Integrating zipcreator

Integration basics

This section documents how to integrate zipcreator with your operating system. This requires a permanent location for the zipcreator.jar file, so you may wish to keep it in a Program Files or Applications directory.

Windows 8.1 / 10 integration

Creating a shortcut for zipcreator

When a Java Runtime Environment is installed, you should be able to double-click the zipcreator.jar application to launch zipcreator. If this works, then creating a shortcut to zipcreator is a simple procedure:

1. Use File Explorer to browse to the directory containing zipcreator.jar.
2. Right-click on this file and choose "Create shortcut" from the popup menu.
3. Rename this shortcut, to simply zipcreator.

Additional shortcut configuration^Optional

If zipcreator fails to launch when double-clicking the shortcut to zipcreator.jar, then we can edit the shortcut properties so that Java is used to launch zipcreator:

1. Use File Explorer to find the shortcut to zipcreator.jar.
2. Right-click on the shortcut and choose "Properties".
3. Select the "Shortcut" tab.
4. Set the "Target" as follows, replacing <jre bin path> with the path of your Java Runtime Environment's bin directory:
   
   <jre bin path>javaw.exe -jar zipcreator.jar
   
   
5. Make sure the "Start in" path is set to the directory containing the zipcreator.jar application.

Associating zip files with zipcreator

Manually configuring file associations in modern Windows systems can be challenging. The simplest way is to use the well-regarded third-party Default Programs Editor software. This utility guides you through the process of associating file types with applications such as zipcreator:

Get Default Programs Editor

If you have Default Programs Editor installed, then you can perform the following steps:

Windows 2000 / XP integration

Creating a shortcut for zipcreator

1. Use Windows Explorer to browse to the directory containing zipcreator.jar.
2. Right-click on zipcreator.jar and choose "Create shortcut" from the popup menu.
3. Rename this shortcut zipcreator, then right-click on the shortcut and choose "Properties".
4. Set the "Target" as follows, replacing <jre bin path> with the path of your Java Runtime Environment's bin directory:
   
   <jre bin path>javaw.exe -jar zipcreator.jar
   
   
5. Make sure the "Start in" path is set to the directory containing zipcreator.jar.
6. After creating the shortcut, you can drag it to the desktop, to your Start menu or to your Quick Launch toolbar.
   
   

Associating zip files with zipcreator

1. Start Windows Explorer and choose the "Folder Options" command from the "Tools" menu.
2. Click the "File Types" tab, then scroll through the list to find the "ZIP" extension.
   
   
3. Select the "ZIP" extension in the "Registered file types" list, then click the "Advanced" button to display the "Edit File Type" dialog.
4. If necessary, enter a suitable "Description of the file type" such as ZIP File.
5. In the "Actions" section, click the "New" button to display the "New Action" dialog. In the "Action" box, type Open with zipcreator.
6. In the "Application used to perform action" box, type:
   
   <jre bin path>javaw.exe -jar <zipcreator path>zipcreator.jar "%1"
   
   
7. Now click "OK" to return to the "Edit File Type" dialog.
8. In the "Actions" list, the default action is shown in bold. If there are multiple entries in the list, you can select your new "Open with zipcreator" action and click the "Set Default" button.
9. Click "OK" to return to the "Folder Options" dialog, then click the "Close" button.
10. In Windows Explorer, test the file type association.

Windows 9x integration

Creating a batch file for Windows 9x

Integrating zipcreator into Windows 95, 98 and Me operating systems requires an intermediate batch file to facilitate passing file arguments to zipcreator. Follow these steps to create a batch file.

1. Use Windows Explorer to browse to the directory containing the zipcreator.jar file.
2. Create a new text file in this directory using a text editor such as Notepad.
3. Enter the following text:
   
   @echo off
cd "C:\Program Files\zipcreator\"
"C:\Program Files\Java\j2re1.4.2\bin\javaw.exe" -jar zipcreator.jar %1
   
   
   
   
4. Save the text file as zipcreator.bat.
5. In Explorer, double-click on the batch file. The zipcreator application should appear.
   
   

Creating a shortcut to zipcreator

1. Use Windows Explorer to browse to the location of the batch file zipcreator.bat created earlier.
2. Copy this file to the clipboard.
3. Use Explorer to browse to the destination where you wish to create the shortcut, then right-click and choose the "Paste shortcut" command from the popup menu.
4. You can now drag this shortcut to the desktop, Start menu or Quick Launch toolbar.
   
   

Associating zip files with zipcreator

You can associate zip files with zipcreator so that when you double-click on a zip file, it automatically opens in zipcreator.

The precise method for doing this depends on whether there are any existing file type associations for zip files. To test this, start Windows Explorer and browse to a directory containing a zip file, then double-click on a zip file. One of two events will happen:

• An application already associated with zip files will open the zip file. If you wish to change this association so that zipcreator is the default application, see the section "Remove an existing file association".
• The "Open with" dialog will be displayed if there are no existing file types associated with zip files. This dialog lets you specify an application to associate with this file type – see "Creating a new file type for zip files".

Remove an existing file association

1. The following steps should only be performed if you wish to remove an existing file association between zip files and another application. If such an association exists, perform these steps before creating a new file type.
2. Use Windows Explorer to browse to a directory containing a zip file, then right-click on a zip file and choose the "Properties" command from the popup menu. Make a note of the "Type" value indicated in the "Properties" dialog, then click the Cancel button.
3. In Windows Explorer, choose the "Folder Options" menu command from the "View" menu.
4. When the "Folder Options" dialog appears, choose the "File Types" tab. Scroll through the Registered file types list until you find the zip file type noted earlier from the Properties dialog.
5. Select the zip file type, then click the Remove button. This will remove the existing association.
6. Click "OK" to close the "Folder Options" dialog.

Creating a new file type for zip files

If you double-click on a zip file in Windows Explorer and the "Open With" dialog appears, then perform the following steps to associate zip files with zipcreator.

1. In the text box, enter a description such as "Zip file".
2. The zipcreator application won't be listed in the "Choose the program you want to use" list, so click the "Other..." button to display the "Open With..." dialog.
3. In this dialog, change the "Files of type" selection to "All Files", then browse to the zipcreator.bat file created earlier. Select this file and click the "Open" button.
4. Click "OK" in the "Open With" dialog to confirm the change. You should now be able to double-click on zip files to open them in zipcreator.

Mac OS notes

Executable jar files like zipcreator can be started by double-clicking them from a Finder window.

Using the Terminal

You can use the Terminal utility to launch zipcreator. To start the Terminal, go to Applications, open the Utilities folder and double-click the Terminal icon. In the Terminal window, change to the folder containing the zipcreator.jar file using a command such as:

cd /Applications/zipcreator/

You can then start zipcreator using the Console mode syntax. For example:

java -jar zipcreator.jar

Linux integration

Associating zip files with zipcreator

You can associate zip files with zipcreator so that when you double-click on a zip file, it automatically opens in zipcreator. To do this, perform the following steps.

1. Use the Launch menu or its equivalent to display the system control panel. The menu command for starting the control panel depends on your Linux distribution, but may be named “Settings”, “Preferences” or “Control Panel”.
2. Use the control panel to display the list of file associations. This list of known file types is usually organised into categories such as “all” and “application”. Select the "application/x-zip" file type from the list.
3. Add a new application to associate with the file type, entering the following path:
   
   <jre bin path>java -jar "<zipcreator path>zipcreator.jar"
   
   
4. If multiple applications are already associated with the x-zip file type, move the new zipcreator association to the top of the list. Then apply your changes.

Associating jar files with the Java Runtime Environment

If you double-click on the zipcreator.jar file and zipcreator fails to start, you should associate jar files with the Java Runtime Environment. However, not all jar files are executable Java applications.

1. Use the Launch menu or its equivalent to display the system control panel and display the list of file associations.
2. Select the "application/x-jar" file type from the list of known file types, then add a new application to associate with this file type. Enter the following path:
   
   <jre bin path>java -jar
   
   
3. If multiple applications are already associated with the x-jar file type, move the new association to the top of the list.

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