A RAR file is a compressed archive file that is similar to a ZIP file in that it may contain one or many files and folders in one compressed file. The RAR file format was a branch from the ZIP compression technique which results in file size averaging up to 30 percent smaller than a ZIP file. The drawback to the file format as compared to a ZIP file is that it will take a longer period of time to create the RAR archive than a ZIP file from the same source material. The RAR format also has greater support for internationalization and files with non-English alphabet-based file names. The compression standard used in RARs uses a loss-less compression ensuring that no data is lost during file compression or decompression. This along with the international support has made the archive format more popular in countries such as Russia that do not have native languages based on the Latin alphabet.
How to Unzip RAR Files in Windows
Unfortunately, there is no built-in support for the RAR compression format in the Windows operating system. A popular open-source, solution to compress and decompress RAR files is the 7-zip open source project hosted at Source Forge.
Step 1 – Download and install the 7-Zip executable from the project home page.
Step 2 – Right click the RAR file you want to extract.
Step 3 – Select the “Extract File” menu option and choose the folder to save the files from the RAR file.
Step 4 – Alternatively, you can select the “Extract Here” menu option to save the files saved in the RAR file to the local directory.
How to Unzip RAR Files in OS X
Most current versions of OS X come with Stuffit Expander already installed. The Stuffit compression application provides support for ZIP and RAR file compression and decompression.
Step 1 – Double click the RAR file you want to unzip.
Step 2 – Choose the location to save the file on your computer and drag the files from the archive to the location.
Step 3 – Exit the Stuffit application by clicking the “X” at the top corner of the application.
