I've been using Virtual CloneDrive for ages, since about v5.1 or 5.2, it's been pretty great and I always recommend it for being simple, reliable and glad that it's one of the programs that hasn't turned into bloat-ware.
Though having said that for a long time I've thought some more features would be great, especially features that wouldn't cause bloat. For instance adding support for more file-types to be mounted would be great.
Now I realise some formats are proprietary and would require licensing and possible even a cost but I'm not suggesting any of those, nor would I for many reasons. Though I am suggesting support for mounting archive formats that would allow it to be done easily and freely, such as 7-zip and WinRAR formats. It would also be quite easy to add such support (especially in the case of 7-zip and even WinRAR).
To some it may sound like a strange request but would be very handy, in a sense an archive is much like an .iso file except it has a number of benefits, particular benefits such as compression and validation. There are many situations in which the mountable container file would be smaller if it supported compression, depending on the type of data it could save a very large percentage of space. It would also, of course, mean that the files could be opened in one of the archiving programs and tested to ensure the file is not damaged or corrupt and allow easy extraction and creation of the files with free and easily available programs.
It would also provide advantages over using the archiving software for accessing the archives, such as when and archive must be fully, or even partially, extracted to make use of its contents. An easy example here would be when the archive contains an installer with other required files, instead of having to extract the entire archive it could simply be mounted and immediately ready.
I believe it would also benefit Slysoft/Virtual CloneDrive, especially thanks to the previous point mentioned above. Normal archive usage (.RAR, .7z, .zip etc) is far more widespread than virtual disc mounting, so such a feature has the potential of making Virtual CloneDrive appeal to far more people, especially if it offers a distinct advantage over the archiving software by allowing access to archives without having to extract them first, while adding very useful features to those already using Virtual CloneDrive.
Also Virtual CloneDrive seems to be a sort of advertising for Slysoft, having some free low maintenance software helps get people exposed to the Slysoft name and of course the other paid for software, so making Virtual CloneDrive appeal to a broader audience would also help there, as such a feature would also get it listed in archiving categories/tags on sites such as Softpedia etc.
It just seems like it would be a win-win, win situation all round.
Though having said that for a long time I've thought some more features would be great, especially features that wouldn't cause bloat. For instance adding support for more file-types to be mounted would be great.
Now I realise some formats are proprietary and would require licensing and possible even a cost but I'm not suggesting any of those, nor would I for many reasons. Though I am suggesting support for mounting archive formats that would allow it to be done easily and freely, such as 7-zip and WinRAR formats. It would also be quite easy to add such support (especially in the case of 7-zip and even WinRAR).
To some it may sound like a strange request but would be very handy, in a sense an archive is much like an .iso file except it has a number of benefits, particular benefits such as compression and validation. There are many situations in which the mountable container file would be smaller if it supported compression, depending on the type of data it could save a very large percentage of space. It would also, of course, mean that the files could be opened in one of the archiving programs and tested to ensure the file is not damaged or corrupt and allow easy extraction and creation of the files with free and easily available programs.
It would also provide advantages over using the archiving software for accessing the archives, such as when and archive must be fully, or even partially, extracted to make use of its contents. An easy example here would be when the archive contains an installer with other required files, instead of having to extract the entire archive it could simply be mounted and immediately ready.
I believe it would also benefit Slysoft/Virtual CloneDrive, especially thanks to the previous point mentioned above. Normal archive usage (.RAR, .7z, .zip etc) is far more widespread than virtual disc mounting, so such a feature has the potential of making Virtual CloneDrive appeal to far more people, especially if it offers a distinct advantage over the archiving software by allowing access to archives without having to extract them first, while adding very useful features to those already using Virtual CloneDrive.
Also Virtual CloneDrive seems to be a sort of advertising for Slysoft, having some free low maintenance software helps get people exposed to the Slysoft name and of course the other paid for software, so making Virtual CloneDrive appeal to a broader audience would also help there, as such a feature would also get it listed in archiving categories/tags on sites such as Softpedia etc.
It just seems like it would be a win-win, win situation all round.