Have you ever wondered how to open RAR files for free on Windows 10 or your Mac PC? Well, we will show you. A RAR file contains multiple files that have been compressed to save storage space and also for easy email transfer.
In case you just downloaded or received a RAR file with .rar file extension, and you don’t know how to open it, don’t worry, we’ll take you through how to easily open it. Using some free RAR file extractor software, know that you can easily open RAR files on Windows 8/8.1/10 and Mac.
How to Open RAR Files on Windows 10 And Mac
There are numerous applications that can open RAR files on Windows 10. This includes WinRAR, WinZip, 7-Zip. These applications are the most common ones. We will show you how to open the RAR file using WinRAR and WinZip.
Open RAR Files on Windows 10 with WinZip
WinZip is another popular file archiver and compressor for Windows, macOS, iOS, and Android. It is mainly used to zip and unzip files on Windows OS such as Windows 7, Windows 8, Windows 8.1, and Windows 10, but it also allows you to open RAR files, 7z, CAB, ISO, and other file formats.
WinZip also offers a free 21 days trial. To open RAR files on windows 10 using this application, follow the steps below. This implies that you’d have only 21 days to use the WinZip file extractor without paying a dime.
- To begin with, download and install WinZip on your Windows 10/8/7 computer from the WinZip official download site here.
- Afterward, launch WinZip utility by clicking its desktop shortcut or open it from the Start menu.
- Proceed by clicking on the file then Open (from PC/Cloud) to open the compressed RAR file in WinZip software.
- Then, select all the files and folders in the RAR folder. Alternatively, you can select some files/folders by holding the Ctrl key on your keyboard at the same time to select more than one file.
- Following this, you can click the Unzip/Share tab at the toolbar.
- Click 1–click Unzip icon and select Unzip to My PC or Cloud.
- Then, continue to select a destination folder to save the extracted RAR files.
- Click the Unzip button.
Open RAR Files on Windows 10 with WinRAR
To use WinRAR, windows users need to pay $29 for the premium version. This will enable you to view RAR and Zip formats and also unzip some other archive file formats as well. WinRAR also has an android version available, called RAR for Android. To open RAR files on Windows using this application, follow the steps below.
- To begin with, you need to have the WinRAR application installed on your windows computer. To do this, just go to WinRAR official download website here to download and install the compatible version of WinRAR.
- Then, go to File Explorer in Windows to locate and double-click on the RAR file. This will automatically open in WinRAR.
- Afterward, just select the RAR folder in WinRAR Window, and click on the Extract To icon at the toolbar. Then, select a destination path or create a new folder to store the RAR files in the pop-up window.
- Finally, click OK to extract the RAR folder. After the RAR file extraction process is finished, you will be able to open and view the RAR files.
Open RAR files on Mac
To open RAR on your Macbook is very easy using the Unarchiver tool. Just follow the steps explained below.
- Start off by downloading and installing the Unarchiver tool from its official site here. Unfortunately, the software only supports mac OS 10.7 or later, so ensure it can work with your computer before you proceed to download it.
- After the download, launch it so as to select the archive file types you want to use it to open.
- Open the Finder app on your computer.
- Then, find and select your RAR file, which you will find on the left side of the Finder window on your computer screen.
- Afterward, click the on the File menu
- Select Open from the drop-down list, an also select the Unarchiver app.
- Next, select a folder from the left column to make the destination for storing your extracted RAR file.
- Then finally click on the Extract button to convert the RAR file to a more accessible folder. Once this is completed, you can then open the extracted folder and view it normally.
You can also use other RAR openers like Keka and RAR Extractor Free on your Macbook.
Also, read how to open a zip file here.
Conclusion
Opening RAR files on your computer is not really a big deal. You can follow the steps explained above to open and view RAR files easily either on a Windows 10 or Mac Computer. These options are also free and can be carried out in such a short time.
Also, bear in mind that both windows and Mac have a wide range of applications you can choose from to open your RAR files. This enables you to switch options as you please just in case you are not comfortable using a particular one.