Chapter 3 Opening and Browsing Archives

3.1 Ways to open

• Toolbar Open button or “File → Open Archive” (Ctrl+O): pick in the system file chooser.
• Drag and drop: drop an archive file into the window.
• Command line: wxarc -open /path/to/archive.zip.
• File association: once archive formats are set to open with WxArc (see Chapter 8), double-clicking in the file manager opens them in WxArc.
• File-manager context menu: on Linux, right-click an archive and choose “Extract with WxArc” — the archive opens with the extract dialog already shown.

Beyond regular formats, WxArc also opens:

• Split volumes: select the .001 part (or any part); WxArc merges them in order and opens the result (the merged copy goes to the system temporary directory).
• SFX executables: zip/rar/7z self-extractors open as their inner format.
• Installers and images: MSI, DEB, RPM, NSIS exe, PyInstaller exe, macOS PKG, WIM, ISO and more — open them to browse and extract the files inside.

3.2 Tree navigation

The archive directory structure unfolds as a tree: top-level entries are shown directly; clicking the expander arrow on a folder row (or double-clicking the row) expands or collapses it. Expansion state is preserved across reloads (for example after adding files).

3.3 Selecting files

Selection happens only through checkboxes — clicking a file name never changes the selection (this avoids accidental changes):

• Check a file: it enters the selection.
• Check a folder: the whole subtree enters the selection.
• Half-checked (a dash in the checkbox): some descendants of the folder are selected.
• “Select all” (Ctrl+A) checks all top-level entries (equivalent to everything); “Deselect all” (Ctrl+Shift+D) clears the selection.
• The toolbar “Select All” button is a toggle: when everything is selected, clicking it deselects all.

The selection directly determines the extraction scope (see Chapter 4).

3.4 Search

Type a keyword into the search box below the toolbar and the file table switches to flat mode: every entry whose path contains the keyword (case-insensitive) is listed flat, without tree grouping. Clearing the box restores the tree. With no matches the table shows “No matching files”.

Entries can be checked in search results too — the selection is shared with tree mode.

3.5 Sorting

“View → Sort by” (or clicking a table header) sorts by Name, Size, Packed, Type or Modified, in Ascending or Descending order. Folders always sort before files.

3.6 Archive info

“Actions → Archive Info” (Alt+I) or the toolbar “Info” button opens the info dialog: name, format, file and folder counts, original and packed sizes, plus the archive comment (e.g. RAR comments).

3.7 Encrypted archives

Opening an archive with an encrypted header (RAR -hp, 7Z -mhe=on) prompts for the password: “The archive header is encrypted. A password is required to view its contents.” Enter the correct password to browse; a wrong password prompts again. Archives with only entry-level encryption (visible file names) can be browsed without a password — it is asked for at extraction time.