Windows 11 adds support for 11 file archives, including 7-Zip and RAR

[AFFASocial]

• October 29, 2023
• 10:09 AM
• 2

Microsoft says Windows 11 22H2 now natively supports almost a dozen additional archive formats, including RAR, 7-Zip, Tar, and GZ archives.
The company has added support for 11 new file archive formats with this month's optional KB5031455 Preview cumulative update.
The updated list of supported archive types in Windows 11 now adds .rar, .7z, .tar, .tar.gz, .tar.bz2, .tar.zst, .tar.xz, .tgz, .tbz2, .tzst, and .txz, although support for password encrypted files is not yet available.
When asked for more details about the missing password-protected archive support, a Microsoft spokesperson said the company has nothing else to share at this time.
Redmond says it added the new file archive formats with the help of the open-source libarchive project, which means we will likely see other formats like LZH, LZH, and XAR.
Since KB5031455 is an optional update, Windows users must install it manually by opening the Settings app, navigating to Windows Update, and clicking 'Check for Updates.' Users will then be prompted to install the update by clicking the 'Download and install' link.
This new capability will also roll out to all Windows 11 users through cumulative updates scheduled for release during November's Patch Tuesday.

Windows 11 KB5031455 preview update (BleepingComputer)
Redmond first announced that Windows 11 will get support for additional archive formats during the Build 2023 conference in a May blog post introducing the new Dev Home Windows control center.
"We have added native support for additional archive formats, including tar, 7-Zip, RAR, gz and many others using the libarchive open-source project," said Panos Panay, Microsoft's former Chief Product Officer. "You now can get improved performance of archive functionality during compression on Windows."
Archive formats like ZIP, 7-Zip, and RAR are extensively used on Windows systems, with ZIP being the most widespread choice.
However, while Windows has integrated ZIP archive support since 1998, third-party applications like 7-Zip and WinRAR were required for handling 7-Zip (.7z), RAR (.rar), or gz (.gz) files.
The .gz archive format is more commonly associated with Linux through the GNU Zip (gzip) utility. Still, it is expected to become much more helpful to Windows users with the increasing popularity of the Windows Subsystem for Linux feature.
Today's optional update also enabled all Moment 4 features, bringing 72 new features to Windows 11, including an overhauled File Explorer, a new Backup app, a built-in Passkey Manager, and the AI-powered Copilot for Windows.

 

[HGStyle]

Finally ! Probably more than 10 years after most Linux file managers ! (Lol)

 

[hacxx]

This is really good news.

 

[DVDR_Dog]

I wonder how M/S pulled that one off? WinRar must have lost it's international rights. Development in that area has been stale for a very long time. 7zip is still actively under development, but it's not the most stable of compression programs. I guess with multi TB drives and tons of bandwidth make compression programs less relavent. There was a time when 80GB hard drives (WD ruled back then) were the standard. That's why I cringe when I see these remuxed movies posted at 20+GB. Kind of odd that HEVC has become the standard for video compression as well. I could go on about that but it's too off-topic. Back to the subject it makes you wonder if file compression programs have much of a future outside of pirate distros, they aren't that great at keeping a file secure.

 

[Lifetron]

I am surprised that 7zip is judged to be unstable when it has consistently outperformed compression programs that cost thousands of dollars & has even opened many proprietary locked archives that the original creators program could or would not open. It has been especially error free, though it is not perfect.

 

[DVDR_Dog]

I am surprised that 7zip is judged to be unstable when it has consistently outperformed compression programs that cost thousands of dollars & has even opened many proprietary locked archives that the original creators program could or would not open. It has been especially error free, though it is not perfect.

Don't misunderstand me, 7zip is a very powerful tool. What was most useful to me was the fact since is was not proprietary and a Swiss-Army tool for accessing just about files in any compressed form, It was the first tool I used to open and manipulate disc images. You will have to admit along it's path of development as is true with any open source project it did suffer from intermittent crashes. Just like let's say VLC it's a great tool, but it's far from the perfection you would expect from a commercial piece of software.

 

[Lifetron]

Don't misunderstand me, 7zip is a very powerful tool. What was most useful to me was the fact since is was not proprietary and a Swiss-Army tool for accessing just about files in any compressed form, It was the first tool I used to open and manipulate disc images. You will have to admit along it's path of development as is true with any open source project it did suffer from intermittent crashes. Just like let's say VLC it's a great tool, but it's far from the perfection you would expect from a commercial piece of software.

VLC is for people who want a simple & easy solution, but it excels on ancient low powered machines that nobody wants.
It is possible that my experience is not that well rounded or objective enough, but, if I had to trust my life to which app to deal with a troubling .rar archive I would not hesitate to choose 7zip over WinRar, but that does not mean that free software is better quality, it just means that it can be sometimes.