Compress Files serves two purposes: first it allows you to create and send archive files, second it lets you share files with people who work on a PC or Linux computer. Compress Files is very easy to use, with its three main functions (compress, email and archive) accessible from the top of the interface.
To act on a file all you need to do is drag it into the interface and select one of the three tabs. At the bottom of the interface, you'll see a list of three different items to check. When exchanging an archive with a PC or Linux computer we suggest checking both "Omit Mac-specific content files" and "Omit Finder desktop files". Not only will your archive be smaller, but it'll also spare your recipient of the typical .DS_Store files you get when normally transferring items from a Mac to a PC.
As for archiving, Compress Files offers you the most commonly used formats like Zip, Tar or 7Zip and can even create Mac DMG images. Compressing is usually pretty quick, but will also depend largely on the size of the file you are using. It's also important to note that the application will not decompress files for you.
In terms of drawbacks, we felt that Compress Files lacked extra information, particularly in the preferences menu, and the progress bar did not show clearly enough the progress in compression.
All in all, Compress Files is a handy tool to share files with other non-Mac computers.
Compress Files is an easy-to-use tool for compress, archive, encrypt files and omit Mac-specific invisible files.
Compress Files is an universal program for Mac OS X that enable Mac users to create Zip compressed and encrypted files; XAR archive files, 7zip and 7zip crypted archives, TAR archives; Gzip compressed archives; Bzip2 compressed archives and compressed and encrypted disk images.
Invisible Mac-specific files can be extremely annoying when you transfer Zip files to other systems. Windows and Linux make these files visible and they could create confusion to recipients that receive your files. Compress Files lets you specify if you want to omit Finder specific information (such as the .DS_Store files) and Mac specific file attributes (such as a resource fork) when creating Zip archives.
For high security, you can use Compress Files to encrypt part of your hard disk through the use of an encrypted disk image protected with a password. SecurityYou can then also email this disk image to other people who know the password. The image will show up as a volume on your desktop. When your Keychain is locked, or when you send that disk image file to another person, the image is secure. When your Keychain is unlocked, you can copy, move and delete files as you would on any normal hard disk.
To compress a file, simply drag and drop the file you want to compress onto the Compress Files icon. If Compress Files is closed, the program will launch and compress your files. You can also compress files by dragging files into the application window. Just launch Compress Files and the window will appear. You can compress more than one file by dragging multiple items onto Compress Files window, and you can also compress larger groups of files by placing them in a folder and dragging the whole folder onto Compress File.
Laws concerning the use of this software vary from country to country. We do not encourage or condone the use of this program if it is in violation of these laws. Softonic may receive a referral fee if you click or buy any of the products featured here.
