Working with Files

Once an archive has been opened, you can perform various operations on the files inside the archive. By selecting a file and using the File menu, you can choose different operations to perform:

  • Preview (Ctrl+P) will open the file with Ark's internal viewer. This is a fast read-only viewer, but does not support all file types.

  • Open will open the file in the associated application for that file type.

  • Open With... allows you to choose which application to open the file with.

  • Rename (Alt+F2) This action allows to change names of both files and folders. As in the Dolphin file manager, this action can be called via a shortcut and renaming is done via inline editing. There are also filename checks provided, which prevent usage of invalid characters such as /, . and .. in filenames.

  • Delete (Del) will remove the currently selected file(s) from the archive. Note that this action is undoable.

  • Extract (Ctrl+E) opens a submenu with previously accessed folders, and you can choose to quickly extract into any of these or browse to a non-listed folder. See the next section for more details on extraction.

  • Cut (Ctrl+X) / Copy (Ctrl+C) / Paste (Ctrl+V): As in typical file managers, moving, pasting and copying are provided. Users can move or copy files from different folders (which are expandable in the tree view) and paste them to the same destination at once. A folder can be copied into itself, but can not be moved. There are also checks for conflicting filenames: You won't be able to copy or move files into a folder that has entries with the same names - that could lead to data loss.

  • Add Files (Alt+A) This action can be used to add files at any location within the archive. If you select a folder and use this action, files will be added to the selected folder. Otherwise, the new files will be added to the root of the archive.

Editing Files

If you edit and save a file which you opened using Open or Open With..., Ark will ask you if you want to update the file in the archive. If you answer Yes, the archive will be updated with the saved file.