Being a recent Mac switcher, it’s taken some time to get used to the way OS X handles tasks. I’ve adapted to closing applications differently, DMG installs, etc.; but one thing I haven’t been able to adapt to is the way OS X handles ZIP files. On Windows before you extract an archive, you have the chance to see what’s in an archive, and you can even limit the amount of files that you extract. OS X doesn’t quite work that way. It has a built-in ZIP program, but there is no such thing as a preview. You have to extract the whole archive just to see the contents, and that quickly becomes annoying. Sure, it’s not so bad with Safari, since Safari automatically unzips and throws away the original ZIP file, but use any other browser and you’ll instantly get a download directory cluttered with unzipped folders and ZIP files.

Luckily there is a program out there that handles ZIP files just the way I like. It’s called BetterZip, and it’s the answer to all my ZIP problems. BetterZip handles archives in a similar fashion to Windows programs such as WinRAR or WinZIP. Instead of just assuming that you want to extract an archive, BetterZip gives you the chance to see what’s in an archive first. Not only can you preview the contents of the archive, but you can easily extract only certain files; perfect for those large archives with only one file that you want.

Don’t think that BetterZip’s feature list stops there. BetterZip is also a ZIP compressor, and it does a better job (as expected) than OS X’s native ZIP compressor. When using BetterZip to create ZIPs, all you have to do is drag the files to BetterZip’s interface window and create the archive from there. No temporary folders required! Even better, BetterZip can remove all the Mac OS X specific files from your archive; a big plus for any Mac user distributing cross-platform archives.

Finally, don’t let the name fool you. BetterZip does more than just ZIP files. It currently supports ZIP, TAR, GZip, and BZip with support for RAR and 7-zip coming in the next version. And, the formats don’t stop there. The BetterZip developer will add any file-format to BetterZip’s arsenal as long as there are libraries or command line tools which can be redistributed freely. So, if BetterZip doesn’t handle that wacky archive, head over to the support forums and request it to be added to BetterZip.

Now besides the features, there are a ton of other great reasons to check out BetterZip. First of all, BetterZip is a Universal Binary, so if you have an Intel Mac, unarchiving will fly right along, unlike StuffIt. Next, this amazing, feature-rich program is made by only one person, Robert Rezabek. I know, I was astounded when I first heard that. Robert must have spent countless hours working on it, because it looks like it was made by a team of developers who have spent years developing software for Mac. Finally, BetterZip is only $19.95, a perfect price point for the amazing functionality that you get with this software.

So, if you’re looking for a better way to unarchive on the Mac, look no further than BetterZip. You won’t regret giving it a try.