Bug 511502

Summary:	Add zstd to Dolphin service menu "compress as" action
Product:	[Applications] ark	Reporter:	Thomas Bertels <tbertels>
Component:	general	Assignee:	Elvis Angelaccio <elvis.angelaccio>
Status:	REPORTED ---
Severity:	normal	CC:	bitto, felixernst, flaviannxmbo, meven, nate, rthomsen6
Priority:	NOR
Version First Reported In:	25.08.1
Target Milestone:	---
Platform:	Manjaro
OS:	Linux
Latest Commit:		Version Fixed/Implemented In:
Sentry Crash Report:

Description Thomas Bertels 2025-11-02 10:18:06 UTC

SUMMARY
Ark currently includes "tar.gz" and "zip" as service menu "Compress as" actions.
With zstd being faster (especially since commit for bug 474174) and compressing better than both of these, it makes sense to include it in the submenu.

STEPS TO REPRODUCE
1. Install Ark
2. Open Dolphin
3. Right click on a file or folder
4. Select "Compress as"

OBSERVED RESULT
Only "tar.gz" and "zip" are shown

EXPECTED RESULT
"tar.gz", "zip" and "zstd" are shown

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Code: https://invent.kde.org/utilities/ark/-/blob/master/app/compressfileitemaction.cpp

Comment 1 bitto 2025-11-21 14:04:22 UTC

I would like to give this a shot as new contributor.
The changes required in https://invent.kde.org/utilities/ark/-/blob/e3f7ca32771c9f7e06ee1f5c84b546a240100f91/app/compressfileitemaction.cpp#L59-67 appear to be minimal.

If you, the maintainers, agree to have `.tar.zst` added as modern option to the Dolphin "Compress as" service menu, then please let me know, or assign a corresponding issue to me at https://invent.kde.org/utilities/ark/-/issues. (I am not yet familiar with the contribution workflow.)
My KDE Identity account name is "leoniephiline".

Thanks!

Comment 2 Thomas Bertels 2025-12-25 22:20:11 UTC

@Nate: Since Elvis doesn't seem very active lately (unless he just missed this?), maybe you or someone else could reply to this potential new contributor?

Comment 3 Cavalier0491 2025-12-26 10:41:09 UTC

Hello, I would be also interested in having this option! Thanks

Comment 4 Nate Graham 2025-12-30 18:41:02 UTC

I'm not a Dolphin maintainer; those would be Meven Car and Felix Ernst; CCing them.

Personally I wouldn't add this to the menu. The differences between compression methods are inscrutable to normal users, and the more we expose, the worse it will get.

Instead, if this is really desired, I'd recommend we refresh the UI a bit to express only two choices:
- Compress with best compatibility ("zip")
- Compress with smallest size (".tar.gz")

And then write a configuration UI to allow experts to choose which compression method they want to use for the "smallest size" option. It could let people switch between .tar.gz, zstd, xz, and so on.

That's a lot more work than just adding a new compression method to the existing menu though.

Comment 5 Cavalier0491 2026-01-01 20:21:33 UTC

Nate, I think this is a good idea! :)