Tools

Archives

Archives open like folders. Copy files out of them with F5, pack new ones with ⌥F5 and unpack whole archives with ⌥F9.

Browsing archives§

Press Return on an archive to open it in the panel. Folders inside it open as usual and ⌫ goes back up, out of the archive at the top.

PaneShift opens these formats:

zip · 7z · rar · tar · tgz · gz · tbz · bz2 · txz · xz · zst · lzma · cab · iso · cpio · xar · lha/lzh · ar · jar · war · apk · ipa · epub · cbz · cbr · cb7

With the built-in 7-Zip, PaneShift also opens these, read-only:

• Older archives: arj, z/taz, zipx
• Installers and packages: msi, msp, msm, rpm, deb, Windows images (wim, swm, esd)
• Help files: chm, lit, hxs
• Disk images and file systems: vhd, vhdx, vmdk, vdi, qcow/qcow2, squashfs, cramfs, hfs, apfs, ntfs, fat, ext2–ext4

7z, RAR, CAB and ISO are read with 7-Zip as well, which handles RAR 5, solid and encrypted archives and UDF discs. Split archives open from their first part: Backup.7z.001 or Backup.part1.rar, with the other parts next to it.

Apple Archive files (.aar) can be unpacked and created, but not browsed.

• F3 views a file from the archive in the Lister, Return opens it in its app. The file is unpacked to a private temporary folder first, which is emptied when PaneShift quits.
• F5 unpacks the marked items into the other panel's folder.
• Dragging items out of the archive to the other panel or to the Finder unpacks them where you drop them.
• 7z and ZIP archives can be changed in place: with an archive open in the other panel, F5 adds the marked items to the folder shown there, and F8 inside the archive deletes items from it (for good: an archive has no Trash). Encrypted archives ask for their password and stay encrypted. Other formats are read-only: to change a file, unpack it, edit it and pack again.

Encrypted archives§

When an archive needs a password, PaneShift asks for it. It remembers the password for that archive until it quits, and asks again if it was wrong. A 7z archive with encrypted file names asks as soon as you open it, since even its contents can't be listed without the password.

Packing (⌥F5)§

Mark files and folders and press ⌥F5 or ⌥⌘P. The new archive goes to the other panel's folder.

Name

The archive name without the extension. It starts as the name of the single item, or the current folder's name.

Format

ZIP, 7-Zip, TAR + gzip, TAR + bzip2, TAR + xz, TAR + zstd or TAR. When you pack a single folder, Apple Archive (.aar) is offered as well.

Password

Optional, for ZIP and 7-Zip. The archive is encrypted with AES-256. Opening an encrypted ZIP needs an app that supports AES ZIP files, such as PaneShift, 7-Zip or Total Commander; the Finder's Archive Utility does not.

For 7-Zip there are more options:

Level

From Store (no compression) to Ultra. Normal is the default; higher levels are smaller and slower.

Solid archive

Compresses all files as one stream, which makes archives of many small files much smaller. Unpacking a single file then reads everything before it, and damage affects every file after it. On by default.

Encrypt file names

With a password, hides the names too, so the archive can't even be listed without it.

Volume size

Splits the archive into parts of this many megabytes: Backup.7z.001, Backup.7z.002… Leave it empty for a single file.

Packing runs in the Operations window with progress. You can cancel it, but not pause it. The packed items are unmarked when it finishes. Compress in the right-click menu does the same.

Unpacking (⌥F9)§

Put the cursor on an archive, or mark several, and press ⌥F9 or ⌥⌘U. Each archive is unpacked into a new folder named after it in the other panel's folder: Assets.zip becomes the folder Assets, and so do Assets.tar.gz, Assets.7z.001 and Assets.part1.rar.

Existing files are never overwritten, and entries that would end up outside the target folder (for example with ../ in their path or through a symlink) are left out. PaneShift lists any items it did not unpack.

Testing (⌥⇧F9)§

⌥⇧F9 reads every file of the archive under the cursor without writing anything, and reports “Assets.zip is OK” with the number of files and their size, or the first error.

Disk images§

Archive › Create Disk Image (DMG)… makes a compressed, read-only disk image from the folder under the cursor. This uses hdiutil and is part of the Direct edition. To open a disk image, press Return on it: macOS mounts it and it appears in the drive pop-up.

About the built-in 7-Zip§

PaneShift includes the 7-Zip command-line program (7zz) by Igor Pavlov, licensed under the GNU LGPL with the unRAR restriction: the RAR code may be used to unpack RAR archives but not to create them, which is why PaneShift can't make RAR files. The licence is in the app at Contents/Resources/7-Zip License.txt, and the source is at 7-zip.org.