Modifying the Contents of an Archive

You can modify the contents of an archive in several ways.

5.1. To Encrypt Files in an Archive

For security, you might want to encrypt the files that you add to an archive.

If the archive format supports encryption, you can specify a password to encrypt the files that you add to the archive.

Currently, only 7-Zip, ZIP, RAR and ARJ archives support encryption.

To specify a password for file encryption, perform the following steps:

  1. Choose Edit ▸ Password to display the Password dialog.
  2. Enter the password in the Password text box.
  3. Click OK.

Archive Manager uses the password to encrypt the files that you add to the current archive, and to decrypt the files that you extract from the current archive. Archive Manager deletes the password when you close the archive.

For information on how to check whether an archive contains encrypted files, see Section 7.3 ― To Display Additional Details.

The encryption provided by archive utilities is weak and insecure. If security is important, use a strong encryption tool such as GNU Privacy Guard.

5.2. To Rename a File in an Archive

To rename a file in an archive, perform the following steps:

  1. Select the file that you want to rename.
  2. Choose Edit ▸ Rename, or press F2, to display the Rename dialog.
  3. Enter the new filename in the New file name text box.
  4. Click Rename.

5.3. To Copy Files in an Archive

To copy files in an archive, perform the following steps:

  1. Select the files that you want to copy.
  2. Choose Edit ▸ Copy, or press Ctrl+C.
  3. Open the location where you want to put the copied files.
  4. Choose Edit ▸ Paste, or press Ctrl+V.

5.4. To Move Files in an Archive

To move files in an archive, perform the following steps:

  1. Select the files that you want to move.
  2. Choose Edit ▸ Cut, or press Ctrl+X.
  3. Open the location where you want to put the moved files.
  4. Choose Edit ▸ Paste, or press Ctrl+V.

5.5. To Delete Files From an Archive

To delete files from an archive, perform the following steps:

  1. Select the files that you want to delete.

  2. Choose Edit ▸ Delete or press Delete to display the Delete dialog.

  3. Select one of the following delete options:

    All files

    Delete all files from the archive.

    Selected files

    Delete the selected files from the archive.

    Files

    Delete from the archive all files that match the specified pattern. See Section 3.1 ― Filename Patterns for more information about filename patterns.

  4. Click OK.

5.6. To Modify a File in an Archive

To modify a file in an archive perform the following steps:

  1. Double-click the file that you want to open. Alternatively right-click the file and choose Open.
  2. Edit the file opened in step 1, and then save your changes.
  3. Archive Manager shows a confirmation dialog, asking confirmation to update the file in the archive with the changes you made.
  4. Click on Update.

Archive Manager uses information from the File Types and Programs section of Advanced Desktop Preferences to automatically determine the appropriate application for the file type, and then launches that application. If Archive Manager cannot determine the appropriate application, Archive Manager displays the Open Files dialog to let you choose an application, as described in below.

5.6.1. To Modify a File in an Archive with a Custom Application

You can use an application specified by you, rather than the default application, to modify a file. To use an external application to open a file:

  1. Right click the file.
  2. Choose Open With....

Archive Manager displays the Open Files dialog, which lists all of the applications that can open files of the specified type. To select one of the applications, double-click the application name or click on the application name and then click Open. Alternatively, enter the application name in the Application text box and then click Open to launch the application of your choice.

Once the application starts follow the procedure from step 2 as described in Section 5.6 ― To Modify a File in an Archive.

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