PeaZip 1.10

[giorgiotani]

Hi, I'm glad to announce I've just published PeaZip 1.10 (SourceForge seem very slow now, at least in Italy, so please be patient).
I apologyze to Bulat since I've not yet integrated support for FreeArc, however it remains on my work schedule.

This update was focused in porting the project to the new Lazarus release and, in very last days, to test the latest 7z update.

The new IDE fixes various glitches seen on previous releases of PeaZip, allowing to create new folder in output selection dialog under Windows, to introduce drag and drop from system to application (Windows and most of Linux systems) and to use GTK2 interface on all Linux distribution with consistent behaviour and performances.

There are still some areas I'll have to test the new IDE further, i.e. the maturity of support for QT libraries (to build a pure KDE version of the program) and improvements in UTF-8 support... developing the 1.10.* series of PeaZip seem quite interesting!

[Vacon]

Hello everyone,

thank you very much!
I'm hoping FreeArc will make it quite soon into PeaZip!
Maybe Bulat can support that by releasing a final version...

Best regards!

[giorgiotani]

I'm still experiencing problems to download newly released files from Italy, and got reports of same issue, for unrelated projects too, from the rest of the world... re-publishing doesn't fix it.
I hope SourceForge is working on it and the solution of the problem may be near!

[Black_Fox1]

Same problem here, I don't even have to be from Italy

[LovePimple]

Thanks Giorgio!

[Fallon]

It looks good again. Thanks very much! Quick remark.

Maybe you have explained it before, but for a typical user it can still be hard to understand why there is a need to click again after startup -right away- to choose between two functions. An 'Open' button on the toolbar instead, would save almost as many clicks as the number of unassociated startups of Peazip.
This is of the same interest as when compression developers try to save time by making algorithms efficient.
(from the Options panel, I wouldn't mind a return to the main window without having to use the pulldown menu either).

When uninstalling Peazip, the program should leave file-associations alone that have not been user-linked to Peazip during setup. Associations of WinRAR, an independant install of 7-Zip, winzip, winace etcetera, and manual associations made with windows pulldown menu, should not be 'cleaned'.

If the explorer context menu could also be 'cascaded', it would save screen space after right-click.

Can you make 'tarred-before' archives, extract in one step?

It would be nice if FreeArc and Peazip could become natural allies. 7-Zip-for-windows does not have a big need for Peazip and Linux plays a part in the margin, at least for the wider public.

[giorgiotani]

Hi! Thank you for the feedback, and I apologyze with you all for the download problems in those days. After 2 1/2 days I just received (minutes ago) a canned response from SourceForge... may be the "Forge" be with them to fix this problem soon!

Maybe you have explained it before, but for a typical user it can still be hard to understand why there is a need to click again after startup -right away- to choose between two functions.

Well, PeaZip still cannot read users mind... if it is started with arguments, it will (try) to recognize what is the proper action to do (open the archive, start creating a new layout), or display a disambiguation message (i.e. if you drag an archive on the main panel, the program will let you chose if opening it, or to adding it to a new layout).
Doubleclicking on an archive or clicking on a context menu entry always opens PeaZip with arguments; if the user chose to open the programs shortcut instead, not giving any clue about he/she is going to do next, the program will show the main panel; see it like a control panel showing and shortly describing programs functionalities.
I find it a bit more user friendly rather than showing an empty layout, and a quick welcome to the program right after the installation.

About unistaller and cascading context menu, I totally agree with you. However it would require a different approach with Windows registry, and for the moment I prefer touching the registry as few as I can.
I know Windows system integration may be better, but at the cost of exploding installer programming complexity (a work with no benefit at all for portable and Linux versions) and multiplying things that may go wrong with the registry, which I would tend to avoid for the moment.

About extract and untar in a step, it is a good idea, in future Ill work on it.

About FreeArc, it is one of the most brilliant projects Ive seen in those months, also very well promitting for future development.
It remains, with high priority, on my to do list, but this very time I had to update my IDE and test machines which was a quite time consuming task.
Im confident to work on that topic quite soon, and I definitely like FreeArc!

[Fallon]

Thanks for your kind answers.

Okay, I get it why you want to keep Windows system integration as it is for now. You explain it well.

Great that extract and untar in a step is on the todo list.

As many seem to agree on FreeArc, interesting things could be ahead!

(...) exploding installer programming complexity (a work with no benefit at all for portable and Linux versions)

Maybe there should be a bigger difference between the installer version and a portable version, but its quite understandable if you want to concentrate on other things.

Lets dig into Peazips startup once more.
I mean it well and its not a big deal if we disagree. Your project is of the best.

I find it a bit more user friendly rather than showing an empty layout, and a quick welcome to the program right after the installation.

The quick welcome, if you think it is important, could be called quick introduction.
Or the present main window could become a wizard panel for newbies.
Something like that could find a place on the toolbar or in the menu somewhere.

As for user friendliness of the present main window: this applies probably once or twice, for a new user, unfamiliar with Peazip.
Do archivers like WinRAR, 7-Zip, winzip, ask the user first if he wants to open an archive before the main layout comes into view, from which everything can be done anyway?
If you have a choice to create an archive/layout or to open an archive, then its logical to bring the most often occurring function on its way.
The user will automatically turn to another option if he wants it.

see it like a control panel showing and shortly describing programs functionalities.

Since most users are familiar with windows empty layouts, why interupt startup with what is in many cases a superfluous question?
It doesnt invite to regular use.

The new disambiguation message is a fine example of piling on the wrong idea some more.
Do users want to spent time with regularly reading a message called the disambiguation message?
Peazip should just open the dropped archive.
If the user wants it open, it is done.
If the user wants to add it to a new archive, he will go up one level and add it.
Thats all.

Maybe we would not have an argument over it, if Peazip would treebrowse the system. Then the user would naturally see the option to open archives in the startup folder or in the last working folder and it would be clear that raising a question first, if a particular archive has to be opened at this point or not, is not important.
By the way, any chance of tree browsing with Peazip, or does being multi platform prohibit this forever?

Back to nag at this point for the last time: if the present so called main window would be useful or important, why not let the user return to that window when a layout is cleared?
Thinking in the way that I oppose: should the user not be in the friendly controlpanel again, to be asked again if he would like to open an archive? I think the answer is easy: it does not happen, because its not important. The functionality described there is what most will know after a few instances of Peazip use. And so when Peazip starts without arguments, there is no reason to waste time either.

Messages that almost always obstruct the fluent use of the program -by taking up time- should be avoided, if possible.
So if you dont get rid of it, I suggest you tuck the disambiguation message away under the settings option show information messages.

Even a successful program like 7-Zip at times has small flaws.
For example, if you doubleclick to open a 7z-archive in 7zfilemanager and then decide to unpack it into a folder, you first need to to go up one level (click1) and only then can hit the extract button (click2).

It could be done at once, as we know from WinRAR.