Open DMG File
DMG is used for disk image files on Macintosh computers running Mac OS X. This file extension replaces the older file extension IMG which was discontinued during the release of later series of Mac operating systems. You can open DMG file on Mac, Linux, and Windows operating systems but it will require additional software to be installed on Windows. Note that on Windows and Linux you cannot open every DMG file, since there are certain software limitations on DMG format variation.
DMG files are used by Apple for software distribution over the internet. These files provide features such as compression and password protection which are not common to other forms of software distribution file formats. DMG files are native to Mac OS X and are structured according to Universal Disk Image Format (UDIF) and the New Disk Image Format (NDIF). They can be accessed through the Mac OS Finder application by either launching the DMG file or mounting it as a drive.
DMG is also referred to as the Apple’s equivalent to MSI files in Windows PC. Non-Macintosh systems may access DMG files and extract or convert them to ISO image files for burning. Several applications are designed to offer this solution for Windows systems.
- DMG Extractor is ideal if you need to: Extract content from an Apple.dmg file. Extract the.IPSW restore file from an iOS beta.
- Jul 20, 2017 Most macOS applications downloaded from outside the store come inside a DMG file. Double-click the DMG file to open it, and you’ll see a Finder window. Often these will include the application itself, some form of arrow, and a shortcut to the Applications folder.
7-Zip and DMG Extractor are the best options to open DMG file on Windows because they are compatible with the most DMG variations. For Linux a built-in 'cdrecord' command can be issued to burn DMG files to CD's or DVD's.
Whether you are an avid Mac programmer using a Windows PC, or you just found a DMG file on your Windows machine, it can be useful to know what it is and how to open it. Luckily it’s easy to open on Windows if you know how.
Aside from the Finder application, you can open DMG files through Apple Disk Utility, Roxio Toast, and Dare to be Creative iArchiver for Mac platform. On the other hand, additional applications such Acute Systems TransMac, DMG2IMG, and DMG2ISO can be installed on Windows to fully support the files.
Read how you can open DMG files on Mac OS, Windows and Linux.
DMG files are transferred over e-mail or internet using application/x-apple-diskimage multipurpose internet mail extensions (MIME) type.
Following file types are similar to DMG and contain disk images:
- ISO File - ISO disk image file
- IMG File - IMG disk image file
- VHD/VHDX File - Virtual Hard Drive image file
Open DMG File on Mac OS
Since DMG is a native Mac OS disk image format opening DMG file is as easy as double clicking on it in Finder. When you open DMG file this way, disk image stored inside DMG file will be mounted, and then opened in a separate Finder window. If DMG contains installation of an application, then installation window of the app will open. If not, then you will see the disk image content. Even in case when disk image contains installation of the application you can still view contents of the mounted DMG file by clicking on its name in Finder Locations section or by selecting Go->Go to Folder… in Finder menu, typing /Volumes/ and clicking Go button.
Mount and unmount using Hdiutil
To mount a disk image using hdiutil you need to open terminal app and type following command there:
hdiutil mount example.dmg
To unmount type:
hdiutil unmount /Volumes/example
Where /Volumes/example is a path where disk image was mounted
Mount using DiskImageMounter.app
You can quickly mount DMG file by Control-Clicking on it and selecting Open With->DiskImageMounter.app. This will mount DMG file and its content will become available in Finder Locations and /Volumes folder.
Mount using Disk Utility
Dmg File On Mac Screen Size
You can also mount DMG file using Disk Utility application available in Mac OS. Look for Disk Utility using Launcher and launch it. After that select File->Open Disk Image… in the main menu and choose DMG file you want to mount. After clicking Open you should see a screen like below where disk image details will be shown including used and free space, mount point, disk type and more.
Dmg File On Mac Screen Mac
You can also access disk image mounted by Disk Utility in Finder Locations or /Volumes folder.
Dmg File On Mac Screen Windows 7
Once application located in the DMG file is installed it is safe to delete it since DMG file is only needed during the installation process.