Suggestion: Finder contextual menu
Hi there. Just bought BetterZip, and it looks very nice. One thing that would improve it is a Finder contextual menu plugin for quick compression and decompression. An alternative would be to make BetterZip AppleScriptable, so we could add contextual menu items ourselves using Automator.
Thanks,
Jacob
(4.9)
(4.6)
Thanks for your feedback and for registering, Jacob. Yes, often requested, both features will come in one of the next versions.
-- Robert
I have also registered BetterZip recently and I have to agree with Jacob that contextual menu plugin is also a feature that I am longing for. Right now, I have to use separate tool in doing the same thing. Hope I can do it all in BetterZip one day. :D
Thanks,
ronnie
Thanks, Ronnie! I don't have an exact date, but the context menu/AppleScript support will come soon.
Yes I also would like this. I have recently looked at another zip utility, Springy, and I while I wouldn't suggest you develop your app necessarily based on what other people are doing it has a really rich contextual menu, almost too much in fact.
Sometimes I have zips etc that I know I don't need to browse, just need to extract them quickly. Often, I also know 100% that once extracted I will discard the archive, so a contextual extract-and-then-delete-archive would save me a lot of time!
Thanks, John
Rest assured, a context menu will come soon. Until then, there is a little known feature of BetterZip that may facilitate at least one of the things you want: Hold down the Command key while double-clicking an archive in Finder and BetterZip will extract it immediately.
I had been looking to see if I could do that with a modifier key - thanks for pointing it out!
Regards, John
I agree with the need for a contextual menu and I would love to see an option to automatically quit the program when the last window is closed. Other "nice to haves" and skins - i.e., a different icon set.
Okay, I'll add the quit option to my list.
You can replace all the icons and graphics in BetterZip, like in most other Mac programs. They are just png and icns files inside the application bundle. To view them right-click the BetterZip icon in Finder and select Show Package Contents. Then navigate to the subfolder Contents/Resources. You can edit or replace all the files, if you like. (The graphics are of course not public domain, so you can't redistribute them.) Just be sure to store a backup of your files in a separate place, so you can re-add them after upgrading to newer versions of BetterZip in the future.
After looking at your QLGenerator, your main product looks great! I'd really like to have a Finder context menu, but otherwise it looks like BetterZip does everything I need. Has this feature been implemented or will it be soon?
Kevin, yes, a contextual menu for the Finder will be included in the next version early next year.
YEAH!! hearing your doing a contextual menu is the icing on the cake for this great product!
The new version looks great, but...still no context menu? The auto-extraction could make up for it, but sometimes it's nice to be able to choose to extract in the current folder, into its own folder, and so on; 7-Zip on Windows does this nicely.
Still, it looks like the best OS X archive application, and I'll have another look at it.
Yeah, I know, I promised context menus and AppleScript for the next bigger version, but I had to fix a few bugs rather quickly, added a few other niceties, and released it without the big changes. The real update (the one I talked about) is half way done, I'd say, so please have a little more patience. The wait will be worth it.
Ah, okay. Once those features have been implemented, there won't be any question about archive utilities for OS X. Even still, that new option will help; if I purchased now, would there be any charge to upgrade to the next version?
Also, may I ask which commands you intend to place in the context menu? As I mentioned, extraction and compression options with relative paths are what I'm most interested in.
Kevin, no charge for all updates within a year. "Extract here" and "compress here" are surely in the menu. But since it is going to be Automator based, you will probably be able to add whatever you need.
Hi there!
Great tool you made !! I purchased it some time ago and now I saw that you're planning to do a contextual menu, that's the icing on the cake;-)
What I would like to have in the menu would be a verify feature for zips.
Thanks for a great product and keep up the good work.
Regards,
dhark01
Yes, the contextual menu will probably have a Test item in it.
Well, v. 1.7 out, and still no news about this promised feature (after 1 year and 36 weeks according to the feature request creation date)... Is there an estimated ETA other than "in one of the next versions"?
When I registered this product, it was just after having seen the answer on this post where the author promised that this feature was gonna be part of the product. This is a really needed feature for me, to be able to right-click on a folder & compress it using betterzip, or to right-click on an archive and uncompress it with betterzip.
Of course, I know that for the uncompress option, there's the shortcut for direct extraction which could partly do the trick... But as a keyboard user I completely disagree with the change introduced in version 1.6 ("I have changed the shortcut for direct extraction from Command to Control+Command, because holding down the Command key was not sufficient for keyboard users, since they need to hold down the Command key in any case."). Have you really tried this shortcut ? We can't open files from the finder by pressing Command+Control+O, so we have to use a very tough gymnastic which is to first press Command+O, then (without releasing those), press the Control key as well, so that BetterZip understands we want a direct extraction... This is absolutely useless, & I have to try at least three times before doing that fast enough on my Mac... The old shortcut (Command key pressed while opening) was really easier: to open the file in BetterZip without direct extraction, we just had to press Command+O & release it immediately, and to use direct extraction, we had to press Command+O as well, just this time we needed to keep the Command touch pressed.
I really think you should switch back to the old shortcut, or at list provide a way to change back to it if needed (a defaults write would do the trick if you don't wanna put this in the configuration dialogs, even though this could be better).
Anyway, I still think your product is the best solution available on the Mac, but I really need the contextual menu, & a usable shortcut.
Is it really that long? Hm, that's ridiculous, you are right. I started working on AppleScript and contextual menus several times, but everytime things that were more important or more urgent at the time (like Leopard support) came up.
There probably is no solution to the keyboard shortcut dilemma other than letting users define them completely freely (which adds complexity). You see, when you use Cmd+down arrow (instead of Cmd+O) you run exactly into the problem I solved with changing the shortcut.
Hello again,
I really don't think you "solved" the problem by changing the shortcut... Indeed I think you've worsened it...
At least, with the old shortcut, it was possible to use the feature, we just had to press Command+O & release it immediately, and to use direct extraction, we had to press Command+O as well, just this time we needed to keep the Command touch pressed, as I said...
But, with the new shortcut, this is not possible... Finder doesn't allow us to open files by pressing Command+Control+O, so we have to use a very tough gymnastic which is to first press Command+O, then (without releasing those), press the Control key as well, so that BetterZip understands we want a direct extraction...
I think that your "fix" was not a fix at all, but a new problem indeed...
Could you just turn this shortcut as a defaults write feature, or at least provide an alternate build of BetterZip using the good old shortcut (you know, the one that is possible to use)...
Thanks
Sorry, I definitely cannot provide special builds for single users. If you have purchased a larger quantity site license, please contact me by e-mail and I will gladly discuss this topic further. In any other case, please use the new shortcut Cmd+Down Arrow or Ctrl+Cmd+Down Arrow to open files.
Ctrl + Cmd + Down works... Alright, but try to use the Ctrl + Cmd + O shortcut (the classic way to open a file in Finder in Cmd + O in case you didn't read the shortcut written in the menu). And it's impossible to use Ctrl with this shortcut...
You know what? Once again I realize I shouldn't have bought a licence for your damn software... It's the third time I've got regressions problems with your upgrades, & it is always a painful progress to make you admit it...
I'm pretty sure with all the time lost with you, I would have enough time to create an open-source software that just works (after all, all the compression algorithms you use are open-source, and I'dd better try to port ark for example). And at least, with open-source, there wouldn't be such big problems to make sure the developer fixes its software... There is always the source...
So, to reply to your question, no, I did not purchase a larger quantity site license, so I guess this means you don't care about me, and I really don't consider this kind of attitude towards people that buy licences correct. Unlike a lot of software users, I pay the licences for every non-free software I use, but in compensation, I consider that there should be some kind of effective & comprehensive support, and that such bad things as regressions should be soon fixed.
I care about every single user, and the fact that every question you write here is answered immediately is prove for that.
Of course, I cannot create special builds for every single user who demands it. Everytime I release an update I would have to create dozens or thousands of builds and test and maintain these builds. You don't really ask for that, do you?
You write here completely anonymous, so I have no way of knowing whether you are one of my corporate customers who may, of course, ask for special services. I understand now that this sentence could be interpreted as cynicism, but it wasn't meant this way. Sorry.
Finally, yes I tested the Ctrl+Cmd+O (the first time you mentioned the problem), but it just does not work. If you set a custom keyboard shortcut for the Finder to Ctrl+Cmd+O, it will no longer respond to Cmd+O. So that is not a possible solution.
In the end it boils down to this: Should BetterZip support Cmd+Down Arrow or Cmd+O? It's an exclusive or. And having in mind many other users, I decided to go with Cmd+Down Arrow. For now. I am not ruling out a user customizable shortcut system, but features like AppleScript and contextual menus have a much higher priority.
The limited capabilities of compression apps is one of the weakness of the Mac compared to Windows. Not that I'm ditching my MBP to go back to Windows any time soon. BetterZip is a nice implementation compared to the rest. Add me to the list of those who'd find contextual menu commands to be a major plus. I hope that when they come, that we'll be able to do things like select files in the finder, right click and be able to make archives in whatever format we choose, including rar.
Thanks for the good work.
This is my last post on this topic, because I've really got the impression you won't understand what I try to tell you, however hard I try...
The standard open file shortcut in finder is Cmd + O (Cmd + Down being just an alternate shortcut, working without any garantee it will still work in next version)... So, when you say that you changed the shortcut from Command to Command+Control, you should really precise that you only mean to support the Command+Control+Down shortcut, and not the Command+Control+O shortcut, which should have been the normal one.
Again, I repeat the old "command" only shortcut was at least as fine, because even though it needed the user to release the command + O (or down) shortcut once he had pressed those in the finder, it didn't disabled any shortcut. This means both Cmd + O and Cmd + Down worked, and the same with the Cmd key being kept pressed worked for direct extraction
Now, this new shortcut you chose disables the use of the standard combination, Cmd + O if you want to direct extract a file.
Well, now I get it... Next regression I have to face with BetterZip is gonna be the last one, & I'll definitively have to find another software, or code it as a free alternative, and well, too bad for my licence fee...
I understand you very well, but that does not mean that I cannot differ.
I changed the shortcut with version 1.6, because a number of users (more than 10) wrote that holding down the Command key is not practical for them, because the key cannot be released quickly enough and so BetterZip almost always starts a direct extraction.
I am a mouse user myself, so I never noticed the problem in real life situations, but I tried it and it was nearly impossible to release the keys in a timely manner. On the other hand, you are so far the only one to ask for the old modifier keys.
Of course, you can go for another product, although I really hate to lose users, but as far as I know, they don't have this feature at all.
Just thought I'd point out a possible source of confusion here:
When trying to avoid holding the command key (in previous versions) when opening a file using cmd+O, there's big difference between when BetterZip is already running and when it isn't. If it is running, you don't stand a chance to release command in time, but if it isn't then you have plenty of time while it launches.
On my MBP 2.33GHz BetterZip starts in less than one second which is pretty short, if you don't concentrate on releasing the key. I think the way it is now works under all conditions.
It´s been a while since the last post on this topic, so i thought i´d ask what the status is now.
Robert, will we see the context menus anytime in the near future? :)
Sorry, no news regarding this. The next major version will definitely have a contextual menu plugin for the Finder, but I have no date for the release of this version yet. I am working on it.
I am a trial user, currently using both BZ and one of its competitors. I won't mention the name of the competitor, as I don't believe the support forums of a business is the appropriate place to advertise for the competition. I will just say it is has slinky-like logo :)
I would suggest that you look at the "slinky's" implementation of a context menu function when developing yours, as it is probably what is steering me towards the competition. The only thing I don't like about the other program, is its choice of icons for files under its control.
So unless "slinky" turns out to be a buggy program, you've lost a potential customer because of the lack of a feature, sorry.
By the way, I am leaving this comment because, as a business owner, I know that is useful to know when it may be beneficial to concentrate on adding what most consider to be a required feature.
I appreciate your comment, Geoff. Thanks! I am working on a major new version and this will have a context menu plugin, but it will take some more time to finish.
Actually now I just may buy BZ too, since I believe in supporting great developers. I love BZ's quicklook plugin and your free blackr scripts make a big difference viewing photos on fickr.
What are your upgrade policies? In other words, if I buy now will I be eligible for the version that will context menu support?
Keep up the great work!
P.S. Spiral, why don't you try asking apple to provide you with a special build to solve some problem. Chances are you won't even get as fast a response as you got here to your posts. Asking a developer for individual builds, especially one who charges so little, is ridiculous.
Thanks, Geoff! All major releases (e.g., 2.0) within a year from purchase will be free. After that year, there will be a reduced upgrade fee. Since the context menu will be in the next version which I will definitely have ready this year, you will be able to upgrade for free. Minor version upgrades are free for all users of the corresponding major version. That means you will also get all 2.x upgrades for free.
I am a customer of BZ. And I like it very much. All what I miss is already discussed within this thread. I'd like to ping you on that, Robert.. What about the next major release? AFAIK you have released 1.81 in April. Will you do a 1.X release next time (and are there context menu actions included) or will this really be a major release next?? /thanks
I have no news regarding BetterZip 2 yet. I am working on it.
Any word yet on this much requested feature?
I'm not buying this until it has a context menu
I second Paranoid Android