PackZIP family — Technical support

PackZIP (standard), PackZIP Pro, and PackZIP Lite share this page. Each edition is a separate App Store product.

Editions at a glance

App	Version	What it does (see the App Store listing and in-app UI for details)
PackZIP (standard)	2.0	Create and extract ZIP and 7z; extract RAR (not create). Optional passwords where the format allows. Finder extension and Services appear under the PackZIP name.
PackZIP Pro	1.0	Adds TAR and XZ; optional split volumes for 7z, TAR, and XZ; pick any part in the same folder for split sets. RAR remains extract-only. Finder extension appears as PackZIP Pro.
PackZIP Lite	2.0	Free tier: plain ZIP only (no encryption) for compress and extract. No 7z, RAR, split volumes, or passwords. Finder extension appears as PackZIP Lite.

“Version” is the marketing version (CFBundleShortVersionString) aligned with the Xcode project and the current App Store release line. Your installed build number is always the one shown in the App Store and in the app’s About window.

What the PackZIP apps do

All editions are local macOS utilities: they read and write archives only where you authorize, on your Mac. There is no “cloud unzip” or developer-hosted storage of your archive contents.

Browse archive (main window)

From the hub, Browse archive (or Browse ZIP in Lite) opens a sheet that lists entries inside a supported archive. Extract selected items to a folder you choose in the system file chooser. When the archive type is writable in the app (not read-only formats such as RAR or single-file gzip/bzip2/zstd), you can add files or folders and remove selected entries after a confirmation prompt. PackZIP Lite only supports those in-place edits on plain, unencrypted ZIP.

System requirements

macOS 12 (Monterey) or later, unless your build notes say otherwise.
Apple Silicon or Intel Mac.

“Permission denied” or nothing appears on the Desktop after extract

Every edition uses the macOS App Sandbox. Write access to a folder (including Desktop) is granted only after you confirm the destination through Apple’s folder picker.

If the sheet says the archive will be extracted next to the archive file, click Extract, then choose or confirm the folder in the Finder sheet that macOS shows. Without that step, the system may block writes outside the archive file itself.

Name collisions when extracting (ZIP in standard, Pro, and Lite)

For unencrypted ZIP, if a file or folder with the same name already exists at the destination, the app detects the conflict and asks whether to replace existing items before extracting. Encrypted ZIPs handled via Apple’s unzip follow that tool’s overwrite behavior.

Skipping Mac metadata when compressing (all editions)

In the compress sheet you can enable skip Mac temporary/metadata files (for example .DS_Store, __MACOSX, and AppleDouble ._* files). Enabled, those paths are not stored in the archive—helpful when sharing with Windows users. Each app edition remembers its own setting.

Windows and ZIP file names (standard & Pro)

Unencrypted ZIP entries are written with UTF-8 paths. For password-protected ZIP (created via Apple’s zip), PackZIP and PackZIP Pro try to add the ZIP “UTF-8 path” flag afterward so non-ASCII names are less likely to look garbled on Windows; if issues remain, use a modern extractor there (for example 7-Zip). PackZIP Lite only creates plain ZIPs, so this password-ZIP path does not apply.

Password-protected ZIP is slow or shows an error

PackZIP Lite does not support password-protected archives. Use PackZIP or PackZIP Pro for that.

In the standard and Pro apps, password-protected ZIP creation uses Apple’s zip tool. If you see errors about temporary files, try another save location or ensure you have enough free disk space.
Compression favors speed (lower ratio) for typical use; very large selections are mostly limited by disk I/O.

Finder: “Compress with PackZIP …” / “Extract with PackZIP …”

Each edition ships a Finder Sync extension. The menu labels match the app you installed (PackZIP, PackZIP Pro, or PackZIP Lite). Turn it on under System Settings → Privacy & Security → Extensions → Finder (on some macOS versions: General → Login Items & Extensions → Extensions → Finder). If menus are still missing, try Option-click the Finder icon in the Dock → Relaunch.

Services (Shortcuts menu)

You may also see entries under Finder → Services or System Settings → Keyboard → Keyboard Shortcuts → Services. Enable the items whose names match the edition you installed.

Open archives with a specific edition by default

In Finder, select a file, choose Get Info, set Open with to PackZIP, PackZIP Pro, or PackZIP Lite, then click Change All… if you want that association for all files of that type. Lite applies to .zip only; standard and Pro can also cover .7z, .rar, and more depending on what macOS lists.

Privacy (short)

Archives are handled on your device. Standard and Pro may call Apple’s zip / unzip for some password-protected ZIP workflows. Details (including Finder extensions and App Group) are in the PackZIP family privacy policy.

Contact

Support and feedback: 53245774@qq.com

Please mention which app you use — PackZIP, PackZIP Pro, or PackZIP Lite, plus macOS version, app version, what you clicked step by step, and the full error text (or a screenshot).