Unfortunately, I’ve been a Mac user longer than most, and though I don’t create many AppleScript utilities to automate processes here and there, I’ve collected more than my fair share of scripts that do what OS X or various apps do not.
Here’s a perfect example of AppleScript in action and it’s free.
How do you create a .zip archive? It’s easy. How do you add a password? Not so easy. Select a file, files, or folders of files in the Finder, right click, and select Compress from the contextual menu.
That creates a nicely zipped up archive suitable for storage, backup, or sending and sharing with others. But what if you want to add a password to the archive? That’s easier said than done, but it’s actually easy.
One of my favorite Mac utilities is ZipperSnapper which zips up files and adds protection from the Mac’s Menubar, but it comes with a nominal price tag.
OS X Daily has a good tutorial on how you can user the Mac’s built-in Terminal.app to zip up files and add a password. It’s free but not for the faint of heart unless you’re comfortable around OS X’s command line interface.
If you’re still interested in free but have no interest in using Terminal.app to do the deed, there’s EncryptZip, a simple AppleScript utility that does what the command line does, but easier and faster.
Drag a file, files, or folder of files onto EncryptZip, then enter a file name for the archive, and a password.
It doesn’t get much better than free and easy.