Library
Menu

Settings – Filtering

A BetterZip filter is a saved set of rules that matches files by name, path, kind, size, or modification date: the same kind of structured query Finder uses for Smart Folders. The Filtering tab is where you build, name, and store those filters so they’re available everywhere BetterZip can filter: the “Delete with filter” function, the cleaning step when saving an archive, and the exclude rules in save and extract presets.

For how filtering is applied to an archive once you’ve defined it, see Filtering Files.

The Filter List

The tab is a single table listing every saved filter by name. Buttons below the table:

  • + (or ⌘N): opens the filter editor sheet titled Create Filter to define a new one.
  • – (or ⌫): removes the selected filter.
  • Edit (pencil icon): opens the editor sheet on the selected filter. Double-clicking a row does the same.
  • Restore Defaults (right side): brings back the bundled factory filters (the Mac-stuff cleaner, etc.) without touching filters you’ve added.

The Filter Editor

The editor sheet shows a Define the filter criteria: heading and a rule builder with one or more rows. Each row has three or four popups; click the + at the right edge of any row to add another, the – to remove it. Rows can be nested under Any of / All of / None of groups to build flexible AND/OR logic.

Each rule starts with the attribute you want to match against:

  • Name, Path, Kind: text comparisons. Choose from is, is not, contains, begins with, ends with, is like (shell-style glob with * and ?), and matches regex (full regular expressions). Text matching is case- and diacritic-insensitive.
  • Size: numeric comparisons (is, is not, is less than, is greater than, is at most, is at least) with a trailing popup to pick the unit: bytes, KB, MB, or GB.
  • Date Modified: either an absolute date comparison against a date picker, or a relative window (within the last N days/weeks/months/years) chosen from the trailing unit popup.

At the top of the sheet you name the filter; that name is what appears in the Settings list and in every filter popup throughout the app. Click OK to save, Cancel to discard.

Where Saved Filters Show Up

Once saved, a filter is available everywhere BetterZip filters:

  • The Filter popup in the archive window’s filter pane.
  • The Exclude items matching popup in save presets: matching items are skipped while writing the archive.
  • The Exclude items matching popup in extract presets: matching items are skipped while extracting.