BetterZip 5.1 - Native Apple Silicon Support is Here

Robert, 2021-03-18

Starting with this new version, BetterZip supports Apple Silicon based Macs natively. Although it was a lot of work, the addition of the M1 binaries went pretty smoothly. As you may notice, the download is a bit larger than the previous packages. All binaries are now universal which means they contain both the Intel and M1 versions in one package and macOS will automatically choose the right version for your Mac. While at it, I updated the built-in unrar component and most external helper tools to the latest versions.

Also new in this version is the new Quick Look extension which will be used on Catalina (macOS 10.15) and Big Sur (macOS 11). Using the extension, Finder will be able to show archive previews in its preview sidebar and when in column view where the previous QL generator was not used. Unlike the old-style generator, the new extension is not HTML, but based on standard UI elements which gives it a more natural feel and behavior. Like the old Quick Look generator, the new Quick Look extension is free to use for all users. You can configure a few default settings through BetterZip’s preferences window. This also works without purchasing a BetterZip license. On older system versions the old QL generator will be used like before.

Find all the enhancements and bug fixes in the version history.

Update on the Finder extension interference with some cloud services’ sync icons: It seems that this is a design limitation of the Finder extension system itself and not in my power to change. The first extension for any given folder is used to add contextual menus and icons and all other extensions are ignored. Which extension is used is based on the start order as far as I can tell which is not controlable, since Finder starts and quits extensions as needed. Weirdly, this also seems to collide with folder icons in the Finder’s sidebar. You can have either sync icons or the BetterZip contextual menu. If you need the sync icons, you can still add conventional BetterZip services to Finder’s Services submenu in its contextual menu.

If you find any problems, please do get in touch and report them. Thanks!