Advanced tools & context menus

Advanced tools and context menus

Beyond the main windows, Archivst Desktop exposes a large set of advanced, right-click driven actions. This page is the reference for those tools — most of all, every context menu and the items it contains.

If you are new to the app, start with the main guides and come back here for the deep-dive tools:

Note: some of the advanced tools below are only available in developer mode, or only when a folder supports the underlying feature (for example cloud deletion or versioning).

Context menus

Right-clicking on items throughout Archivst Desktop opens context menus that contain actions specific to that element. This section lists every context menu and what each item does.

Folders panel — folder list

Right-click a folder row in the main Folders panel to open this menu.

Item	Description
Run	Start a backup for this folder immediately, skipping unchanged files using the cached file-detail index.
Preview	Perform a dry run — shows which files would be uploaded without actually uploading anything. Useful for verifying scope before committing.
Refresh	Reload this folder's metadata and file-detail cache from disk.
Rename	Change the display name of this folder entry without affecting the source path or destination.
Open	Open the folder's source path in Windows Explorer.
Previous Runs	Browse the history of past backup runs for this folder, including timestamps, file counts, and error summaries.
Advanced	Submenu with diagnostic and maintenance tools (see below).
Properties	Open the full folder properties dialog to view and edit source path, destination, include/exclude rules, encryption, and per-folder options.
View Json	Display the raw JSON block for this folder as it is stored in the backup-set file — useful for troubleshooting or manual edits.

Folders panel — Advanced submenu

Item	Description
Test Permissions	Verifies that Archivst can read from the source path and write to the destination. Reports any access-denied errors.
Test Cached Hashes	Validates the locally cached file hashes against the actual files on disk to detect corruption or stale cache entries.
Verify All Files	Performs a full comparison between every source file and its backed-up counterpart, detecting any differences in content or metadata.
Search Files by Metadata	Opens the Search Files dialog pre-scoped to this folder. Supports filtering by filename, EXIF photo date, GPS location, file size, and comment.
Change File Metadata	Batch-updates EXIF or file-system metadata (e.g. date-taken) for files in this folder.
Find Duplicate Files	Scans the backed-up files for duplicates based on content hash, then lists them so you can decide which copies to keep.
View Failed Conversions	Shows a list of files that could not be processed or converted (e.g. images that failed compression or format conversion).
Open Failed Conversions Folder	Opens the output folder that contains copies of files that failed processing, so you can inspect or re-process them manually. Available only when failed-conversion output exists.

File browser — subfolder tree

The lower half of the Folders panel shows a combined folder/file browser. Right-click a subfolder in the tree view (left side) to open this menu.

Item	Description
Select All	Select all sibling items at the same level as the right-clicked subfolder.
Reset Selection	Clear any custom include/exclude overrides for this subfolder, restoring the default behaviour from the parent folder rules.
Change File Dates	Batch-modify the date metadata (e.g. file-system last-modified or EXIF date-taken) of files inside this subfolder.
Retry Failed Files…	Attempt to re-upload or re-process any files in this subfolder that failed during a previous backup run.
Show in Explorer	Open this subfolder in Windows Explorer.
Open in Gallery	Open the Gallery window pre-loaded with the images and videos from this subfolder.
Properties	View properties for this subfolder, including backup status, file count, and size.

File browser — files grid

Right-click a file row in the files grid (right side of the file browser) to open this menu.

Item	Description
Select All	Select all files currently visible in the grid.
View in Explorer	Open the local folder containing this file in Windows Explorer.
Open in Gallery	Open the Gallery window and navigate directly to this file.
View Remote in Explorer	Navigate to the backed-up copy of this file in the cloud-mounted or network Explorer view.
Copy Remote Path	Copy the cloud storage path (blob URL or network path) for this file to the clipboard.
Verify Hash	Compare the local file's content hash against the hash recorded for the backed-up copy to confirm they match.
Verify Byte by Byte	Download the backed-up copy and perform a full byte-for-byte comparison against the local file — the most thorough integrity check available.
Properties	View detailed information about this file: size, dates, backup status, hash, destination path, and any processing notes.

Note: some items (Download File, Dry Run, Delete Selected, Delete Old Versions, View File Detail Text) are hidden by default and appear only when specific conditions are met, such as the folder being a cloud folder that supports deletion or versioning.

Restore panel — folder list

Right-click a folder in the Restore panel to open this menu.

Item	Description
Bring Online	Request rehydration for an Archive-tier folder. Archivst shows the estimated cost and sends a confirmation code to your email before proceeding. See the quick restore guide for the full rehydration workflow.
Download Folder	Download all files in this folder to a destination you choose on your PC.
Dry Run	Preview which files would be downloaded without actually downloading them.
Refresh	Reload the folder index and rehydration status from the cloud.
Hydration Started	Read-only info item showing when the current rehydration request was initiated.
Hydration Summary	Open a summary dialog showing the rehydration progress, file counts, and estimated completion time.
Delete Folder	Permanently remove this folder and all its backed-up files from cloud storage. This action cannot be undone.
Properties	View folder properties including storage tier, total size, file count, and the original source path.

Search Files dialog — results grid

Right-click a result row in the Search Files dialog (accessible via Advanced → Search Files by Metadata on a folder) to open this menu.

Item	Description
Open File	Open the selected file with its default Windows application.
View in Explorer	Navigate to the file in Windows Explorer.
Show Selected in Gallery	Open the Gallery window and load only the selected search result.
Show All Results in Gallery	Open the Gallery window and load every file in the current search results as a playlist.

Dry Run dialog — files grid

Right-click a file in the Dry Run (Test Run) dialog to open this menu. The dialog is opened via Preview on a folder or the toolbar play-outline button.

Item	Description
Show in Explorer	Open the folder containing this file in Windows Explorer.
Test Image Compression	Apply the folder's configured image-compression settings to this file and preview the result before committing.
Exclude	Add an exclude rule for this file so that it is skipped in future backup runs.