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Settings – Presets

Presets collect all the settings that can be applied during archive creation or extraction. They drive most of BetterZip’s automation: the toolbar drop-downs, the Finder extension menus, the Services menu, Dropzone, LaunchBar, Alfred, Shortcuts, and AppleScript: anywhere you can invoke BetterZip without opening it manually, it’s a preset doing the work.

You configure them on the Presets tab of BetterZip’s Settings. The tab itself is split with a segmented control at the top into Extract and Save; both halves share the same structure: a list of presets on the left, the selected preset’s options on the right. The full list of available options on either side has its own page: see save preset options and extract preset options.

The Preset List

One list per type (Extract / Save), switched with the segmented control. The order in the list is the order BetterZip uses everywhere else (toolbar drop-down, Finder menu, etc.), so drag rows to rearrange.

Adding, Duplicating, Removing

The + button below the list (or ⌘N) adds a new preset. The – button (or ⌫) removes the selected one. The gear/action menu next to them offers more:

  • Duplicate Preset: copy the selected preset as a starting point.
  • Add Factory Presets: restore BetterZip’s bundled defaults (you can always delete them again). The current presets are not touched during this.
  • Export Presets… / Import Presets…: share presets between Macs.
  • Add this Preset to the Services Menu…: expose the preset as a macOS Service so it can be invoked from any app.
  • Add this Preset to Dropzone 4…, LaunchBar 6…: integrate with third-party launchers.

Factory presets are restorable from this menu, so there’s no harm in cleaning up unused ones.

Preset Options

The right-hand side is the editor for whichever preset is selected. Every preset, regardless of type, has at the top:

  • The checkbox Use as Default marks it as BetterZip’s default. The default is what gets used when you click the toolbar button without opening the menu, when you double-click an archive from the Finder, and when a script calls BetterZip without naming a preset.
  • Name: shown in every menu and integration: the toolbar drop-down, Finder extension submenus, Automator actions, AppleScripts, Shortcuts actions, Alfred workflows, Services menu, and so on. Pick something short and recognizable.
  • Star button (right of the Name field): toggles whether this preset appears on the Drop Bar. Click an empty star to put the preset on the Drop Bar; a popover opens so you can set a Short name (the Drop Bar has very little horizontal room) and a Tint color for the button. Click a filled star to remove the preset from the Drop Bar; right-click a filled star to re-open the popover without removing it.

The remaining fields differ by type:

  • Save presets: archive format, compression level, encryption, splitting, comment, post-action, file renaming, etc. See save preset options.
  • Extract presets: destination folder, extra-folder rule, conflict resolution, post-action, file renaming, etc. See extract preset options.