I don’t count a decades-old cumbersome wizard-style interface with countless steps to go through just to unpack a compressed file to be even remotely acceptable in 2026. Dolphin and Nautilus handle compressed files entirely transparently and much faster than Explorer does, and once you’re used to that, going back to ’90s style compressed file management almost feels insulting.
My dad has trouble differentiating between webapp and software. You think handling a archive as a directory is a smart idea there? Dialogue or right-click menu is fine, which 7-zip adds. Thing is a file, should be handled as a file (launches something).
Windows Explorer opens a zip like a folder, Nautilus extracts it but has no feedback that it does so. You just have to notice. If you have another extractor installed then it will open in that program.
Did gnome come pre-installed with the distro? I installed gnome on a fresh VM with debian (without any DE) so maybe the distro mantainer removef FileRoller or smth
Or it could be a mandela effect and i installed it when i made the VM 2 months ago
My dad has trouble differentiating between webapp and software. You think handling a archive as a directory is a smart idea there? Dialogue or right-click menu is fine, which 7-zip adds. Thing is a file, should be handled as a file (launches something).
Webapps are not software
Windows Explorer opens a zip like a folder, Nautilus extracts it but has no feedback that it does so. You just have to notice. If you have another extractor installed then it will open in that program.
Opening a zip file with nautilus looks like this btw
The window you see behind the zip file one is how nautilus look like for normal folders
So it handles zip files by itself, but opens them in a separate window with separate look? Why bundle them then?
Technically it’s a pop-up. You cannot use the window behind when that’s open. If you try to carry the pop-up, it will also carry the main window.
So you can send multiple files as a single file I guess.
I think zip files working like folders is pretty ideal and we aren’t going for enough with it yet.
Pretty sure this is a separate program? Mine just unpacks them.
edit: found it https://flathub.org/en/apps/org.gnome.FileRoller
Did gnome come pre-installed with the distro? I installed gnome on a fresh VM with debian (without any DE) so maybe the distro mantainer removef FileRoller or smth Or it could be a mandela effect and i installed it when i made the VM 2 months ago