Feature: Option to always open supported archives in Files

[manfromarce]

What feature or improvement do you think would benefit Files?

It would be useful if we could open supported archives (zip, 7z, tar, ...) in Files even if they are associated with another application. Currently I use 7-Zip as default compression utility for the default Windows Explorer because it supports more formats and features, but when using Files opening everything in a single window would be a "plus" and I have to use Open with > Files.

Requirements

• This proposal will allow to open supported archive formats in Files
• It could be achieved via a new option in Settings or a specific command such as "Open in Files" (which can be associated to a keyboard shortcut)

Files Version

3.9.1.0

Windows Version

10.0.26100

Comments

No response

[yaira2]

I'm not entirely clear on your use case. If you prefer using 7-Zip, that should be set as your default. If you like how Files handles archives, Files should be set as the default. That said, I'd happy to learn more about your use case, and also which extraction features you're currently missing from Files 🙂

[manfromarce]

The main reason I kept using 7-zip is that Files can be slightly slower to open from Windows Explorer when it's not already open, but there are also some limitations:

• occasionally opening an archive gives an error such as "NotAFolder", probably because of unknown or not totally conformant compression methods
• I can't edit a file and update the archive
• renaming files inside archives is not possible, and also removing files from 7Z archives (works properly for ZIP)

In addition, unconventional ZIP-based formats such as nupkg, docx and apk cannot be associated to Files. Of course adding every possible extension to the manifest is not feasible, so maybe a new Open as archive action could provide both the ability to open these formats and view archives in the Files window.