- You can zip files on a Mac and compress them into a format that takes up less space on your computer by merging many files together.
- Zipped files are encrypted effectively and are more secure than standalone archives as they must be unzipped before any files can be accessed.
- Your Mac comes preloaded with an Archive Utility application that makes accessing zipped files is as easy as a few clicks.
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If you have a desktop or folders full of files that you rarely access but don’t want to delete, the best way to store those files is to compress them. Compressing files compresses them, saving you storage space that can be used for other material, and also bundles multiple files into one file, visually tidying up your computer.
Compressed files are more secure than files simply saved in a folder, since they cannot be accessed until they are unzipped. That said, unzipping files on a Mac is as easy as a few clicks, as computers come preloaded with the Archive Utility app which, when used, turns the secure zip file into a folder with all previously zipped files accessible again.
How to create a zip file on a Mac
1. Open the folder with the files you want to zip, or identify them on the desktop.
2. While holding down the “shift” or “command” key, click each file you want to add to the zip. p>
3. Right-click the highlighted files or click the word “File” in the menu bar at the top of the screen.
4. Click “Zip X Items”, where X is the number of items you are putting into the .zip file.
A file called Archive.zip will be created in the same folder where the documents were located or on the desktop; you may want to rename it for clarity.
When you want to open it to access the files you zipped, just double-click the .zip file or right-click on it and hit the word “Open”.
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