Archive Utility "Save Archive:" setting is not working

[usagora]

I'm on macOS 15.3.1 and Archive Utility version is 10.15 (162)

I want the archive of any folder I compress to be saved to my Downloads folder, NOT the directory the folder is in. So I changed the appropriate setting in Archive Utility, yet it's still saving the archive to the same directory as the folder and not in Downloads. What am I doing wrong?

EDIT:
Ok I discovered the issue. For some stupid reason, using the right-click menu to compress a folder bypasses the Archive Utility settings and defaults to save the archive in the same directory the folder is in. To get the settings to work, you have to drag and drop the folder onto the Archive Utility icon in the Dock.

Any way to change the default save location for archives when using the right-click menu "Compress" option?

 

[NoBoMac]

Any way to change the default save location for archives when using the right-click menu "Compress" option?

Not that I know of.

Did a quick scan of the output from "defaults" command and did not see anything for paths there.

Can do it via a Shortcut:

 

[usagora]

Not that I know of.

Did a quick scan of the output from "defaults" command and did not see anything for paths there.

Can do it via a Shortcut:

Thanks for checking that. Yeah I forgot I could also do an Automator workflow, but that adds an extra tier to the right-click menu and also doesn't show the task progress when executing, which is not ideal.

Guess I'll just have to open Archive Utility and use the drag-and-drop method.

 

[BrianBaughn]

This might be one of those times a third-party app exceeds the built-in one.

Keka adds a contextual menu:

GitHub - aonez/Keka: The macOS & iOS file archiver

The macOS & iOS file archiver. Contribute to aonez/Keka development by creating an account on GitHub.

github.com

 

[bogdanw]

Keka adds a contextual menu

That is precisely why I don’t have Keka installed It’s really annoying the way it injects itself into Finder without asking.

Deep inside Finder, there are some CompressWithOptions.strings files
/System/Library/CoreServices/Finder.app/Contents/Resources/en_GB.lproj/CompressWithOptions.strings

From their content, like Compression format, one could presume that there are some configurable values for the Compress action in Finder. I couldn’t find any information about that.

The “Save archive” setting in Archive Utility is stored in com.apple.archive (~/Library/Containers/com.apple.archiveutility/Data/Library/Preferences/com.apple.archiveutility.plist) as "archive-info" = "/Users/user/Downloads";

I tried to add it to com.apple.finder (~/Library/Preferences/com.apple.finder.plist) with defaults write com.apple.finder "archive-info" "/Users/user/Downloads" but the compressed file was not saved in Downloads.

 

[BrianBaughn]

That is precisely why I don’t have Keka installed It’s really annoying the way it injects itself into Finder without asking.

It has to be given permission, by the user, to have access to the User folder and non-system volumes. It also has to be given permission, by the user, to enable the Finder extension. To an old Mac user like me that's the annoying part.

But…good luck with macOS!

 

[usagora]

This might be one of those times a third-party app exceeds the built-in one.

Keka adds a contextual menu:

GitHub - aonez/Keka: The macOS & iOS file archiver

The macOS & iOS file archiver. Contribute to aonez/Keka development by creating an account on GitHub.

github.com

I actually installed Keka last year in order to create split ZIP archives, but didn't realize it had an option to add a context menu - will try that soon.

 

[bogdanw]

Script for Automator that can be adapted to save as zip in ~/Downloads https://forums.macrumors.com/thread...ves-from-file-or-folder.2355412/post-31357401

 

[usagora]

I actually installed Keka last year in order to create split ZIP archives, but didn't realize it had an option to add a context menu - will try that soon.

Got it set up now @BrianBaughn - thanks for the tip! If anyone else wants to set it up, in Keka, go to Keka > Settings... and then Finder Extension. Enable it. Then make your checkboxes look like this:

Then under the Extraction menu, set "Extract to location:" to your Downloads folder (or wherever you want). Now when you right-click on a folder in Finder, your context menu will look like this:

The nice thing is if you simply click on "Compress with Keka" it will automatically compress the selected folder to your Downloads folder (or whatever default location you selected). However, if you want to make an exception, you can use the sub-menu to compress to the same directory you're in or to another location.

 

[bogdanw]

Keka’s context menus appear in Finder and are working as soon as the app is started for the first time.

 

[BrianBaughn]

Script for Automator that can be adapted to save as zip in ~/Downloads https://forums.macrumors.com/thread...ves-from-file-or-folder.2355412/post-31357401

In that thread you mention you have SIP disabled. Is that still true?

 

[bogdanw]

In that thread you mention you have SIP disabled. Is that still true?

The above was macOS 15.3.1 SIP enabled, the one bellow is macOS 15.3.2 SIP enabled.

 

[usagora]

Keka’s context menus appear in Finder and are working as soon as the app is started for the first time.

Then I guess they changed something, because that wasn't true when I installed it last year. Anyway, it takes a couple seconds to disable it if one doesn't want it - no issue.

Anyway, I think what I posted is helpful because maybe some, like me, did not have it enabled by default or perhaps inadvertently turned it off at some point.