Features
Clean Share
Share archives without Mac clutter, with names Windows accepts and, if you like, without location data in photos.
A folder from a Mac often contains things the recipient shouldn’t see: .DS_Store files, Windows thumbnails, temporary Office files, developer folders or where your photos were taken. Clean Share tidies up while compressing. Your original files stay unchanged.
Who is the archive for?
In the compression window, choose who gets the archive under Share with. Each profile turns on suitable options and suggests a format:
| Share with | What Archydes also does | Format |
|---|---|---|
| Mac | only the essentials | ZIP |
| Windows | Windows-compatible names, replaces links with their files, uniform permissions | ZIP |
| Linux | only the essentials | tar.gz |
| Web / Email | like Windows, plus leaves out hidden files and removes photo metadata | ZIP |
| Developer | leaves out developer folders such as .git and node_modules | tar.gz |
Every profile leaves out Windows files and temporary files, and Mac clutter in any case.
Preview before compressing
Next to Share with, you see what will happen, such as 4 items left out · 1 renamed · 2 photos without location. Details… lists every affected file and shows all options so you can turn each one on or off.
The options in detail
- Windows files:
Thumbs.db,desktop.iniand similar. - Temporary files:
~$Report.docx,.tmp,.swp, and Trash or Spotlight folders. - Developer folders:
.git,node_modules,DerivedData,__pycache__and similar. - Hidden files: anything whose name starts with a period.
- Photo metadata: location, camera, date taken and other details from JPEG, HEIC, PNG and TIFF. The image isn’t recompressed for this, and its orientation is kept.
- Windows-compatible names: Characters Windows doesn’t allow (such as
:or?) are replaced, and reserved names such asCONorLPT1are made safe. Names that differ only in case are numbered. Archydes reports paths longer than 260 characters, because older Windows apps can’t open them. - Replace links with the files they point to: Instead of a link, the file itself goes into the archive; links to folders are left out.
- Uniform permissions (644/755): Files are readable by everyone, and programs and folders are also executable.
From the Finder
Right-click › Archydes › Create Archive (ZIP) compresses right away with the Windows profile: without Mac or Windows clutter, without temporary files and links, and with names that work everywhere. The name is chosen the same way as with the Finder’s “Compress” command, and nothing is overwritten.