Similar to ZIP files, RAR files are compressed. In this post, we’ll explain how to open RAR files on Windows and macOS.
Opening RAR Files on Windows
The RAR file format developers created WinRAR, which is the default option but is a paid application. The best option if you want to create RAR files is to use WinRAR. Nevertheless, the free and open-source 7-Zip program is a better option if all you need to do is extract a RAR file.
You’re ready to go after downloading and installing 7-Zip from their website. Any RAR file can be double-clicked to open in 7-ZIP and allow you to view or extract the contents. You do not even need to launch 7-Zip if you are certain that you want to extract the files.
Choose the ‘Extract’ option from the menu when you right-click any RAR file, based on where you want to extract the files. This will bring up the ‘7-Zip’ menu.
While there are other Windows programs that can extract RAR files, we suggest using 7-Zip since it is dependable, open source, and has the ability to extract tar.gz files among other things.
Opening RAR Files on macOS
Compared to the more widely used Windows platform, there are fewer options available on macOS for opening RAR files. For excellent support with multi-part archive files, we suggest the free app "The Unarchiver."
Double-clicking a file will allow you to extract a RAR archive once the file types have been associated.
On Linux, extracting a.RAR file is simple, but you’ll probably need to use your package manager to install the unrar package first.
What is a RAR File and How to Open One
As you transfer files for business purposes, you may eventually encounter a RAR file extension. The Roshal Archive Compressed file, or RAR file format for short, is a compressed archive created with WinRAR.
RAR files can be divided into multi-volume archives, and the compression allows several files to fit into a single, manageably sized archive for easy transfer.
WinZip can help if you find yourself unable to open a file with the RAR extension. You may be wondering why RAR files are utilized rather than ZIP files, which are computer natively immediately accessible.
Firstly, when sending a lengthy list of files—such as images or audio files—to a friend or colleague, combining them into a single downloadable RAR file will expedite the download and transfer times.
You can use WinZip if someone asks for something to be sent in RAR format or if you want to benefit from using a RAR format.
How to Decompress a RAR File on a Mac
RAR files cannot be opened or unzipped natively on macOS, in contrast to ZIP files. A few of the top RAR extractors available for Mac are UNZIP-ONLINE.COM, KEKA, and THE UNARCHIVER.
As long as it supports RAR files, you can use any file extractor from the Mac App Store, but The Unarchiver is incredibly simple to use.
Here’s how to use The Unarchiver to open RAR files on a Mac: On your Mac, download and install The Unarchiver. Click FILE when The Unarchiver is open. To Unarchive To, click… Pick out your RAR file. Press UNARCHIVE. Click EXTRACT after deciding where to store the extracted files. The location you specified will contain your files.
You can make The Unarchiver your default RAR app if you don’t want to open it or drag files onto its Dock icon.
The Unarchiver can be set as your default RAR extractor in the following ways: Use Finder to find your RAR file. Press and hold the RAR file, then choose GET INFO. Press OPEN WITH. ASK THE UNARCHIVER, please. Press CHANGE ALL. Select "Continue" A RAR file will use The Unarchiver to extract when you double-click it.
You can use an online extractor like Unzip Online if you need to extract a small RAR file without installing an app.
Here’s how to use Unzip Online to open RAR files on a Mac: Click CHOOSE FILE after navigating to the Unzip Online uncompress file page. Click UPLOAD after selecting the RAR file you wish to open. On UNCOMPRESS FILE, click. Await the completion of the extraction process. Select the desired file by clicking on it. Press ALLOW. Your Mac will download the file. To retrieve any additional files, click on them and save them using the same process.
Why Can’t I Open a RAR File?
One very popular example is the RAR format. Although this file type is fairly common, Windows 11 cannot open it without a specific program because it uses a proprietary file format.
Although there are currently a few programs that can open these files, WinRAR—which is also developed by Roshal—is one of the best options for doing so.
Run the INSTALLER and adhere to the instructions after downloading the file.
Double-click the rar file you wish to open after navigating to it. WinRAR will open it.
You can extract files to a permanent folder on your computer for convenient access, or you can double-click a file to temporarily extract it and open it right away.
To extract every file, either select every file (CTRL + A) or leave every file selected, and then select EXTRACT TO from the top toolbar.
When it’s done, you can use Windows File Explorer to access the folder where the files were extracted.
How to Open a RAR File Without Extracting It First
To access the contents of the RAR file without extracting it, use the command unrar -l file.rar.
There are numerous tools available to select the most recent file from the extracted set using a command if your requirements have changed.
For instance, the find command in Cygwin makes it simple to locate the most recent file in a directory.
If you have WinRAR installed by default on your computer, you can use PowerShell to locate the most recent file. To obtain a simple list of the files contained in the compressed archive (a.RAR file), type the following command in the winrar installation directory: rar /? | more to access additional options such as full technical listing (rar lta), archiving (rar a), extracting (rar x), etc.