If you are an avid Mac user using a Windows PC, and suddenly find a DMG file in your windows system, you would definitely want to open it up to see what it contains. Though the installation files or compressed files it contains will not be compatible with your windows PC, yet there are some ways you can check out what it withholds. But before proceeding with the ways to open or view a DMG file, it is better if we have a thorough knowledge of what a DMG file exactly is. DMG files are actually Mac OS disk image files. It is very similar to ISO files in windows, or rather a counterpart of ISO files.

You can browse the files right in the DMG Extractor window if you just want to see what’s inside the DMG file. If you need to extract the file, click the “Extract” button on the toolbar, and then choose one of the extraction options. You can extract all files to the desktop or a folder of your choosing.

The images usually comprise installation files of softwares and operating systems and sometimes, compressed files. Since you are using a windows PC, surely you won't be able to run it on your Window OS, but at least there are ways by which you can have a look at its contents. And that is what we are going to discuss in this article - ways to view the DMG files on Windows 10/7/8.

Way #1: Open DMG Files on Windows with 7-ZIP

7-ZIP is a lightweight freeware which is easily available on the internet market. It not only extracts DMG files but all other of compressed files, such as ZIP, CAB, ISO, RAR, WIM, etc. But we would restrict our discussion here only upto DMG. Read the steps below to know the tool's usage:

Step 1. Download the 7-ZIP program file in any of your working computer and install it.

Step 2. After installation is done, locate the DMG file that you wish to open or view in your directory or desktop, and right-click on it.

Step 3. From the context menu, click on '7-ZIP' which will not appear as a part of your system since installed.

Step 4. From the next sub-menu that follows click on 'Open archive' and your DMG file will be opened and you can view the contents inside.

Cons:

• You cannot view or extract files bigger than 4 GB.
• You cannot view or extract encrypted files.
• You are only allowed to extract 5 DMG files at a time.

Way #2: Open DMG Files with DMG Extractor

DMG Extractor is another professional tool to open and extract .dmg files without first converting them into .iso or .img files. It's interface is very user-friendly and even a beginner can use it without any difficulty. Just go through the steps below to pull off the task:

Step 1. First of all, download the DMG extractor program file from the internet and install it in your personal Windows PC.

Step 2. Run the application with admin rights and in the main UI of the tool's screen, click on 'open' button in the upper menu bar to browse the required DMG file. The file will be loaded into the software's screen.

Step 3. After the file is loaded, you will be displayed all the contents contained within the DMG file.

Cons:

• You cannot view or extract files bigger than 4 GB.
• You cannot view or extract encrypted files.
• You are only allowed to extract 5 DMG files at a time.

Way #3: View DMG files on Windows with PowerISO

PowerISO is yet another very powerful professional tool which can open, burn, extract, create, edit, convert, any kind of disk image files. It can process every kind of image files, be it BIN, DMG, ISO, DAA, etc. Here we would burn the image file into a CD/DVD or USB and then will open it from the disk storage to check out what it contains. But before you head on the tool's usage, better have a look at its specifications to use it in a better way.

Step 1. Get the program file downloaded from the official website and install it in your Windows computer.

Step 2. Launch the utility with admin privileges and then insert a empty Disk (CD/DVD or USB) in your computer.

Step 3. Click on 'Tools' button from the menu bar and then click on 'Burn' option from the drop-down menu.

Step 4. Now the 'DMG Burner' option will be shown in the PowerISO Window's screen.

Step 5. Click on 'Browse' button to fetch the required DMG files from your computer's directory.

Step 6. Select the burning speed from the dialog box and then finally click on 'Burn' button to start the burning process.

Can I Delete Dmg Files

Step 7. Once the image is burnt in your disk, open the disk from 'My computer' and click on the DMG file to view what it contains.

Conclusion:

After going through all the methods mentioned above, you must have realized by now that the first two tools implemented have got several demerits and thus can be not relied upon fully. So in order to have all the facilities with disk images, better stick to way 3 for a guarantee result.

Related Articles & Tips

One of the aspects where Macs differ from Windows PCs the most is when it comes to installing applications. On Macs, you need mount a disk image and then unmount it and delete once the installation is finished, which can be a bit of a hassle, especially if you have to test many apps in a short amount of time.

Thinking of that, this time we’ll share a couple of neat little workflows that you can implement on your Mac using Automator. With any of them, every time you are done with an app installation on your Mac, you’ll be able to eject/unmount and delete the disk image in just a couple of clicks.

Can I Delete Dmg Files On Mac

Let’s get started with how to set up these nice Automator workflows.

Delete DMG Files Automatically When You Eject Them

Step 1: Open Automator and choose to create a new document. From the available document types that show up on the dialog box, select Service.

Step 2: At the top of the right panel, make sure to choose from the dropdown menus the options ‘no input’ and ‘Finder’ respectively so that the end result is as the one pictured below.

Step 3: Next, on the left panel of Automator, search for the Run AppleScript action and drag it to the right panel. An AppleScript window will show up with some placeholder code in it.

Delete that code and instead copy and paste the following one in the script box:

tell application 'Finder'
set selection_list to selection
if (count selection_list) < 1 then
display dialog ¬
'Please select a volume mounted from a disk image.' with title ¬
'No Selection Found' with icon stop ¬
buttons ['OK'] default button 1
return
end if
set my_selection to item 1 of selection_list
set my_kind to kind of my_selection
set my_name to name of my_selection
if my_kind is not 'Volume' then
display dialog ¬
'Please select a volume mounted from a disk image file.' with title ¬
'Selection is not a Disk Image' with icon stop ¬
buttons ['OK'] default button 1
return
end if
set volume_list to paragraphs of (do shell script 'hdiutil info | grep ^/dev/disk | grep -o '/Volumes/.*')
set source_list to paragraphs of (do shell script 'hdiutil info | grep ^image'-'alias | grep -o '/.*')
set match_found to false
repeat with v from 1 to (count volume_list)
if '/Volumes/' & my_name = item v of volume_list then
set match_found to true
exit repeat
end if
end repeat
if match_found is not equal to true then
display dialog ¬
'The selected volume does not appear to be a Disk Image.' with title ¬
'Could not find Disk Image' with icon stop ¬
buttons ['OK'] default button 1
return
else
set my_source to POSIX file (item v of source_list) as alias
move my_source to the trash
eject my_selection
--reveal my_source
end if
end tell

Step 4: Now save this Automator service and give it a name that is easy to remember.

Step 5: Once this is done, every time you have a disk image mounted, all you have to do is select it and on the Finder menu select Services and then Eject and Delete (or whatever you named the service you just created) and the disk image file will be both unmounted and deleted with one click.

Now, let’s take a look at another Automator workflow that achieves the same objective doing exactly the opposite.

Eject DMG Files Automatically When You Drag Them To the Trash

As you can see from the title, this Automator workflow allows you to achieve the same purpose, except that in reverse, so you can avoid this message every time you drag to the trash a mounted DMG file.

Here are the steps to create it.

Can I Delete Dmg Files After Installation

Step 1: Create a new document in Automator and select Folder Action from the available document types.

Step 2: At the top of the right panel, select Other… from the dropdown menu. Then, on the dialog box that pops over, type ~/.Trash to work with that folder.

Step 3: Next, on the left panel, drag the Run Shell Script action to the right panel. On the two dropdown menus that show up, select /usr/bin/python and as arguments respectively.

Step 4: Replace the placeholder script in the script box with the following one:

import string, os, sys
lines = os.popen('hdiutil info').readlines()
should_eject = False
for line in lines:
if line.startswith('image-alias'):
path = line.split(':')[1]
image_path = path.lstrip().rstrip()
if image_path in sys.argv:
should_eject = True
elif line.startswith('/dev/') and should_eject is True:
os.popen('hdiutil eject %s' % line.split()[0])
should_eject = False
elif line.startswith('###'):
should_eject = False

Once done, save the Folder Action and quit Automator. Now, whenever a DMG file is mounted, all you’ll have to do is drag it to the Trash and it will be unmounted at the same time.

Cool Tip: You can also create keyboard shortcuts for these actions by following the instructions at the end of this tutorial.

Happens If You Delete Dmg File

And there you go. Two different workflows to enable a very convenient feature on your Mac. Now all left to do is just choose which one you find more convenient. And the best of all? In both cases you’ll learn a bit more about Automator. Enjoy!

What If I Delete Dmg Files Download

Also See#automation #OS X

Did You Know

In 1835, Thomas Davenport developed the first practical EV.

More in Mac

How to Fix Mac Folder With Question Mark