How to Extract RAR files (Win+Mac)

RAR files are compressed files. You can identify the files with a .RAR extension. You can put a bundle of files and folders to create a compressed file utilizing an RAR archiver. Although, officially WinRAR is the archiver responsible for creating RAR files here we will take a look at how to extract RAR files on both Windows and Mac.

RAR files cannot be extracted by the built-in OS tools, that only works for ZIP files on both Linux and Mac. So, we have a couple of software utilities which can help extract RAR files on Windows and Mac.

How To Extract RAR files on Windows

• Using WinRAR

  
  1. Download and install WinRAR from its official download page.

  2. Search for the RAR file you want to extract. In this case, we have picked a sample file named “sample.rar” to extract.

  3. Simply right-click on the file to find the options to extract the RAR file. If you want to extract the files right there (in the same folder), you can go ahead clicking on “Extract Here“. In either case, if you want to set a file path, you can click on “Extract files” which would, in turn, ask you to specify the target location for extraction.

  The extraction should be quick enough if the RAR file is approximately bundled under 50 MB. If it is higher than that, it would take a couple of seconds to extract all the files inside it and so the time increases with the RAR file size.

• Using 7-Zip

  

  You can also try an alternative to WinRAR which is both open-source and available for free. Here are the steps you should follow while utilizing 7-Zip to extract RAR files.

  1. Download and install 7-Zip from its official site.

  2. After successful installation, search for the RAR file you want to extract.

  3. Right-click on the file you want to be extracted and then search for “7-Zip” in the options available as shown in the image above. You need to just hover your cursor over the 7-Zip option and then click on “Extract Here” to extract all the files and contents of the RAR file in the same location where the RAR file exists.

  If you want the files to be extracted elsewhere, you simply click on “Extract files” and then you will be required to specify the target storage location.

How To Extract RAR files on Mac

When on a Mac-powered system, you can open and extract ZIP files without the need of 3rd Party apps. However, you cannot extract RAR files without a software utility. Here, the software utility we are going to use to extract RAR files on Mac – The Unarchiver.

Steps to Extract RAR files on Mac Using The Unarchiver

1. Download and Install The Unarchiver from the app store.
2. After successful installation, search for the RAR file that you want to extract.
3. Simply right-click on the file you want to extract and then head for “Open With” option.
4. You need to select “The Unarchiver” after heading to the open with menu.
5. Create a folder on your desired location or simply select a folder on which you want to store the extracted files and click on “Extract“.

If you face any kind of trouble following this guide, let us know in the comments below.

Filed in Apple >Computers. Read more about Mac (Apple) and Windows.