Settings

Settings: General

Configure application behavior, performance, file protection, and backup settings

Overview

The General tab holds Archyv's global preferences — the defaults that apply across every process rather than to a single job. They cover appearance, what the app remembers between launches, how it protects files during batch operations, backups, performance, and diagnostics.

Global settings take effect immediately and are saved automatically. Where a process offers its own option for the same behavior, the per-process choice overrides the global default for that run only.

When to Use

Open General Settings when you want to shape how Archyv behaves across every process rather than for a single job. This is the tab to visit when first setting the app up, when the defaults no longer suit the storage or hardware you work on, or when you need the app to guard rights-managed files more or less strictly. The decisions that live here are global: the app's appearance, what it remembers between launches, how it protects files during batch runs, whether it keeps backups, how hard it pushes your machine and your cloud connection, and how much diagnostic detail it records. Set them to match the way you work and the rest of the app inherits them, so it is worth a pass whenever your collections, your equipment, or your tolerance for risk changes. Each setting carries its own card below explaining what it does and how to choose a value.

Requirements

  • No special requirements - General Settings are available immediately
  • Cloud storage settings apply when processing files from iCloud, Google Drive, Dropbox, OneDrive, and other online storage systems

Settings

Every control on this tab, grouped as it appears in Settings.

Appearance
Color SchemeSegmented · System / Light / Dark · default System

Chooses Archyv's light or dark appearance, or follows the macOS system setting.

When to useLeave on System so the window matches the rest of your Mac and switches automatically with the system schedule. Pick Light or Dark only to pin Archyv to one appearance regardless of the system.
ExampleA studio editing in a darkened room overnight sets Dark so the window doesn't flip to Light when macOS switches at sunrise.
Startup Behavior
Launch in full screenToggle · default On

Enters macOS full-screen mode automatically each time Archyv opens.

When to useEnable on a dedicated cataloguing station where you want the largest possible workspace every session. Leave off if you move between apps and prefer a normal, movable window.
ExampleA workstation that only runs Archyv turns this on so each shift starts already maximised.
Remember window positionToggle · default Off

Restores the window's last size, position, and monitor on the next launch.

When to useKeep on for a consistent setup, especially across multiple displays. Turn off to have Archyv open centered on the main display every time.
ExampleOn a two-screen desk, Archyv reopens on the right-hand monitor where you left it instead of jumping to the primary display.
Remember last selected folderToggle · default Off

Reopens the folder you were last working in when the app starts.

When to useUseful during a multi-day project on a single collection. Turn off if each session starts from a different folder and you'd rather not preload the previous one.
ExampleMidway through importing a three-week shoot you quit for the night; the next morning the same working folder is already loaded.
Remember last destination foldersToggle · default Off

Restores the output destinations for Image Conversion, File Transfer, and Folder Generation.

When to useEnable when you repeatedly export to the same delivery or archive folders. Turn off when destinations change per job and you'd rather choose deliberately each time.
ExampleA studio delivering to the same client-drop folder each week keeps its three export destinations preloaded instead of re-selecting them.

If a remembered destination may have moved or been archived since last session, confirm it before a large run so output doesn't land in a stale location.

Process Behavior
Simulation ModeToggle · default Off

Runs File Transfer, File Sort, Image Conversion, Metadata Renaming, Folder Generation, and other on-disk processes as a dry run — files are not modified and the log shows what would have happened.

When to useSwitch it on to rehearse an unfamiliar pattern or template, or before committing a very large batch. Leave it off for normal work, or nothing will actually be written.
ExampleBefore renaming 4,000 files with a brand-new pattern, enable Simulation Mode and run once; read the proposed names in the log, then disable and run for real.

Because nothing is written, no backups are created and there is nothing to undo — Simulation Mode is purely a preview.

File Protection
Protection LevelMenu · Strict (Recommended) / Warn / Off (Advanced) · default Strict

Sets how protected and uncertain files are handled during batch processing.

When to useKeep Strict (Recommended) on irreplaceable libraries — protected files are blocked and uncertain ones skipped unless you override. Warn lets you proceed past uncertain files after a prominent warning; Off (Advanced) suppresses most warnings and is for advanced users only. In every level, rights-annotated files still process normally.
ExampleA batch includes three read-only files. On Strict they are blocked and reported while the rest proceed; you decide whether to override them individually.
Show rights-annotated file summaryToggle · default On

Displays a summary whenever a batch contains files carrying rights metadata.

When to useLeave on when you work with licensed or client-owned material so you're warned before touching files that record copyright or usage terms. Turn off only if your collections never carry rights metadata.
ExampleBefore writing keywords to a delivery folder, the summary flags 12 files with existing copyright notices so you can confirm the operation is intended.

“Rights metadata” means a copyright notice, copyright holder, usage or licensing terms, a rights-marked flag, or a link to a usage-terms statement.

Log all operations to historyToggle · default Off

Records every batch operation in Processing History, not just ones with blocked or skipped files.

When to useKeep on for a complete audit trail of what Archyv did and when. Turn off to keep History short, logging only operations that hit a protection event.
ExampleAn archive team keeps this on so any past run can be reviewed months later, including clean operations that changed nothing unexpected.

This applies to batch operations only. Per-file metadata edits made in the Metadata Editor's Individual mode are never recorded in History.

Processing HistoryAction · View History

Opens the Processing History screen listing logged protection events and batch operations.

When to useOpen it to review what past runs did — which files were blocked, skipped, or processed — and when. How much it holds follows the Processing history limit below.
ExampleAfter a weekend of unattended batches, you open View History to confirm no protected files were touched.
Processing history limitNumber · 10–1000 · default 100

Sets how many recent operations Archyv keeps in Processing History.

When to useRaise it for a longer audit trail; lower it to keep History compact. Older entries beyond the limit are dropped as new ones are added.
ExampleSet 500 on a busy production machine so roughly a month of daily runs stays available for review.
Enable field-level protectionToggle · default On

Protects specific metadata fields from accidental modification during edits.

When to useKeep on so particular fields — copyright, licensing — are never overwritten in bulk; turn off only if you want metadata edits to replace existing values freely. Choose which fields below; protection follows the Protection Level above.
ExampleWith this on and Copyright protected, a batch that would otherwise rewrite the copyright field leaves existing copyright values untouched.

Empty fields can always be set freely. Protection only applies once a field already has a value.

Protected FieldsCheckboxes · Copyright / Rights Usage Terms / Rights Status · all on

Chooses which metadata fields field-level protection applies to.

When to useEnable the rights fields you can't risk overwriting. These have effect only while Enable field-level protection is on.
ExampleA licensing-sensitive studio protects Copyright, Rights Usage Terms, and Rights Status so a bulk attribution run can add missing values but never replace existing ones.
Diagnostics
Send anonymous crash reportsToggle · default Off

Sends anonymous crash reports to help diagnose and fix bugs; reports contain no personal data or file contents.

When to useOff by default — turn it on to help improve stability. It stays off until you enable it; leave it off if your environment prohibits outbound diagnostics.
ExampleAfter a rare crash on a large RAW batch, an enabled report lets the developers reproduce and fix the issue without any of your files leaving the machine.

Reports are sent to Sentry's EU servers.

File Operations
Confirm before large batch operationsToggle · default On

Shows a confirmation dialog before processing many files at once.

When to useKeep on as a safety check against accidental large runs. Turn off only on a trusted, repetitive pipeline where the extra prompt slows you down.
ExampleSelecting an entire card of 1,200 frames triggers a confirmation so a misclick can't start a full run unintentionally.
Large batch thresholdNumber · default 500 files

Sets the file count that triggers the large-batch confirmation dialog.

When to useLower it to be prompted on smaller runs; raise it if your normal jobs are large and the prompt appears too often.
ExampleA studio whose typical job is 800 files raises the threshold to 1,000 so only genuinely oversized runs ask for confirmation.
Backup Management
Create backup before metadata modificationsToggle · default On

Backs up each file before a metadata write and keeps the copy afterward, so a successful edit can be undone and an interrupted one recovered.

When to useLeave on for safety on irreplaceable files — the kept backup is what lets you undo a metadata edit or recover from an interrupted write. Use the Retention Limit below to cap how much they accumulate. Turn off only if a downstream system already guarantees recovery.
ExampleAfter a bulk copyright edit, the kept backups let you undo the run and restore the original files if the change was wrong.
Retention LimitSegmented · None / Size limit / Age limit · default None

Automatically prunes older preserved backups when a new one is created.

When to useLeave None to keep every preserved backup. Choose Size limit or Age limit to cap how much accumulates, then set the matching value that appears.
ExampleSet Age limit to 30 days so preserved backups clean themselves up after a month instead of growing indefinitely.
Preserved BackupsActions · View in Finder / Review Backups / Clear All

Shows how many backup files Archyv is keeping as restore points, and lets you manage them.

When to useReview Backups to inspect or restore them, View in Finder to locate them on disk, and Clear All once you've confirmed everything is safe.
ExampleAfter resolving a drive issue, you open Review Backups, restore the two affected files, then Clear All to reset the count to zero.
Settings Export / Import
Export / Import SettingsActions · Export Settings / Import Settings

Saves your settings to a portable file, or loads settings from a previously exported file.

When to useExport to share a configuration with a colleague or back it up before a major change. Import to apply that configuration on another machine.
ExampleA lead exports a vetted configuration and team members import it so every station handles protection and backups identically.

Machine-specific paths stay local on import, so an imported file won't point your destinations at someone else's folders.

Metadata Editor
Write XMP sidecar files for regular photosToggle · default Off

When on, editing a regular photo (JPEG, HEIC, and similar) also writes a companion .xmp sidecar; when off, the metadata stays inside the photo.

When to useTurn on if your downstream tools read XMP sidecars or you want metadata mirrored outside the file. Leave off to keep everything embedded. RAW files always use sidecars regardless of this setting.
ExampleA workflow that hands files to a library expecting .xmp sidecars enables this so each edited JPEG ships with its companion file.
Copy companion-file values into the photo when saving (advanced)Toggle · default Off

When editing a single photo, some shown values may come from its companion .xmp rather than from inside the photo; turning this on also copies those values into the photo on save.

When to useLeave off unless you specifically need sidecar values embedded back into the image. It does not affect editing multiple photos at once.
ExampleA JPEG that arrived from Lightroom keeps its rating and keywords in a companion .xmp sidecar rather than inside the file. Before handing that single file off on its own, you turn this on and save so those values are written into the photo, making it self-contained without the sidecar.
Performance
Cloud file timeoutNumber · 30–600 s · default 120 s

How long Archyv waits for a single file from iCloud, Google Drive, Dropbox, OneDrive, and other online storage systems before timing out.

When to useRaise it on slow connections or for large RAW files that download on demand; lower it to fail faster on unreliable links.
ExampleA team pulling large files from iCloud over a slow uplink raises this to 240 seconds so on-demand downloads finish instead of timing out.

Google Drive streams files it has not downloaded on demand, which is slower than most networks. The durable fix is to make them 'Available offline' (Shared Drives) or switch on 'Mirror files' (My Drive) before transferring, not just to raise this timeout.

Local file timeoutNumber · 5–300 s · default 30 s

How long Archyv waits for a single file on local disk before timing out.

When to useThe default suits fast internal storage. Raise it for slow external or network volumes.
ExampleWorking from an older USB drive, you raise this to 60 seconds so large files aren't abandoned mid-read.
Cloud batch sizeNumber · 1–100 · default 5

Number of cloud-stored files Archyv processes per batch.

When to useKeep it modest — cloud storage throttles bursts. Raise cautiously on fast connections; lower it if cloud operations stall.
ExampleFrequent iCloud throttling eases after lowering the cloud batch size to 3.
Local batch sizeNumber · 1–500 · default 50

Number of local-disk files Archyv processes per batch.

When to useLarger batches finish big local jobs faster; smaller batches ease memory pressure on very large files.
ExampleConverting thousands of small JPEGs, you raise the local batch size to speed throughput on a fast SSD.
Cloud concurrent operationsNumber · 1–10 · default 2

How many cloud-file operations run in parallel.

When to useKeep low to respect cloud rate limits. Increasing it risks throttling or transient errors.
ExampleLeft at 2 for iCloud; pushing to 6 caused repeated timeouts that disappeared after returning to the default.
Local concurrent operationsNumber · 1–20 · default 5

How many local-file operations run in parallel.

When to useRaise to use more of a fast multi-core machine; lower if the system feels loaded during big runs.
ExampleOn a high-core workstation, raising this to 10 shortens a large conversion run.
Advanced
Enable verbose loggingToggle · default Off

Shows detailed debug information in the log output.

When to useTurn on temporarily when diagnosing an issue or preparing a bug report. Leave off normally — verbose logs are noisy.
ExampleWhen a specific file won't process, enable verbose logging to capture the exact step that fails, then turn it back off.
Show processing time in resultsToggle · default On

Displays the elapsed time after each operation completes.

When to useKeep on if you benchmark runs or tune performance settings. Turn off to keep results uncluttered.
ExampleWhile tuning batch sizes, you compare how long the same 1,000-file job takes under each setting.
Reset all settingsAction · Reset to Defaults

Restores every global setting to its default value.

When to useUse as a clean slate when settings have drifted into a confusing state. Export first if you might want to return to the current configuration.
ExampleAfter experimenting heavily with protection and performance options, you Reset to Defaults to get back to a known baseline.

This affects all global settings at once and cannot be undone.

Tips & Important Notes

  • The 'Color Scheme' under Appearance offers System, Light, or Dark. System follows macOS; choose Light or Dark to fix Archyv to one. Changes apply instantly.
  • Start with the default timeouts (120s cloud, 30s local). Raise the cloud timeout if synced files time out, and lower the local timeout only when every file is on fast local SSD storage.
  • A cloud 'Batch Size' of 5 avoids overwhelming network connections. Raise the local batch size to 100-200 on fast SSD storage to improve throughput.
  • Keep cloud 'Concurrent Operations' at 2 to respect provider rate limits. Raise local concurrency to 10-20 on systems with 8 or more CPU cores.
  • 'Strict' file protection suits shared workflows where several photographers contribute. The override lets you process a file when you confirm you own it.
  • Turn on 'Enable field-level protection' when several people may edit metadata. It guards the Copyright, Rights Usage Terms, and Rights Status fields from accidental changes.
  • Settings backups are separate from metadata backups. They are stored in ~/Library/Application Support/Archyv/Backups/ and can be restored by hand if your settings are corrupted.
  • Turn on the folder-memory options for repeat work on the same collections. Archyv remembers a separate destination for each process.
  • 'Enable verbose logging' produces detailed output that can slow processing slightly. Turn it on only while troubleshooting, then turn it off again.
  • 'View History' shows the logged protection events. Turn on 'Log all operations to history' to record every batch, not just protection events.