9.11 Using the Compress Tool (Revision #18)

Aqua Data Studio includes a Compress Tool for quickly compressing and decompressing both unencrypted and encrypted files from within the application. Encryption schemes for 128, 192 and 256-Bit AES Encryption are supported, allowing password protection for compressed files. The Compress Tool functions like many commonly available Zip and archive utilities, presenting file and archive contents and properties in a grid with Name, Type, Path, Modified Date, Size, Packed Size, Ratio and CRC.

Launching the Compress Tool

The Compress Tool can be launched by:

• Right clicking on a compressed file (.zip,tar.gz) in the Files Browser
• Double clicking on an archive or zip
• Dragging a compressed file from the Operating System into the Main Application Window and releasing it
• Selecting Compress Tool from the Tools menu in the Main Application Menu

After launching the Compress Tool it is possible to

• Add files to an archive
• Remove files from an archive
• Exclude/Include files using wild cards and skip system files during compression
• Encrypt archives after they've been created.
• Extract archive and zip contents
• Extract to Archive to create ZIP or JAR files from the selected contents of an existing archive

Using the Compress Tool

To create a New Archive: 

1. Multiselect items from the Files Browser and right click to choose Compress from the context menu.
2. Enter a Target File name browse to a destination and choose the ZIP or TAR.GZ format. Include/exclude files by name or by using wildcards for further refinement. By default, Skip System Files is checked.
3. When ready, click Compress.

To Encrypt an existing ZIP so that a password is required to open it.

1. Open an existing compressed ZIP file
2. Choose Encrypt from the Actions Menu or click the Encrypt button in the Menu bar
3. Enter a password
4. Choose an encryption method (128, 192 or 256-Bit AES Encryption)
5. Enter a filename (by default .encrypted will be appended in front of the file extension to help distinguish encrypted zips from unencrypted originals)
6. Click OK

To Extract an existing ZIP or TAR.GZ file

1. Pick a file to extract by doing one of the following:
   1. Drag a compressed file from the OS into the main application window and releasing it
   2. Double click a compressed file in the Files Browser
   3. Right click a compressed file in the Files Browser and select Extract (or Extract Here)
   4. Launch the Compress Tool from the Main Application Menu, click Open in the menu or menu bar and browse to the file
2. Select Extract from the Actions menu, or click the Extract menu button
3. Indicate where to extract the contents

To Extract to Archive to create a new ZIP or JAR file from the selected contents of an existing compressed file

1. Open an existing compressed file
2. In the list of its contents, multiselect individual files you wish to add
3. Select Extract to Archive from the Actions Menu or click the Extract to Archive menu button
4. Give the new archive a name and use .jar or .zip for its file extension and select a destination.
5. Click Archive

The menus within the Compress Tool window are:

• File
  • New - Create a new TAR.GZ or ZIP from the selected content
  • Open - Open an existing TAR.GZ or ZIP
  • Close - Close the Compress Tool
• Actions
  • Add File - Add an additional file to the current list to be included in the archive
  • Remove File - Remove a file from the current list of files in the archive
  • Extract - Decompress the contents of the current archive
  • Extract to Archive - Select specific items within an existing compressed file and make a new .zip, .jar or tar.gz archive with them
  • Encrypt - Encrypt a preexisting archive (the archive's contents will display in the list) by entering a password and selecting an encryption method (128, 192 or 256-Bit AES Encryption).

The buttons in the Compress Tool Window are:

• New
• Open
• Add File
• Remove File
• Extract
• Extract to Archive
• Encrypt

Just like in other areas of Aqua Data Studio, a Quick Filter is available and can be found at the top right of the Compress Tool window. This allows for quickly locating files as you type terms and is useful for searching very large archives with hundreds of files.

Keyboard Shortcuts for the Compression Tool are available with File->Options->Key Mappings->Compression Tool.