Core feature · Coming soon
Archive folders
Open an archive in cloud storage as a read-only folder, without downloading or extracting it first. Browse its files, play them directly, or copy out the ones you need. A SACD ISO shows as DSF audio files.
Coming soon
In the next release
Archive folders arrive in the next release, in the apps on every platform and in the core service's web interface.
It is a membership feature, and needs a plan that includes archive folders.
Turning it on
Off by default
Turn on Enable archive folders on the Archive Folders page in Settings. You can also open an archive straight away: while the feature is off, the open dialog offers Turn On and Open.
The same page lists your Saved Archive Folders and sets the local cache limit for solid archives; see solid archives.
Opening
Open an archive as a folder
-
Choose Open as Folder
Choose Open as Folder from the file's menu or in the file's details.
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Confirm how to open it
The dialog shows the archive's format and how many files it holds. If part of it is solid, choose how that part is read; for a 7z archive with a password, enter the password here. Then choose Open.
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Go to the folder
The archive appears in the Archive Folders folder at the top level, named after the file with its extension:
Album.isobecomesAlbum_iso. Choose Go to Folder to open it.
Nothing in them can be changed, deleted, renamed or moved, and nothing can be copied into them. You can browse, play and download, or copy files somewhere else — which extracts them.
Managing opened archives
- Load automatically after a restart: off by default. While it is off, the archive folder stays in the saved list after CloudDrive2 restarts but is not shown until you open it again.
- Hide: stops showing the folder; it stays in Saved Archive Folders.
- Remove: deletes the entry. The archive file itself is not deleted.
A local mount of all of CloudDrive2 (the root, /) shows Archive Folders too; a mount of a single cloud does not.
Formats
Supported formats
| Format | Notes |
|---|---|
| ISO | Disc images |
| zip | zip archives |
| 7z | For a 7z archive with a password, you enter the password when opening it |
| RAR | Archives made by RAR 2.9 or later, including RAR5 |
| tar and compressed tar | .tar, .tar.gz, .tar.xz and so on. A compressed tar is read through once the first time it is opened, to list its files; meanwhile the folder shows that it is reading the archive's contents |
| SACD ISO | Shown as DSF audio files; see SACD ISO |
For a multi-volume archive, open the first volume, for example the .part1.rar or .001 file.
Solid archives
How solid parts are read
7z and RAR can compress many files into one continuous block; this is called solid compression. A file in such a block can only be decoded from the start of the block, in order, not from the middle. ISO, zip and tar have no such blocks, so the choice is not offered for them.
| Choice | What happens | Suits |
|---|---|---|
| Don't extract | Files in the solid part can't be opened; the other files read normally | Archives where you only need files outside the solid blocks |
| Decode in memory | Files are decoded in memory as they are read, and nothing is saved on the device. Jumping back in a file decodes again from the start of the block, so it is slow | Opening a few small files now and then |
| Decode and keep a local cache | Decoded data is kept in a temporary file on the device, and later reads and jumps use that file | Playing videos, or opening the same files repeatedly |
The local cache is shared by every archive that uses it. Its limit is 2 GB by default and can be changed under Local cache limit in the archive folder settings. When it is full, the data read longest ago is removed first. An archive's cached data is also removed when its archive folder is removed, when the archive file is replaced, or when you switch it to another choice.
The choice is made per archive, and can be changed later in that archive folder's settings.
SACD
A SACD ISO shows as DSF files
Opened as a folder, a SACD disc image shows each track as a DSF file. Play it in CloudDrive2, or hand it to another player through WebDAV or a local mount.
Folder layout
A disc with both a stereo and a multichannel area gets a Stereo and a Multichannel folder. With only one area, the tracks sit directly in the archive folder.
Cover art
When there is a cover picture next to the ISO, the open dialog offers to add it to the DSF files. Each file's tag then carries the picture, at no extra cost in cloud storage.
Limits
What can't be read
The open dialog lists the files that can't be read, and why.
- Encrypted zip and RAR archives: CloudDrive2 can't decrypt their files. An archive whose file list itself is encrypted can't be opened.
- RAR files made by RAR 2 or older.
- Files compressed in a way CloudDrive2 doesn't support.
- In a multi-volume archive with a volume missing, the files in that volume.
- Damaged archives or files.
- An archive inside an archive folder can't be opened as a folder.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
The archive folder says the archive file is gone or was renamed
The archive file was deleted, renamed or moved. Put the file back under its old name and place and the folder works again, or remove the archive folder and open the archive from its new place.
The archive folder says my plan doesn't include archive folders
It is a membership feature. After upgrading to a plan that includes it, your saved archive folders work again. See plans and pricing.
The archive folder is gone after a restart
Load automatically after a restart is off by default. Open it again from Saved Archive Folders, or turn that setting on in the archive folder's settings.
Seeking in a video inside an archive is slow
The video is in a solid block and is read with Decode in memory, so jumping back decodes again from the start of the block. Switch to Decode and keep a local cache, and jumps read from the local cache.
Does removing an archive folder delete the archive?
No. Removing deletes only the archive folder's entry and its local cache; the archive file in cloud storage is not touched.
Report a problem
File problems as GitHub issues, where they are recorded and tracked; you can also report them in the Telegram group or by email.