The zip file is simply the compressed data presented as a single archive. For example, a single zip file may contain a handful of documents of various file types, or an entire folder of JPG files, or an application, or any such similar data.

You don’t so much open it as you extract it to reveal the contents of the zip archive. zip extension) is simply a container holding another file or files.

Wonder no more, it turns out that opening and unzipping files on a Mac is very easy thanks to the built-in Archive Utility tool. If you get a zip file you may be wondering how you can open the archive to view what it is and extract the internal components of the zip archive. zip archives are often created and used on Mac OS now too. Zip files are frequently encountered when downloading stuff from the web or elsewhere to a Mac, and while the Zip format used to be widely limited to the Windows world. Zip files are archives that function as a single compressed package of a either multiple files, a folder, or a single item.