password to PDF documents and merge multiple files to a single PDF. Click the 'Convert' button to start reforming files. Your ZIP files will be converted to PDF format. Wait a few seconds for the files' conversion to finish. How to Zip a File on a Mac. Download Article. Explore this Article. 1 Use the Finder. 2 Use a Third-Party Program. 3 Zipping one file using the Terminal. 4 Zipping multiple files using the Terminal.
In the past, Mac users had to rely on an expensive application called Stuffit to compress files and folders. That application’s still around, but it’s no longer necessary the way it once was. In fact, macOS has built-in features that allow you to compress - or zip - files and folders on the spot. You can also uncompress zipped files and folders - it’s all built into macOS.
Here’s how to compress files and folders on your Mac:
Locate the file or folder you want to compress. You can select multiple files and folders by holding down the Shift key (for multiple items) or the Command key (for several individual items) and clicking.
After you’ve selected the files and folders, right click on them, and then select Compress.
A window may appear indicating that your Mac is compressing the files or folders. Depending on the size of the files or the folders, this could take a couple minutes.
Once your Mac has finished compressing the files or folders, you’ll see a nice little zip file. This contains all of the files and folders you selected to be compressed. Just send this to your Mac- or PC-using friends - they’ll be able to open it. All Mac users have to do to open the zip file is double-click it!
How Small Can You Make the Files?
How much space can you save by compressing? That depends on the type of files you’re trying to compress. Generally speaking, a zip file will be about 10% smaller than all of the files were before they were compressed. This feature works best with medium size files - compressing lots of small files or one or two big files won’t save you much space.
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