Though modern operating systems can view the contents of a zipped folder without having to unzip or decompress the files inside, you typically need to decompress the file before you can use any of the zipped files. zip, which is supported by both macOS and Windows, along with other operating systems such as Android. “Zip” itself refers to the file type of a compressed file. Set cmd to 'zip -P ' & passwd & ' -rj ' & zipFile & ' ' & itemStr & ' -x *.“Zipping” a file simply means using a utility on your Mac to compress a file or folder down to a much smaller size, without losing any quality in the file or folder. Set zipFile to quoted form of (parentFolder & archiveFileName)

Set parentFolder to POSIX path of (container of thisItem as alias) Set itemPath to quoted form of (POSIX path of thisItem) Set archiveFileName to archiveName & suffix & '.zip' Set archiveFile to ((container of (item 1 of input) as Unicode text) & archiveFileName) Set archiveFileName to archiveName & '.zip' Set archiveName to text returned of dialogResults on run default button 'OK' with hidden answer) Scroll down to the “Services” Menu and select the service with the name you just saved as. Change “Service receives selected” to Files or folders in “Finder.app”Īdd the “Run Applescript” step and then copy the code below and replace all the code in the “Run Applescript” command with this code.Ĭhoose save, naming it something like “Make Protected Zip”, then test it by going to the finder and selecting one or more files/folders. OpenAutomator and choose “Service” (the gear). There are are several options out there, but this method from Macworld has seemed to work great.

Later, I thought this might be something I’d need to do again and I wondered if there might be a way to turn this into a service or app. zip -er FILENAME.zip FILESorFOLDERStoCOMPRESS

First change your directory in the terminal as this will eliminate the user path file structure being included in the saved zip. I was able to quickly complete the task using the Terminal and entering the following command string thanks to an article I found on.

However, I wanted to secure the contents (even just a little) before sending. I recently needed to provide some sensitive documents to someone and the quickest method was email.

Osx password protect zip