If you are new to the Mac world then you may run into some teething problems; nothing to worry about, it’s just a matter of getting carried away with this operating system which, in many ways, is similar to Windows. Among the many initial difficulties you may not be able to zip a folder on Mac . In reality, the procedure to compress folder from mac is very simple and after using it a couple of times you will no longer have any problem with zip on mac.
So, without getting too lost in useless chatter, I’m going to immediately explain how to compress a folder with mac.
Index
- How to zip a folder on Mac
- Compress a folder on Mac with Password
How to zip a folder on Mac
It must be said right away that, exactly as with the most recent versions of Windows, on Mac the function to compress files and folders is integrated into the operating system and therefore, unless you need special features (such as files zipped with password) to zip a folder on Mac you will not need any additional program. Also in compressed files on mac they use the same algorithm as windows so once compressed you can also decompress them on windows.
So to compress the folder from mac just click with the right mouse button and, from the menu that will be displayed, select the item Compress . This will create a compressed copy of the folder (a zip file) within the same path as the folder you compressed and with the same name. Done! Was I right or not to say that zipping a folder on Mac is really easy?
However, this procedure does not allow you to protect the zip file with a password. If you need to zip folder from mac with password then you will need to use a different procedure described below.
Compress a folder on Mac with Password
To zip a folder on Mac with password you have two different possibilities
- use a program for compressing files
- write a command from terminate mac
The fastest solution to create zip on mac with password is obviously to use the terminal of your mac; the procedure is slightly more complex than that described above but still within everyone’s reach.
First you will need to open the Mac Terminal window ; to do this press the CMD and space keys at the same time or look for it in the Utility folder inside the Applications of your mac.
Inside the terminate you will have to write the command:
zip -er foldernamecompressa.zip
and then drag the folder you want to compress into the terminal window. Obviously, instead of “compressed folder name” you will have to put the name you want to assign to the compressed folder. Once done you will have to press enter; you will be asked twice to enter the password to use for the compressed folder.
If this procedure is too complex then you can use the free 7zX program .
Once the program is installed, just drag the folder over the 7zX icon to open the compression window where you will only have to enter the password or press the OK button to compress the folder from mac with the password.
So, in conclusion, zipping a folder on Mac is really a breeze and you just need to right-click on the folder and select the item to compress it; things get slightly complicated if you want to compress folder from mac with password; in this case either you use an application such as 7zX or you will have to write the command to zip the folder on the mac terminal. Find more guides for the mac operating system on this page.
