Zip/Zip Files (Mac)

One nice feature of Mac OS X is the ability to create zip compressed files from within the OS (basically, this shrinks the file size, ideal for files you’re going to email — smaller file sizes mean faster file transfers).

To Create a Compressed File

• Control-click on the file and choose Create Archive (which is Apple-speak for “make a compressed ZIP file”) or
• Click on a file, then go to the Action menu (the button that looks like a gear up in the Finder window’s toolbar), and choose Create Archive from there.
  • Either way, it quickly creates a new file, with the file extension “.zip.” This is the compressed file.

You can also compress several different files (like three, for example) into one single archive file:

• Command-click (or Shift-click contiguous files) on all the files you want included
• Choose Create Archive of X Items from the Action menu
  • A file will be created named “Archive.zip” (that’s it!).

To Decompress a ZIP file

• Double-click it and it will automatically decompress.