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Settings – General

The General tab collects the everyday options that affect how BetterZip starts up, how it handles common situations, and how it stays up to date.

Startup

Start with an empty document
BetterZip opens an empty archive window on launch. The window is reused if you open an archive from the Finder.

Start with the Drop Bar
BetterZip opens the Drop Bar on launch. You can always open it later from Window > Drop Bar/Queue.

Quit when the last window is closed
BetterZip quits as soon as you close the last archive window, instead of staying running in the background.

Show BetterZip icon in the menu bar
Adds a small BetterZip icon to the macOS menu bar with quick access to common actions. You can also drag files onto the icon to open the Drop Bar where you can drop them.

Opening Archives

Always open archives in Direct Mode
If the format supports it, BetterZip opens archives in Direct Mode by default, skipping the intermediate working copy.

Opening an archive from the Finder immediately extracts it
Instead of displaying the archive’s contents in a window, BetterZip immediately extracts it. Hold ⌃⌘ (Ctrl-Cmd) while opening to flip this behavior for a single archive.

Working with Files

Adding Mac specific stuff to archives
When you add files to an archive that doesn’t yet contain Mac-only metadata (.DS_Store, resource forks, ._ files), BetterZip can ask, automatically include them, or strip them out. Choose Ask every time when you frequently share with Windows users; Add Mac stuff anyway when you mostly archive for Mac use; Keep Mac stuff out for cross-platform deliveries.

When modifying a file inside an archive
When you open a file from inside an archive in another app and save changes there, BetterZip detects the modification. By default it asks whether to update the archive. The popup lets you skip the question and always update, always ignore, or even save through to the underlying archive in Direct Mode (potentially destructive, hence its own choice).

In Case of Conflicts

When you add a file or folder to an archive and one with the same name already exists, BetterZip needs to decide what to do. You can set separate defaults for files and folders:

  • Ask what to do: opens the conflict resolution dialog.
  • Replace the existing file/folder
  • Skip: keeps the existing entry, discards the new one.
  • Keep the newer file/folder: replaces only if the new item is newer.
  • Keep both files/folders: adds a numeric suffix to the new one.
  • Merge folders (folders only): merges contents recursively, falling back to a per-file decision when individual files clash.

Updates

Check for updates automatically
BetterZip regularly contacts the update server to see whether a new version is available. You can also trigger a check manually from the BetterZip menu.

Include pre-release versions
Opt in to beta and release-candidate builds. Useful if you want to try upcoming features and help shake out bugs.

Warnings

Reset “Don’t Ask Me” Warnings
Many BetterZip alerts have a Don’t show again checkbox. Click this button to bring all of them back.