I recently downloaded 283 Zip files (using Firefox's "Download Them All" plugin ...
so useful), all containing some nice website background patterns, but didn't want to double-click on all of them.
I didn't want to buy a new shareware app for one task, so on a hunch I selected all and right-clicked, and
Automator came up as an option. Never using it before, I opened it, and it's far easier than I originally thought Automator was going to be:
1. Open Automator.
2. In "Get Specific Finder Items" on the right side, click on [Add...] and navigate to the folder(s) containing the compressed files you want to unZip.
3. On the left side, click on the Actions button, then select "Open Finder Items" from the list.
4. In the upper right, click the Run (>) button. Automator will then go through the list and, one by one, unZip the Zip files.
I'm unaware if it will do this across multiple folders, but I have to assume it does given that you can select files from multiple folders in the first place.
(If it means anything, I'm using a MacBook Pro 2.4 GHz Intel Core Duo running Leopard OSX v10.5.2.)
(Oh, and if you're interested, those background patterns can be found
here.)