Chapter 2 Interface Overview
Chapter 2 Interface Overview
WxArc uses a single-window design: title bar, menu bar, toolbar, file table and status bar stack top to bottom, and all dialogs are embedded in the window.
2.1 Title bar
The title bar shows the application name and the open archive on the left, and two quick switchers on the right:
- Language: a popup listing the 21 interface languages, applied immediately.
- Theme: a popup with “Dark Theme / Light Theme” lists (42 themes), applied immediately.
On macOS the system traffic-light buttons sit on the left; the two switchers move to the right.
2.2 Menu bar
Five menus: File, Actions, View, Options, Help.
File
| Item | Shortcut | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Open Archive | Ctrl+O | Pick and open an archive |
| New Archive | Ctrl+N | Open the “New Archive” dialog (see Chapter 5) |
| Exit | Ctrl+Q | Quit the application |
Actions
| Item | Shortcut | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Extract to… | Ctrl+E | Open the extract dialog (see Chapter 4) |
| Test archive | Ctrl+T | Verify archive integrity |
| Add Files | — | Add files to the open archive (see Chapter 6) |
| Add Folder | — | Add a whole folder to the open archive |
| Select all | Ctrl+A | Check all top-level entries |
| Deselect all | Ctrl+Shift+D | Clear the selection |
| Archive Info | Alt+I | Show format, file counts, sizes, comments |
View
The “Sort by” submenu offers five sort fields — Name, Size, Packed, Type, Modified — plus Ascending / Descending. Clicking a column header in the file table sorts as well.
Options
| Item | Shortcut | Description |
|---|---|---|
| UI Theme | — | Submenu: Dark Theme / Light Theme |
| Language | — | The 21 interface languages |
| Custom Theme | Ctrl+Alt+T | Open the custom theme editor |
| Keymap | Ctrl+Alt+K | Open the keymap editor |
| Settings | Ctrl+, | Open the settings dialog (see Chapter 8) |
Help
| Item | Shortcut | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Check for Updates | — | Contact the update server |
| Keyboard Shortcuts | F1 | Show the shortcut cheat sheet |
| About WxArc | — | Version and copyright |
2.3 Toolbar
Toolbar buttons are grouped by function (separated by dividers):
- Open: pick an archive.
- Select All / Extract Selected / Extract All / Test / Info: file-table actions. “Select All” is a toggle — when everything is selected, clicking it deselects all.
- Add Files / Add Folder / Save: archive editing (see Chapter 6). The add buttons are disabled for read-only formats (RAR, PKG, single-file streams); with no archive open, “Save” opens the “New Archive” dialog.
Below the toolbar is the search box; typing filters the file table instantly (see 3.4).
2.4 File table
The file table is the main workspace with five columns: Name, Size, Packed, Type, Modified. The Name column carries the checkbox and the expander arrow; directories form a tree — click the arrow (or double-click the row) to expand/collapse. Selection rules are in 3.3.
When no archive is open and no sources are loaded, the table shows the hint “Drop files or folders to compress”.
2.5 Status bar
The status bar shows the current state: file count and total size
(Files: 128 Size: 45.2 MB), and running background tasks
(Opening…, Extracting xxx.zip, Compressing, Testing).
2.6 Embedded dialogs
The extract, new-archive, password, info, settings, shortcuts and about dialogs are all embedded in the main window (modal). Press Escape to close the topmost dialog; the extraction progress dialog is the exception — an in-flight task is cancelled via its “Cancel” button.