How to unzip compressed files?

[Philpippa]

Hi, I am new to the Apple environment, using MacBook Pro with latest OS so there is much I am still getting to grips with.
My immediate problem is how to unzip files. I have downloaded a language course ( a number of large compressed files). I think I need an app to open these but there seem to be so many, I'm not sure what to choose. And then actually to make it work! Any recommendations or advice would be very welcome.

 

[honestone]

Recent versions of the Apple OS came with a program to unzip compressed files. All you should need to do is to double click on the uncompressed file "icon". If the original, uncompressed file was a program, then after it is uncompressed, another folder (with the same name) will be created, and inside that folder, there will be a .dmg file. You would then need to double click that, and follow the instructions.

 

[Spawn_Dooley]

As honestone writes, a simple double-click on the compressed file/s is sufficient enough to open them for viewing ... what is the file extension? .zip, .rar ??

 

[tompatrick]

Extracting all the files from an archive is very easy. Just double click on it-the files and folders will be deposited in the same location as the zip, and then the zip can be deleted.

And, if you want to decompress an archive that is not a zip- a .rar file, then install The Unarchiver Software. This is completely free and available in the App store.