Two profiles
Two interfaces inside one program: Archive and Backup.
Why two profiles
People come to Rizpaq with two different jobs in mind. One wants to see what is inside an archive, extract a file, compare versions — that is working with files. The other has set up a backup task and wants to know: when it ran, how it ended, when it will fire next — that is working with a schedule.
An ordinary archiver forces the second user to walk past a tree of drives every time, open a menu, and find the task. Rizpaq solves this with profiles: each profile shows what that particular user needs.
A profile is not a mode of the program
One exe, one core, shared engines, languages, themes, passwords, the scheduler. Only the main panel and the action buttons above it change. A profile does not split the code or switch "modes": it changes where the user is looking.
Archive profile
The familiar archiver layout:
- on the left, a tree of drives and opened archives;
- on the right, a table of the folder or archive contents;
- on top, breadcrumbs; at the bottom, the status bar;
- search inside the archive, versions, slices, comparison — everything you need for working with files.
The action buttons above the main panel are active in this profile: Create Archive…, Open Archive…, Refresh. The others are dimmed.
Backup profile
The main panel is a list of .rzt tasks saved to disk.
Five columns:
| Column | What it shows |
|---|---|
| Task | Task name |
| Next Run | Date from Windows Task Scheduler if the task is registered. Otherwise, a Schedule run button |
| Last Run | When the task last fired |
| Status | OK, error, or never run |
| Archive size | How big the archive this task works on is |
The task list in this profile is more than a table. The Next Run column has three states:
- A placeholder — while the schedule is being fetched from Windows Task Scheduler. Usually appears for a fraction of a second.
- A date — the task is in the Scheduler and will fire then.
- A "Schedule run" button — the task is not in the Scheduler.
Clicking the button opens the schedule dialog right from the list, saves
the
.rzt, and registers the task with the Scheduler. No need to go into the menu or into a separate dialog.
Action buttons in this profile: Run Task, Edit Task, Task Scheduler, Refresh. Archive-related buttons are dimmed.
First launch
On the very first launch, Rizpaq asks which profile to use. A small window, two large buttons, and a one-line explanation under each:
- Archive — unified tree of drives and archives, versions, slices, search, extraction.
- Backup — list of backup tasks: when they ran, how they finished, what to run now.
The choice is saved to settings. The dialog is not shown again. If you close it without choosing, the Archive profile is used — behaviour as in versions before 2.0.0.
Switching profiles
Two ways, both instant:
- The top bar — a segment of two buttons:
[ Archive | Backup ]. Clicking the inactive segment switches the profile. Clicking the active segment returns to "its" page if you have moved away. - The menu — Settings → Profile. The same choice, a duplicate for those who look for settings in settings.
Switching loses nothing: expanded tree nodes, selected rows, the state of the task list — all remain. Both pages live simultaneously; switching is just a change of the visible one.
Action buttons depend on the profile
The set of actions on the top bar is always the same — six buttons. Their activity changes:
| Button | Archive | Backup |
|---|---|---|
| Create Archive… | active | dimmed |
| Open Archive… | active | dimmed |
| Run Task | dimmed | active |
| Edit Task | dimmed | active |
| Task Scheduler | dimmed | active |
| Refresh | active | active |
Dimmed buttons are not disabled completely: hovering shows a tooltip telling you in which profile they work. Clicking them does nothing — so the user cannot start an action "from the wrong place".
Refresh acts differently in each profile: in the Archive profile it re-reads the current folder or archive, in the Backup profile it re-reads the task list.
Why the menu is always fully available
The menu is the map of what the program can do. So File → Create Archive… and File → Open Archive… are available in every profile. The buttons on the top bar are the focus of the current profile: what to do right now. The difference between "capability" and "focus" is what separates the menu from the action bar.
What both profiles share
| Shared | Details |
|---|---|
| One program | One exe, one build |
| Engines | zpaqfranz and 7-Zip — built in |
| Languages | Ten, switchable without a restart |
| Themes | Two, switchable without a restart |
| Passwords | One store for both profiles |
| Scheduler | Shared; task registration goes through Windows Task Scheduler |
| Menu | One for both profiles, all commands available everywhere |
Opening an archive from the Backup profile
In the task list, a double-click on a row opens that task's archive. The window switches to the Archive page and shows the contents. The profile stays Backup — the segment on the top bar still highlights "Backup".
To return to the task list, click the active Backup segment on the top bar. Previously such a click did nothing; now it works as "return to my profile's page".