How to Decompress a PC File on a Mac

If you're on a Macintosh computer and receive compressed files from a PC with .zip or .exe extension, don't despair. You can decompress the .zip (Zip compressed) file or .exe (Zip self-extracting) file with StuffIt Expander, a freeware program provided by Aladdin Systems. StuffIt Expander is compatible with Macintosh computers that use Mac OS 7.1.1 or later.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Internet Access
• Mac ZipIt
• StuffIt Deluxe
• StuffIt Expander (Mac)

1. Download StuffIt Expander from Download.com.

2. Double-click the file to uncompress and install the Expander software.

3. Double-click StuffIt Expander to run the program.

4. Go to the File menu and select Expand.

5. Navigate to the file you want to expand.

6. Select the file and click the Expand button.

Tips & Warnings

• If you don't want to open StuffIt Expander, just select the file you want to expand and drag it over the StuffItExpander icon. When the icon turns black, let go of the mouse button. Expander automatically decompresses the PC file.
• Use StuffIt Expander to decompress other files: Zip/Gzip (.zip, .gz and .tgz), uuencode (.uu and .uue), BinHex (.hqx), MacBinary (.bin), Private File (.pf) and StuffIt (.sit) files.
• Buy StuffIt Deluxe to compress files for the PC - StuffIt Deluxe includes StuffIt Expander - or download ZipIt, a shareware program, to compress files for the PC.
• PC files with the .exe extension are not limited to self-extracting zip files. This extension is commonly used to identify PC program (or executable) files. Use StuffIt Expander on PC files that you know are self-extracting Zip files.