More often than not, it is likely you must have come in contact with a RAR file on your PC. If you have ever seen that and you wonder how you can open RAR files extension, you are in the right place as we will guide you through all the processes you will need to know. You just have have to read on and see how that can be done. Read on.

To open a RAR file extension on your MAC or Windows, you will need a special software. RAR is actually the native format of an archive program called WinRAR. The only problem with using WinRAR is that it’s not free! Before you run off and buy it, however, you should know that there are plenty of free RAR openers that can do the exact same thing but at zero cost. This is what we want to show you here.

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What Is RAR File?

A RAR file (short for a Roshal Archive Compressed file) is a compressed file, or data container, that holds one or more other files and folders inside of it. Simply put, a RAR file is like a regular folder on your computer, where there are sometimes many other files and folders inside of it for the purpose of organizing them. But like we pointed out above, we will show you the free software you can use to open this file easily.

How To Open Rar Files Extension On Windows

Just like we pointed out earlier, if you do not have the about $29 subscription fee for using the WinRAR software, there are many other files you can use to open RAR files extension. Let’s show you.

WinZip

Winzip is a software used to open RAR files extension easily. You can download a WinZip software by visiting this site here. After downloading, follow the steps below.

How to open RAR files With WinZip

1. Save the .rar file to the desktop. If your compressed file was downloaded from a website, it may be saved in the Downloads folder in your Documents or user directory.
2. Launch WinZip from your start menu or Desktop shortcut. Open the compressed file by clicking File > Open. If your system has the compressed file extension associated with WinZip program, just double-click on the file.
3. Select all the files and folders inside the compressed file. Or multi-select only the files or folders you want to open by holding the CTRL key and left-clicking on them.
4. Click 1-click Unzip and choose Unzip to PC or Cloud in the WinZip toolbar under the Unzip/Share tab.
5. Choose the destination folder to place the extracting files and click “Unzip” button.
6. Find your extracted files in the destination folder.

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7-ZIP

This is another software used to open WINRAR files extension on Windows. Here is how you can use this easily.

1. Download 7-Zip software here.
2. Launch the software open on your system.
3. Locate the RAR file you wish to open within the main 7-Zip interface. Alternatively, right-click the file and select the Open option near the top of the resulting drop-down menu.
4. Double-click the RAR file to launch it in the appropriate program, or if you wish to save the file elsewhere on your computer, highlight the file in question and click the Copy button housed beneath the navigation bar.

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How To Open Rar Files Extension On Mac

Let’s see how you can open RAR files on your MAC. We recommend using the UNARCHIVER

1. Navigate to the Unarchiver download page and click the Download option in the middle of the page, or head over to the App Store to download the application. Afterward, extract the file and launch the program.
2. Once opened, ensure the box beside RAR Archive is checked — along with any other archive types you wish to open with the Unarchiver — and click the Extraction tab located at the top of the application window.
3. Afterward, select your save location for the resulting file from the drop-down menu near the top of the window, control-click the RAR file you wish to open and choose the Unarchiver from the drop-down menu beside the Open With option.
4. The utility will then automatically create and save a file with the same name as the RAR file in the previously specified location.
5. Then, simply double-click the RAR file to launch it in the appropriate program.

Conclusion

You’ll probably only run into a RAR file when you’re downloading computer software. File sharing websites and software distributors sometimes put their files in a RAR file so that they can compress it down to a smaller size, allowing you to download it faster than you otherwise could.

So, use any of these means listed above to unpack or open them and start using.

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