wish-list: "Open With" -> "Folder View" also for files

[RodolfoGiovanninetti]

I have a couple of zip files masked as .dat files.
To compare their content, I can rename them to .zip and then rename them back to .dat, or I can copy them to .zip and then remove the two .zip files, or I can add .dat as an archive (but I do not want to do this last option!).
What I would like is to be able to open a folder compare where these two files exist, right click on them and then choose "Open With" -> "Folder View".
In this way I could keep other .dat files as normal files, and only when and if I need it compare these specific .dat files as archives.
It is the same feature that You added that let me compare two .zip files as hex, but in the other way.


Thank You very much again and regards

Rodolfo Giovanninetti

[Aaron]

Hello,

This would still require adding .dat to the .zip archive type. Otherwise, if you attempted to open the files in the folder compare, it would not recognize them as archives and it would still fail. You could add .dat as an archive type, then in the Session Settings set to treat archives "Always as Files". This then allows you to treat them as files in that session, but open a new session to treat them as folders to view their contents. How does this work for you?

[RodolfoGiovanninetti]

No, I mean a different thing. This is why I am asking for a new feature. I understand that in the current situation I have to do one of the three choices that I described. I do NOT want to add ".dat" to archives, since then B.C.4 would consider .dat files always as archives.
What I would like to see is a new feature.
I would like to keep .dat files as normal files.
When and if I need it, I would like to be able to right click on a couple of files, and then choose open with folder view. In that moment, and only in that moment, B.C.4 should consider those two files, and only those two files, as archives. As if I had added .dat to archives, compared them, and then removed .dat from archives.
I see a similar feature, but in the opposite way, when I right click two .zip files, that normally are considered as archives, and then I can choose to open with hex, so that I can see them as normal files.


Thank You again and regards

Rodolfo Giovanninetti

[tfrost]

That's a great feature idea: seconded.

[Aaron]

Without the definition, however, we wouldn't know which 'archive type' to apply to the files. We don't support opening an arbitrary file extension with one of the various archive format types, and if that feature is needed it would make this a more difficult project to tackle.

However, if we had more granular session settings to treat archives as files, until you then performed a certain action on them (such an as Open With into a Folder Compare), it would make the project a bit smaller.

[RodolfoGiovanninetti]

Yes, I am starting to see what You mean.
At least in my case, I would be happy to do this.
I select the two .dat files and then I right click on them.
From the context menu, I choose "Open With" -> "Archive View" (a new feature).
The "Archive View" then asks me what kind of archive, and I choose for example "zip".
Would it be possible for You without making the project too difficult?

Another question.
If I choose "Open With" -> "Folder View", is it not enough to read in that moment only the first few bytes of each file to understand what kind of archive it is?


Thank You again and regards

Rodolfo Giovanninetti

[Chris]

Rodolfo,

I'm not sure what would be involved in automatically detecting archive type. I'll add your suggestion to our wish list for a future version of Beyond Compare.

[tfrost]

ZIP and RAR and 7Z have a signature ('PK', 'RAR!', '7z') in the first few bytes. Even if you only supported these for 'open with archive view', it would be very useful.

[sully9]

Just circling back, Rodolfo's request evolved into something I also have been wanting for a while. I was actually jumping in to request this very thing when I saw Rodolfo's post.

There a many file types out there that are archives in disguise. For the last year or so, I have been content to do as Aaron suggested: simply add their extensions to the .zip archive type. In most cases this works fine, I have a few situations where I end up having two sessions, one with archive handling set to "Always as file" for when I want that. A minor bummer though because it means I have to kick off that separate session simply to change my view of the archive file my mouse pointer was already hovered ove..

For files (like Corel Draw) where I have no native BC viewer it's not a big deal. But for files like [newer] Office docs, having quick access to both a meaningful viewer or an archive view of the file would be nice.

In general, it would be nice to be able to identify file types that can work both ways. Whether we flag file formats as "viewable as XYZ type archive", or allow the file format masks to overlap with archive types where we have included the extension, it would be very cool to be able to live in both worlds by way of a context menu.

Not as slick, but even having a Session menu item in a Folder/Archive Compare that is like the "Compare Files Using..." item would work. Again, not as slick.

Thanks! Keep up the awesome!

[Aaron]

Thanks. I'll add these notes to our wishlist entry for research.