Compressed Files Extraction Utility
Unarchiver is a versatile utility with a telltale name. Its purpose is to extract various types of compressed files. Initially created over ten years ago by Dag Agren, the individual developer, the app became popular on Mac market and was later acquired by MacPaw Inc.
Although the heyday of compressed files has long passed since we progressed from 1.44MB floppies, we still use them on the everyday basis. For example, for adding an entire folder of files as one email attachment.
Is there any reason why one would want to switch to The Unarchiver when there is a built-in macOS tool, Archiver Utility? To begin with, The Unarchiver can handle a wider range of compressed file types. This includes popular ones, such as RAR, Stuffit, and 7-Zip along with older and more obscure, like ARC, Tar, etc. – overall 58 different file formats. It also supports split-archives for several formats (not all of them).
Another important feature will interest people who deal with archives from all over the world. That is the correct display of file names in non-Latin characters.
Using Unarchiver is quite intuitive. It copies Finder’s interface for file copying, moving, and deleting. As also does Apple’s native app, The Unarchiver runs in the background, appears when you double-click the archive and goes away when you are done with it. However, it gives you more control over how and where you compress and uncompress your files.
It offers some advanced settings as well. In an “Archive Formats” tab of the app window, you can check or uncheck the file types you want The Unarchiver to handle. By default, RAR, zip and some other formats that macOS Archiver can read are unchecked. If you do not want to change settings permanently, you can drag the compressed file onto The Unarchiver icon to open it in the app just this one.
In the “Extraction” tab you can choose where to place extracted files, whether to create a new folder for them, what to do after the extraction and so on. These options are also available in the native macOS utility. However, they are not as easy to find, while The Unarchiver offers a handy and comprehensive layout.
The last, but not the least, it is free.
Latest Updates (Version 3.11.3):
- An issue with extracting certain RAR archives addressed.
Price: Free
Developer: MacPaw Inc.