How to Zip Files on a Mac

If you want to send some files via email, it might be a good idea to compress them, (making the size of those files smaller), in order to speed up the transfer. With a Mac OS computer, creating a compressed .zip file could not be easier!

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• The file(s) you want to compress
• Your computer with Mac OS

1. 
    
   Select the folders you want to compress

   Choose the file that you want to zip. If you want to compress more than one file, for example, a few pictures, it might be a good idea to create a new folder for those pictures. If you’d like to compress 2 or more folders, you can select them together in order to create one compressed zip file.

2. 
    
   Choose 'Creative Archive'

   Right-click on the folder you want to compress and from the menu that appears, choose the option ‘Create Archive’. This will automatically create a compressed file with a .zip extension of the folder that you have chosen. If you are trying to compress two or more folders, click on one of them, (while keeping them both selected) and choose the option to ‘Create Archive of X items’. As a result, you will receive an ‘Archive.zip’ file that will contain all the folders that you have highlighted.

3. 
    
   In 'Finder' choose 'File' and then "Create Archive'

   You can also zip a file using a different approach. Just click once on the file you want to compress. The ‘Finder’ menu will appear and from there, you can go to ‘File’ and then choose ‘Create Archive’ and have your file zipped.

4. 
    
   And you have just zipped your file!

   Whether you follow step 2 or 3 is up to you – either way, you will have your file compressed, so you can choose the way that seems easier/faster to you.

5. To unzip/decompress a file (whether it is one you compressed yourself or one that you might have gotten in your email), just double click on it.

[MyJB]

on 9/5/2009 Good tips!