7-Zip Alternative for Mac - Manage 7z Files with Commander One

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Does 7-Zip Work on Mac and Are There Any Alternatives?

May 15, 2024

You cannot open on your Mac 7z files without an archive management app. The extraction tool that 7-Zip offers for macOS is terminal-only, and its command-based interface is not convenient for an average user. Alternatively, here are some 7z Mac applications that have a graphical UI and are easier to use.

How to open 7z Mac archives on your computer? The native archiver in macOS can’t do it, and the official 7zip version for Mac is not user-friendly. But it’s not the only option. These 7 Zip Mac alternative apps aren’t just functional, they also have a graphical interface that lets you extract and compress with a few clicks.

The inability to open and work with 7z file does not necessarily mean that you do not have appropriate 7z extractor installed on your computer. There may be other problems that also block your ability to work with the 7z files. Below you can find a list of possible problems.

Damage of the opened 7z file. The workaround here is to find a new version of it or download it again from the same source (maybe for some reason in the previous session the download of the 7Z file has not been completed and it cannot be opened properly).
Incorrect links to the 7z file in registry entries.
Accidental deletion of the description of the 7z extension from the registry.
Incomplete installation of an application that supports 7z format.
The 7z file which is being opened is infected with an undesirable malware.
There is too little space on the computer to open the 7z file.

7z mac

If you are sure that all the listed reasons are missing in your case or you have already excluded them, then 7z file should cooperate with your 7z file manager without any problems. If the problem with “7ZIP cannot open file as archive” is still not solved, it may mean that in this case, another, rare problem appeared with the file. In this case, it remains only the help of some specialist.

7z files can be multi-volume archives that can be converted to one file after the archive has been transferred by volume. It should be noted that the 7z format does not support the storage of file system access rights (UNIX ACL or NTFG), i.e. using the 7z format for backup and archiving can be problematic due to the ability to bypass protection. Besides that, 7z format allows you to reach 4–25% better compression ratio than the ZIP format. 7z is considered to be “protected from obsolescence” because it is supported by a large number of new 7z extractor apps. Currently, 7z is an open-source extension available for public use since 2008.

Compression methods that support 7z files are LZMA, PPMD, BCJ, BZip2 and Deflate. The open architecture allows you to put methods of compression, conversion, and encryption in the queue. This type of files is used to store and send/receive very large files or their groups. Nevertheless, files with the extension .7z can be run only by some 7z Mac, Windows, Android, Linux programs. It is possible that .7z are data files, not documents or media, which means that they are not intended to be viewed at all.

Explanation of what a 7z file is

Commander One is a great 7 Zip alternative for Mac, in which you can create and extract archives just with a couple of clicks. It is a rather efficient file manager with a dual-pane interface and all the necessary features. It’s an all-in-one solution that’s suitable for all kinds of users, from newbies to savvy ones. The app doesn’t just work as a powerful archiver that supports all the popular archive types (TGZ, TBZ, ZIP, RAR, 7z, etc.), but it also provides access to cloud storages and remote servers directly through its interface and much more.

The Compress files pop-up menu of the Commander One is demonstrated

How to Compress Files in Commander One

Choose the files you want to compress. Ctrl-click them and from the context menu choose the “Compress selected file(s)” option. By default, all the archives will be saved in .zip format. However, you can easily change it to 7z in Commander One Preferences -> Archive Tab. After compressing the files the archive will appear in the same pane.
If you want to compress files and move 7 ZIP Mac archive to the second pane simultaneously, follow the steps below:

1

Set the source folder (directory) in one pane, and the target one in the other.

The source folder is in the left pane and the target folder is in the right pane of the Commander One app

2

Choose the files you want to archive and move in the left pane and the target directory in the right pane. After that, click the Archive toolbar button.

Files for compression are chosen in the left panel of the Commander One application

3

Select the archive type and customize compression settings.

Compress files pop-up menu of the Commander One utility is demonstrated

Tips: in order to open the archive to see its contents, click Enter. Use Alt + Enter to open the file in an archiver program. To compress files use Ctrl + F5 and if you need to compress with options use Ctrl + Alt + F5.