zipeg

One tool that former Windows users miss when they switch to Mac is WinRAR. WinRAR is a powerful archiver that seems to have been with us since the dawn of time and the good news is there is Mac version - simply called RAR. However, it's an absolute pain to use because there's no Graphical User Interface - it only works from the command line in Terminal and it's not even free.

For those new to Macs, this is obviously really annoying so here are a few free alternatives to archive and unarchive RAR files on your Mac.

Zipeg Exactly what a RAR archiver should be on the Mac. Simply drag and drop a file onto the main interface and Zipeg unzips them in a jiffy. There's also a cool preview function which allows you to see what you are going to decompress before you do it. This is great if you can't remember what's in a file or are suspicious about its contents. It supports a huge variety of archive formats from ZIP and RAR to TAR and 7Z.

RarMachine If Zipeg is too complicated for you, then you can't really go wrong with RarMachine. This simple tool is rather limited by the fact it only handles RAR files, but all you have to do is drag and drop files into the small interface to archive and unarchive RAR files. It's not free to use anymore but for a modest $7 to upgrade, it's hardly going to break the bank.

RAR Expander This is another tool limited to RAR formats but unlike RarMachine, it is completely free to use. It has a simple user interface with which you use to open archives by browsing to them. It supports both single and multi-part archives, and has support for password-protected archives as well. It also uses the official unRAR library internally so it is fully compatible with archives produced by WinRAR.

Normally, when it comes to decompressing image files, you don't really know what you are going to get until it's done. However, with Zipeg, you can see exactly what's inside a compressed file before you even start the compression process. Zipeg displays images in thumbnail format so there's no need for you to wait ages for the decompression process is finished to know what you are going to get. Best of all, it's totally free.

Of course, it unzips non-image files also and can do everything that WinZip and WinRAR can. It supports a huge variety of archive formats including ZIP, RAR, ARJ, LHA/LZH, 7z, TAR, GZ and WAR and EAR. It supports dragging and dropping so you can extract or unzip items simply by dragging them into the interface which is well presented, elegant and simple to use. If you've got a huge batch of files to unzip, you can leave it decompressing in the background whilst you work. The only downside is that sometimes, the thumbnail previews take a few moments to appear although it's still much quicker than unzipping an archive to see whats inside.