In the Terminal app on your Mac, use the mv command to move files or folders from one location to another on the same computer. The mv command moves the file or folder from its old location and puts it in the new location. For example, to move a file from your Downloads folder to a Work folder in your Documents folder:% mv /Downloads/MyFile. Use the -s switch on the zip command in terminal. So if your folder was called FolderName. Zip -r -s 64 archive.zip FolderName/. 64 is the size of the split (in this case 64Mb). Use -s to set the split size and create a split archive. The size is given as a number followed optionally by one of k (kB), m (MB), g (GB), or t (TB) (the default is m).

In the case of multiple files, you’ll see one query for each file. You’re telling Terminal to delete that folder, any files it. Say you can’t empty the Trash on your Mac.

The Terminal app allows you to control your Mac using a command prompt. Why would you want to do that? Well, perhaps because you’re used to working on a command line in a Unix-based system and prefer to work that way. Terminal is a Mac command-line interface. There are several advantages to using Terminal to accomplish some tasks — it’s usually quicker, for example. In order to use it, however, you’ll need to get to grips with its basic commands and functions. Once you’ve done that, you can dig deeper and learn more commands and use your Mac’s command prompt for more complex, as well as some fun, tasks.

Curated Mac apps that keep your Mac’s performance under control. Avoid Terminal commands; avoid trouble.

Download Free

How to open Terminal on Mac

The Terminal app is in the Utilities folder in Applications. To open it, either open your Applications folder, then open Utilities and double-click on Terminal, or press Command-space to launch Spotlight and type 'Terminal,' then double-click the search result.

You’ll see a small window with a white background open on your desktop. In the title bar are your username, the word 'bash,' and the window's dimensions in pixels. Bash stands for 'Bourne again shell.' There are a number of different shells that can run Unix commands, and on the Mac, Bash is the one used by Terminal.

If you want to make the window bigger, click on the bottom right corner and drag it outwards. If you don’t like the black text on a white background, go to the Shell menu, choose New Window and select from the options in the list. Mac eliscenser emulator.

If Terminal feels complicated or you have issues with the setup, let us tell you right away that there are alternatives. MacPilot allows getting access to over 1,200 macOS features without memorizing any commands. Basically, a third-party Terminal for Mac that acts like Finder.

For Mac monitoring features, try iStat Menus. The app collects data like CPU load, disk activity, network usage, and more — all of which are accessible from your menu bar.

Basic Mac commands in Terminal

The quickest way to get to know Terminal and understand how it works is to start using it. But before we do that, it’s worth spending a little time getting to know how commands work. To run a command, you just type it at the cursor and hit Return to execute.

Mac terminal zip multiple files free

Every command comprises three elements: the command itself, an argument that tells the command what resource it should operate on, and an option that modifies the output. So, for example, to move a file from one folder to another on your Mac, you’d use the 'move' command mv and then type the location of the file you want to move, including the file name and the location where you want to move it to.

Let’s try it.

  1. Typecd ~/Documentsthen and press Return to navigate to your Home folder.

  2. Type lsthen Return (you type Return after every command).

Mac terminal zip multiple files in adobe indesign

You should now see a list of all the files in your Documents folder — ls is the command for listing files.

To see a list of all the commands available in Terminal, hold down the Escape key and then press ywhen you see a question asking if you want to see all the possibilities. To see more commands, press Return.

Unix has its own built-in manual. So, to learn more about a command type man [name of command], where 'command' is the name of the command you want to find out more about.

Terminal rules

There are a few things you need to bear in mind when you’re typing commands in Terminal or any other command-line tool. Firstly, every character matters, including spaces. So when you’re copying a command you see here, make sure you include the spaces and that characters are in the correct case.

You can’t use a mouse or trackpad in Terminal, but you can navigate using the arrow keys. Microsoft access 2011. If you want to re-run a command, tap the up arrow key until you reach it, then press Return. To interrupt a command that’s already running, type Control-C.

Commands are always executed in the current location. So, if you don’t specify a location in the command, it will run wherever you last moved to or where the last command was run. Use the cdcommand, followed by a directory path, like in Step 1 above, to specify the folder where you want a command to run.

There is another way to specify a location: go to the Finder, navigate to the file or folder you want and drag it onto the Terminal window, with the cursor at the point where you typed the path.

Here’s another example. This time, we’ll create a new folder inside your Documents directory and call it 'TerminalTest.'

  1. Open a Finder window and navigate to your Documents folder.

  2. Type cd and drag the Documents folder onto the Terminal window.

  3. Now, type mkdir 'TerminalTest'

Go back to the Finder, open Text Edit and create a new file called 'TerminalTestFile.rtf.' Now save it to the TerminalTest folder in your Documents folder.

In the Terminal window, type cd ~/Documents/TerminalTest then Return. Now type lsand you should see 'TerminalTestFile' listed.

Mac terminal zip multiple files for email

To change the name of the file, type this, pressing Return after every step:

  1. cd~/Documents/Terminal Test

  2. mv TerminalTestFile TerminalTestFile2.rtf

That will change the name of the file to 'TerminalTestFile2'. You can, of course, use any name you like. The mv command means 'move,' and you can also use it to move files from one directory to another. In that case, you’d keep the file names the same, but specify another directory before typing the second instance of the name, like this:

mv ~/Documents/TerminalTest TerminalTestFile.rtf ~/Documents/TerminalTest2 TerminalTestFile.rtf

More advanced Terminal commands

Terminal can be used for all sorts of different tasks. Some of them can be performed in the Finder but are quicker in Terminal. Others access deep-rooted parts of macOS that aren’t accessible from the Finder without specialist applications. Here are a few examples.

Copy files from one folder to another
  1. In a Terminal window, type ditto [folder 1] [folder 2]where 'folder 1' is the folder that hosts the files and 'folder 2' is the folder you want to move them to.

  2. To see the files being copied in the Terminal window, type -vafter the command.

Download files from the internet

You’ll need the URL of the file you want to download to use Terminal for this.

  1. cd ~/Downloads/

  2. curl [URL of the file you want to download]

If you want to download the file to a directory other than your Downloads folder, replace ~/Downloads/ with the path to that folder, or drag it onto the Terminal window after typing the cd command.

Change the default location for screenshots

If you don’t want macOS to save screenshots to your Desktop when you press Command-Shift-3, you can change the default location in Terminal.

  1. defaults write com.apple.screencapture location

    [path to the folder where you want screenshots to be saved]

  2. Hit Return.

  3. killall SystemUIServer

  4. Hit Return.

Change the default file type for screenshots

By default, macOS saves screenshots as .png files. To change that to .jpg, do this:

  1. defaults write com.apple.screencapture type JPG

  2. Press Return.

  3. killall SystemUIServer

  4. Press Return.

Delete all files in a folder

The command used to delete or remove files in Terminal is rm. So, for example, if you wanted to remove a file in your Documents folder named 'oldfile.rtf,' you’d use cd ~/Documents it to go to your Documents folder then delete the file. As it stands, that will delete the file without further intervention from you.

Mac Terminal Zip Multiple Files

If you want to confirm the file to be deleted, use -i as in
rm -i oldfile.rtf

To delete all the files and sub-folders in a directory named 'oldfolder,' the command is rm -R oldfolderand to confirm each file should be deleted, rm -iR oldfolder

Just because you can use Terminal to delete files on your Mac doesn’t mean you should. It’s a relatively blunt instrument, deleting only those files and folders you specify.

Another way to free up space

If your goal in removing files or folders is to free up space on your Mac or to remove junk files that are causing your Mac to run slowly, it’s far better to use an app designed for the purpose. CleanMyMac X is one such app.

Files

It will scan your Mac for files and recommend which ones you can delete safely, as well as telling you how much space you’ll save. And once you’ve decided which files to delete, you can get rid of them with a click. You can download CleanMyMac X here.

As you can see, while Terminal may look scary and seem like it’s difficult to use, it really isn’t. The key is learning a few commands, such as those we’ve outlined above, and getting to know the syntax for those commands.

However, you should be careful when using Terminal; it’s a powerful tool that has deep access to your Mac’s system files. Check commands by googling them if you’re not sure what they do. And if you need to delete files to save space, use an app like CleanMyMac X to do it. It’s much safer!

By Gina Barrow, Last updated: August 27, 2019

Are you new to compressing folders onMac? Today we will find out everything there is to know about how folder compression works, how to process it, why it is important and what are the best ways to efficiently and easily compress folders on Mac.

Part 1. Brief Introduction to Compressing Folders

File compression began way back in the 1970s where scientists were searching for ways to reduce file sizes through working with algorithms. Since then, the development of various computing processes and technologies kept on evolving until today.

What is a Zip File?

A zip file is an archive format that is supported by lossless compression. It allows a number of compression algorithms which reduces the file size. Today, we can easily locate a zip file because its extension ends with .ZIP/.zip (for multimedia files: application/zip) and with the zipper icon.

It was first used publicly by Phil Katz in 1989, in replacement to the ARC compression format made by Thom Henderson.

How does compression work on Mac?

If you work with data transfers almost every day, files compression could be your ultimate solution for ease of use, size, and transfer time.

Just like we mentioned earlier, compressing files takes up lesser disk space, and files can be easily sent and received more quickly.

Mac Terminal Zip Multiple Files Into One

Compression is done by working with the computer codes and has two different types:

Types of Compression

There are two types of compression known today, first is lossless and the next is lossy. Lossless compression is focused more on searching long codes and replaces them with shorter ones and recreates the same exact file.

Lossy compression, on the other hand, searches for codes it can delete and mostly used for multimedia files. A file on lossy compression seems to be identical but is entirely different at the code level.

Part 2. Advantages of Compressing Folders on Mac

Every byte counts if you're short on disk space or when you're sending a large file over the Internet. This is where file compression comes in. File compression has several advantages that users can highly benefit from.

Storage Space

Lossless compression, used in zip file technology, can reduce a file to 50 percent from its original size. Some files such as documents can be zipped and reduced to 90% from its original size. Thus file compression saves you a lot of space in your disk and you can use it for more important storage options.

Transfer Speed

If you happen to notice that all your downloads are in kept inside zipped files, this is because it takes a faster time to transfer these data when they are compressed rather than individually.

These compressed files use lesser bandwidths (the speed used for network transfers).

Cost

Using archives or software for file compression can save you lots of money because it reduces the cost of purchasing a new hard drive for more storage. If all files inside your desktop are organized and compressed, you will have more space to use for other programs required by the system.

Part 3. How to Compress Folders on Mac Using PowerMyMac – Unarchiver

FoneDog PowerMyMac – Unarchiver is a powerful tool you can use in compressing and decompressing files on Mac. This special program has a complete toolkit that works seamlessly to any issues hindering you from getting the most from your device.

This software can be anything you need, a Mac cleaner, optimizer, keeper, uninstaller, unarchiver, and many more.

FoneDog PowerMyMac – Unarchiveralso supports decompressing of files from .RAR and .7z on Mac. Using this tool is so easy!

  • Simply launch FoneDog PowerMyMac – Unarchiverand proceed to Unarchiver under Toolkit. Meanwhile, you can also choose to scan your Mac to check its health status from the main menu.
  • Select or drag/drop the files you want to decompress. Click Compress to continue
  • Wait until the program successfully finishes decompressing

To compress files on your Mac and you got the program installed; all you need is to double-click on the file/s and it will be zipped into .RAR or .72 file format. All files you have compressed and decompressed will have the PowerMyMac icon beside.

Part 4. How to Compress Folders on Mac Manually

Compressing files or folders on Mac is so easy because it already has a built-in compression and decompression option which uses ZIP file format. Each Mac has different compression capabilities depending on its processor. Some file compression can take time especially if you are using older models. Macs with faster processors and bigger RAM can compress and decompress files quicker.

How to zip a file on Mac?

Right-Click

  1. Choose the file/folder you want to compress from Finder
  2. Right-click on the file to show the pop-up menu. You can also use CTRL + Click
  3. Select Compress + your file name
  4. Wait until Mac successfully compresses your file. You can now see that the file/s ends in .ZIP
  5. You can now delete the original file (optional)

People Also ReadHow to Clean up A Mac17 Reasons Why Your Mac Running Slow!

Using terminal

You can also opt to use the terminal in archiving and compressing files. Simply use the command:

zip archive.zip file.txt

Alternatively, you can use the drag & drop support, by typing ‘zip’ as usual but drop the file/s to compress into the Terminal command.

How to compress multiple folders at a time?

  1. Select the file/folder you need to compress in finder
  2. Right-click on the file/folder and select “Compress __ items”
  3. Wait until compression is done and check the file/folders ending in.ZIP
  4. Multiple files or folders compressed will end in Archive.zip

How to Open a Zip file on Mac:

  • Double-click the zip file/folder you need to decompress

Mac Terminal Zip Multiple Files Download

If you are unzipping a single file, it will have the same file name as the original file but with a number appended.

For zip files containing multiple items, the unzipped files will be decompressed and saved in a folder that has the same name as the zip (for example Archive.Zip) but it will be named Archive only.

Part 5. Conclusion

Compressing files and foldersonMac does not need to be intimidating. If you want to practice saving more space and enjoy faster data transfer, you can conveniently use the built-in compressor on your Mac. Otherwise, if you need more tools to keep up with all you need, try FoneDog PowerMyMac. It has all the complete and comprehensive solution!

Mac Terminal Zip Multiple Files Online

Do you have any concerns regarding compressing your files on Mac? Comment us below!

>Mac >New to Compress Folders on Mac? Here’s What You Need to Know

Open Zip File Terminal

Comment ()