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Multi-format archive plugin

for Directory Opus

This plugin for Directory Opus allows you to treat various archive types as folders.

Directory Opus is a file manager for Windows. Read my guide, Getting to know Directory Opus, for an introduction.
* Contents

* Introduction

Directory Opus has built-in support for Zip files, including features such as AES encryption, >2GB archives, Unicode names, NTFS timestamps, self-extracting archives.

This plugin, which is bundled with Directory Opus 10, adds support for various other archive/compression formats, listed below.

With the exception of modifying RAR archives, no additional tools are required to work with these formats within Opus.

Read/write support:

  • 7z
  • BZip2
  • GZip
  • RAR (Read/write if WinRAR available; Read-only otherwise.)
  • TAR (TAR.GZ and similar compressed TAR files are treated as a single unit, showing what's inside the TAR and not the TAR itself. Modifying the content automatically recompresses the outer archive.)
  • ZipX (Support for the proprietary ZipX format is incomplete and some file types cannot be extracted due to their compression methods. This does not affect Opus's built-in support for standard Zip files.)

Read-only support:

  • ARJ
  • CAB
  • CPIO (Linux package format.)
  • DEB (Linux package format.)
  • DMG (OS X disk image.)
  • HFS (OS X disk image.)
  • ISO / UDF (CD/DVD disc image.)
  • LZH
  • LZMA
  • RPM (Linux package format.)
  • WIM (Windows Imaging Format disk image.)
  • XAR
  • Z (Compress)

The plugin uses parts of Igor Pavlov's 7-Zip licensed under the GNU LGPL and available, with source, from www.7-zip.org.

You do not need to install 7-Zip to use the plugin. Only 7z.dll is required and it is automatically installed alongside the plugin.

* Installation & Requirements

The plugin is packaged as part of Directory Opus itself but you may sometimes find a newer version here between Opus updates.

  • Directory Opus 10:

    You should already have the latest version of the plugin if you have the latest version of Opus 10 installed. (Newer versions of the plugin may be posted here between Opus releases.)

  • Directory Opus 6, 8 & 9:

    There is no version of the plugin for older versions of Directory Opus. Opus 10 brought with it extensive improvements to the VFS plugin architecture which the plugin depends on.

* Screenshots
Archive plugin config
Use Preferences to configure default archive parameters and which archive types are offered via context menus.
RAR plugin config
WinRAR is used for modifying RAR archive. Normally it is found automatically, if available. There is special support for portable installs.
Add to Archive dialog
The plugin fully integrates into the Opus user-interface.
TAR GZ example
Viewing a file within a .TAR.BZ2 archive. Note that the archive is opened as a single unit, not a TAR file inside a BZ2 file.
7z example
Viewing image thumbnails and metadata within a 7z archive.
RAR example
Adding files to a RAR archive. While WinRAR is used for this, the Opus look & feel is largely maintained.
* History

Version 1.0.0.2 (23rd November 2011):

  • Drags from archives handled by the plugin now exclude Move operations for read-only archives (instead of leaving them available and showing an error message if they are attempted).
  • Comes with Directory Opus 10.0.2.1.

Version 1.0.0.1 (30th April 2011):

  • Initial public release.
  • Comes with Directory Opus 10.0.0.0.