How to Mac UnRar

abmefaq.net usenethelp@codeccorner codeccorner.com
Beginning the Use of Mac UnRar version 1.1 by mjello with corrections by DavidM
Please note the "usenethelp@codeccorner.com" address above. This primer will be relocating there during the summer.

Comments
Step By Step for OSX
Smart Par (osX)
MacUnRar (osX)
Maybe soon for OS 9
Instruction Links

Why only on OS X? The only unRARing tool for OS9 is “MacUNRAR”. It’s now four years old, and few, if any, have been able to get it to work reliably. The tools for OS X work so smoothly that it’s not worth the struggle. Granted, only about 10% of the Mac user base has switched to OS X, but the only alternative, if you must work in OS 9 or below, is to use VirtualPC to run Windows in emulation.

Un-RAR-ing on the Mac (OS X only) First issue: filename truncation
As a general proposition, Windows allows filenames of up to 255 characters in length. While Mac OsX also has this ability, the MacUnRar program only allows filenames of up to 31 characters in length. Therefor, the RAR’s you download on the Mac may have their filenames severely squashed. Watch….

becomes this on the Mac:

Note that the one filename from the PC directory that was under 31 characters survived. So, how to make sense of the scrambled filenames? As on the PC, run the parity file first: double-click on the PAR file. MacPAR deLuxe will run and you’ll see a screen like this:

Note what MacPAR deLuxe is telling you. First, it knows that the filenames have been mangled. Second, it knows what they should be. Third, it knows that all the files are present. The PAR file works even though its own name has been mangled as well.

In the event that you don’t have all the RAR’s, but you do have enough Pnn’s to reconstruct the archive, you’ll get a screen like this:

With MacPAR deLuxe set at the defaults, it first notes what’s missing, then it looks for parity files, and then it uses the parity files to rebuild the missing RAR(s). Just like on the PC. Again, note that it doesn’t matter if the Pnn filename has been mangled.

Now, to extract the contents of the archive. Here’s your New and Improved set of RAR’s:

Double click on any one of them. UnRarX will run and display a screen like this:

Note that the default “Extract to:” directory is the directory the RAR’s are in.
If you need a password, run UnRarX first, set the password, then extract the archive. If you don’t, you’ll get a string of error msgs instead of a clip. Your RAR directory now looks like this:

with a new folder (named with the name of the archive), inside of which is the contents of the archive.
If the clip is playable in QuickTime, you can view information about the clip while it is playing:

Un-Raring in OS 9 We hope to offer something on this soon.

Advanced Links for Mac
The tools:
MacPAR deLuxe
UnRarX