The Mac operating system supports a wide variety of file formats that allow users to open, edit, and share files. When it comes to cross-platform compatibility, the Mac can read from and write to several file systems that Windows also supports, making it easy to transfer files between the two operating systems.
Some of the most common file types used daily are universally compatible between Windows and Mac, including formats like JPEG images, MP3 audio, MP4 video, and PDF documents. Additionally, Macs can open and create files in proprietary Microsoft formats like Word, Excel and Powerpoint.
This article provides an overview of the most widely used file formats and their compatibility with MacOS, so you can ensure your files will open properly when transferring them between Mac and Windows systems.
Text Files
Plain text files with the .txt extension are commonly used on Macs for basic documents that only contain text content without any formatting. They can be opened with the built-in TextEdit app on Mac as well as most other text editors and word processors. Some popular uses of plain text files on Mac include creating markdown documents for documentation or notes, writing code, and making todo lists or other simple text documents.
According to SuperUser, plain text formats like .txt and markdown are commonly used by Mac users for text documents[1]. The benefit of plain text files is that they are lightweight, can be opened on any operating system, and avoid issues with formatting or encoding. Apple provides instructions on how to configure TextEdit for working with plain text files, including always saving with the .txt extension[2]. There are also simple methods to create a new .txt file using TextEdit or the command line terminal on Mac[3]. Overall, plain text .txt files remain a popular and platform-agnostic choice on Mac.
Image Files
The most common image file formats that work on Mac are JPEG, PNG, and GIF.
JPEG (.jpg or .jpeg) is one of the most widely used image formats. It uses lossy compression which reduces file size by permanently removing some image data. JPEG is great for photos but not good for images with solid colors or text as it can introduce artifacts. JPEG images can be viewed on any operating system.
PNG (.png) is a lossless image format that uses compression without removing image data. PNGs preserve transparency in images and are better for images with solid colors, text, or line art. PNG is supported on most operating systems but older ones like Windows XP need an additional plugin.
GIF (.gif) images use lossless compression and support animations. GIFs allow transparency like PNGs but are limited to 256 colors. This makes GIF better for simple images and animations. GIFs are compatible with any operating system.[1]
Audio Files
The most common audio file formats used on Mac computers include MP3, WAV, AIFF, and Apple Lossless. These formats each have different characteristics that make them suited for particular purposes:
MP3 – This is the most widely-used digital audio format. MP3 files use lossy compression, which reduces file size by permanently eliminating certain data. This allows more MP3 audio tracks to fit on a storage device, while still retaining reasonable audio quality. MP3 is ideal for music collection and podcasts.
WAV – The WAV format is an uncompressed audio format, so WAV files contain high-quality audio. However, the files are quite large. WAV is primarily used for audio editing and production work where maximum quality is essential. Many audio editors on Mac can import, export, and work with WAV files.
AIFF – AIFF is an uncompressed audio format developed by Apple. Like WAV, it contains high-quality audio in large files. AIFF includes tags with metadata like title, artist, track number, etc. It’s a common format for working audio files on Mac.
Apple Lossless – This format uses lossless compression to reduce file size with no loss in quality. The compression ratio is about 2:1 compared to an uncompressed file like WAV or AIFF. Apple Lossless preserves metadata tags and is ideal for archiving audio collections.
Video Files
The most common video file formats used on Mac are MP4, MOV, and AVI.
MP4 is one of the most widely compatible and compressed video formats. It is supported by QuickTime and can contain video, audio, subtitles, and metadata. See How to Convert Any Video to MP4 on Mac for more details on converting to MP4: https://www.aiseesoft.com/mac-video-converter-ultimate/convert-video-to-mp4.html
MOV is Apple’s proprietary video format developed by QuickTime. It supports a wide variety of codecs and can store video, audio, effects, and metadata. MOV files work seamlessly with Apple apps but may require additional software for playback on Windows. Refer to How to Update Pro Video Formats – Mac Pro – YouTube for tips on working with MOV: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=w6GNrVD-9d0
AVI is an older, less compressed format that works across Windows and Mac platforms. It doesn’t support as many modern codecs or features as more recent formats. See How to Change Video Format on Mac and Windows for details on converting AVI files: https://videoconverter.iskysoft.com/convert-video/change-video-format.html
Microsoft Office
Microsoft Office apps like Word, Excel, and PowerPoint are compatible with Mac. The latest version of Microsoft Office for Mac works with macOS 10.14 Mojave or later (Source).
Word, Excel, and PowerPoint for Mac have full compatibility with Office documents created on Windows. You can open, edit, and save Office files seamlessly between Mac and Windows.
Word for Mac allows you to create, edit, and share document files .doc and .docx. It provides advanced formatting and writing tools for documents.
Excel for Mac enables creating and editing complex spreadsheets. It supports formulas, charts, pivot tables, and other advanced features for data analysis.
PowerPoint for Mac is used to build presentations with animations, slide transitions, and multimedia. Presentations can be shared and collaborated on with others.
Overall, the core Office apps provide full document compatibility and features across Mac and Windows platforms.
PDF Files
The Portable Document Format (PDF) is the most common file format for sharing documents on Mac computers. PDFs are able to preserve the formatting, fonts, images, and layout of any file. How to edit a PDF on Mac | Adobe Acrobat
PDFs can be viewed and annotated using Mac’s built-in Preview app. You can also create PDFs directly from many Mac apps using the Print menu. For more advanced PDF editing, Adobe Acrobat Pro is the industry standard on Mac. There are also many free and low-cost PDF apps available for Mac, like PDFpen and PDF Expert.
The benefit of using PDF files on Mac is they look exactly the same on any platform or device when shared. PDFs also have smaller file sizes than their native counterparts. Overall, the PDF format is ideal for distributing documents intended for print or digital sharing on a Mac.
Compression Formats
Some of the most popular file compression formats used on Mac computers are ZIP and RAR. Both formats allow you to compress files and folders to take up less storage space. They can also be used to bundle multiple files together into one archive file for easier sharing.
ZIP is a common compression format developed by Phil Katz in 1989 that is supported natively on Mac OS. To create a ZIP file on Mac, you can simply right-click on any file or folder and choose Compress from the menu. This will create a .zip file that can be extracted by double-clicking. Macs can also open ZIP files created on Windows. Some advantages of ZIP files are they are easy to use and accessible across platforms.
RAR is a proprietary compression format developed by Eugene Roshal in 1993. While not supported natively on Mac, most modern versions of macOS include built-in support for opening RAR files. However, an additional utility like The Unarchiver is required to create RAR files on Mac. RAR files generally achieve a higher compression ratio than ZIP and include additional features like encryption and error recovery. RAR enjoys popularity especially in Europe and Asia. The main downside is that support for RAR is not built into all operating systems by default.
Both ZIP and RAR are useful and widely compatible compression formats supported on Mac. ZIP may be preferable for cross-platform sharing, while RAR offers higher compression rates. Ultimately the choice depends on your specific needs.
Proprietary Formats
Some common proprietary file formats used on Mac computers include:
DMG
DMG files (Apple Disk Image) are disk image files often used for distributing software on macOS. They function similar to an external drive, allowing users to mount the DMG file and install or access files within. DMG files can contain apps, installers, documents, or other files in common formats. They provide a convenient way to bundle files and applications for distribution.
EXE
EXE files (Executable) contain executable code for Windows-based programs. While EXE files are designed for Windows, they can sometimes run on Mac using emulation software like Parallels Desktop or CrossOver. EXE files may also run natively if the Windows application was ported to macOS. Many game developers release Mac versions of their games compiled into EXE files.
Conclusion
In summary, many common file formats work natively on Mac computers. This includes popular text formats like .doc, .docx, .txt, .rtf, and .pdf. For images, .jpg, .png, .gif, and .tiff are fully supported. Macs can play all major audio formats including .mp3, .wav, .aiff, and .m4a files. Video files in .mov, .mp4, and .avi formats will work seamlessly on a Mac. Microsoft Office files such as Word, Excel, and PowerPoint documents in .doc, .xls, .ppt formats are compatible. PDFs are universal on all platforms. Finally, Macs support compression formats like .zip and .rar as well as some proprietary formats from companies like Adobe. The key takeaway is that most common media, document, and compression formats will work on a Mac computer without any issues.