- Possibly the ultimate Mac archive tool, the Unarchiver can open a variety of compressed files. This tool makes it possible to do with away with StuffIt completely, as it can open StuffIt files as well as almost anything else you throw at it---ZIP, RAR, 7-Zip and TAR-GZ, to name a few. This program is a must if you've ever downloaded a compressed file on your Mac but not managed to open it.
- By default, Macs have certain built-in compression capabilities. ZIP files, for example, can be opened quickly and easily, as can DMG files. This means if you're sending a compressed file to a Mac user, a ZIP file will work perfectly---they'll be able to open it by default. Any other format and they'll need a program like the Unarchiver to open them.
- If you use Linux, the Gnome desktop comes with File Roller. This GUI tool takes all of Linux's command-line based compression utility and combines them in a simple, easy-to-use interface. In fact, File Roller can even open and create StuffIt files, making it useful to have around when those old files show up.
- It used to be, when creating compressed files for Mac on a PC, one would use the Windows version of StuffIt. That's not necessary anymore. 7-ZIP for Windows is free, open source and indispensable. While not capable of opening StuffIt files it can create and open a variety of Mac-compatible compressed files, including ZIP.
- Another Windows compression program, WinRAR is compatible with ZIP and, true to its name, RAR files. Known for its simple GUI and high-compression rates, this proprietary tool works great for creating and extracting compressed files of all kinds. However WinRAR cannot open StuffIt Files; sadly no program exists for Windows that can open this proprietary format except StuffIt itself. Happily, with Mac OS now capable of opening a variety of open standards, StuffIt tool is no longer necessary.
