Worth When Reviewed

Mac App Retailer: $4.99 (presents in-app purchases); Direct from developer: Donationware

Greatest Costs Right now

Way back, we compressed, sliced, and diced massive doc information and purposes, caught them on collection of 1.44MB floppies, and handed them round. When bulletin board techniques and the nascent web allow us to add information, the low speeds and scarce storage meant each bit—not simply byte—counted. We dwell in fashionable occasions, however file archives for group, correct transmission with out loss, compression, and encryption nonetheless abound for individuals who use desktop computer systems and server techniques. E-mail presents countless methods to damage file attachments in transmission, and compressed file archives sometimes bypass these issues.

Keka is an ideal accomplice for any Mac proprietor’s wants for file archiving and extraction. First launched in 2009, the app continues to mature, and the developer provides codecs and extra options on a relentless drumbeat. Keka additionally manages the neat trick of getting a deeply technical function, and but being usable with out particular coaching. These with particular necessities in creating archives can dial in simply what they need; those that obtain a file or archive and are attempting to extract it right into a usable format must know virtually nothing to proceed besides the right way to drag and drop or double-click.

Drag information or teams of information onto Keka’s Dock icon. and it builds a file archive (if mandatory), then compresses the file into your default format. It prompts for added choices that require intervention, like choosing a file title and vacation spot. You can even grant permission to a Finder extension to invoke Keka from the Finder through a right-click. Choose a number of information and right-click to decide on Keka > Compress to or Keka > Compress to Right here: the primary choice helps you to choose a vacation spot; the second leaves the ensuing file archive in the identical folder because the sources gadgets.

You need to use Keka to extract information or directories in 31 codecs and create them in 14. Why asymmetrical? Some codecs, like Microsoft’s .exe binary executable format, can comprise file archives that Keka can entry, however the app isn’t designed to create the required wrapper to supply a file in that format. Nevertheless, Keka can create archives in Apple’s mountable disk-image format, DMG, and within the broadly supported ISO disk picture format.

Keka has a characteristic that at one time was completely mandatory, as I discussed earlier, however can nonetheless be useful in the present day: you may set it to interrupt archives into chunks of a selected dimension. This requires utilizing a supporting format, however a number of enable this, equivalent to ZIP, bzip2, and gzip. Even with the pace and storage of the fashionable web, you should still balk at requiring individuals obtain a monolithic 50GB archive and like to supply 50 numbered downloads of 1GB every. Conversely, Keka can assemble sequentially numbered archive segments created utilizing commonplace strategies.

The one lacking piece from Keka is providing a immediate for a password when compressing in a file format that helps it, like ZIP. As an alternative, create a brand new compression doc through File > New, enter and confirm a password, after which compress the file or information.

Keka requires a separate app to set it because the default software for archive extraction and file decompression.

Keka is free when downloaded instantly from the developer’s web site and $4.99 through the Mac App Retailer. The App Retailer charge and direct donations made by way of the web site help the app’s ongoing improvement. The web site maintains variations for obtain which are suitable relationship again to MacOS X 10.4.

In case you want extra choices than Apple’s default ZIP compression and growth device, routinely work with quite a lot of codecs, or sometimes want the oddball growth of an archive you’ve by no means seen earlier than, Keka neatly fills all these wants.

That is Keka’s first look as a Mac Gem.

Mac Gems highlights nice nuggets of Mac software program, apps which have a excessive utility, have a pointy give attention to a restricted set of issues to unravel, and are typically developed by a person or small firm. With the robust resurgence of the Mac in recent times, we wish to rejoice instruments we use and that readers advocate to benefit from your macOS expertise. Keep tuned for weekly updates, and ship your recommendations to the Mac Gems Twitter feed (@macgems).