Your Guide to Opening RAR Archives with WinRAR
A common approach to bundle several things together in the digital age is via RAR files, which are small and efficient. You might have been unsure on how to open these RAR archives if you use a Mac. Enter WinRAR, a flexible archiver that streamlines this procedure. We’ll walk you through the process of using WinRAR on your Mac to unlock the contents of RAR files in this blog post.
OS Compatibility:
Unpacking the Basics of Understanding RAR Files
Let’s quickly define RAR files before we proceed with the stages. One or more files can be contained in a RAR file, which makes it simpler to transfer and keep them. You require specialized software, such as WinRAR, to access the files contained in a RAR archive.
Using WinRAR on Mac: Steps to Unpack RAR Files
Despite being frequently linked with Windows, WinRAR also has a version that is compatible with macOS. To open RAR files on a Mac using WinRAR, adhere to these steps:
Step 1: Download WinRAR for Mac
- Visit the WinRAR Website: Go to the official WinRAR website (https://www.win-rar.com/start.html?&L=0) to access the download page.
- Choose the Mac Version: Look for the download option for macOS and click on it to start the download.
- Install WinRAR: Once the download is complete, locate the downloaded file and double-click to run the installer. Follow the on-screen instructions to install WinRAR on your Mac.
Step 2: Open RAR Files with WinRAR
- Locate the RAR File: Find the RAR file you want to open on your Mac.
- Right-Click or Control-Click: Right-click (or Control-click) the RAR file to open a context menu.
- Select “Open With” and Choose WinRAR: Choose “Open With” from the context menu and select WinRAR from the list of suggested programs. If WinRAR isn’t shown, choose “Other” to search for it manually in your Applications folder and choose it.
- Extract the Contents: Once you’ve opened the RAR file with WinRAR, you’ll see the contents of the archive. Click on the “Extract To” button to choose the location where you want to extract the files.
- Choose Extraction Location: Browse to the desired extraction location on your Mac and click “OK” to start the extraction process.
How to create new RAR archive using command line:
- if you are willing to get access to the command line, click “Applications” -> “Utilities” -> “Terminal”
- change the actual path to the folder, which contains the file objects (files and directories) you want to compress
- type the following command without brackets and colons: “rar a source directory name archive name.rar”. In this command you should replace the source directory name and archive name parameters with the corresponding values. As a result, the contents of the source directory will be added to proper archive with defined name.
In general, the common commands, which you can type in the terminal, are represented on the screenshot:
How to extract files from the RAR archive using command line:
- in order to access the command line click “Applications” -> “Utilities” -> “Terminal”
- change the active path to the directory, which contains the proper archive file you want to decompress
- type the following command without colons and brackets: “unrar the archive name rar”
- the contents of the RAR-file will be decompressed into the active folder.
The logic and abilities of “unrar” command line utility are presented on the following screenshot:
The default RAR software does not give you the option to work with RAR archives using a graphical interface. Instead, you may make use of some of the other archivers that include the RAR module into its core features (like The Unarchiver, for instance). If you choose such an app, you won’t need to install RAR individually since it appears that this module is already included in the program’s distributive package.
Unleash RAR Archives with WinRAR
When WinRAR is on your side, opening RAR files on your Mac is a simple task. You can easily access the contents of RAR archives thanks to WinRAR‘s user-friendly interface and effective extraction features.
