
For the service inputs (the menus at the top of the workflow), choose "files or folders" and then optionally choose Finder as the application.Select the Service option when creating a new workflow (this looks like a large gear).To do this, open the Automator program and perform the following steps: While this option is robust, having to use Disk Utility makes it a touch inconvenient to use however, you can set up a Finder service using Automator that will allow quick access to making an encrypted disk image from any selection of files and folders. These images can be created using Disk Utility by choosing an option for disk images (i.e., from a folder or a new blank image) from the File > New menu.

This method may be a bit cumbersome, and it's not a very good implementation of encryption for files in OS X, either, so if you plan on encrypting collections of files regularly, your best bet is to use alternative means.Īpple's preferred encryption container for files is a disk image, which is a wrapper format that mimics a physical disk (hard drive or DVD).

To place a file or folder into a ZIP file that is encrypted, you will need to use the Terminal and perform the following actions:

While convenient, Apple does not provide a means to encrypt or secure the contents of the ZIP archive with a password however, there is a way to do this if needed. To make sending multiple files by e-mail or other means easier, Apple includes a quick Finder contextual menu option to zip a selection of files and folders into an archive, which not only will ensure that the files stay together, but can also greatly reduce their size for the file transfer.
