Microsoft says the 2022 release of Windows 11 now supports nearly a dozen additional archive file formats including: RAR, 7-Zip, Tar, and GZ.
With this month's optional cumulative update KB5031455, Windows 11 now supports 11 archive file formats.
The updated list of archive file types supported in Windows 11 includes: .rar, .7z, .tar, .tar.gz, .tar.bz2, .tar.zst, .tar.xz, . tgz, .tbz2, .tzst, and .txz, but encrypted, password-protected files are not yet supported.
When asked for more details about support for password-protected archive files, a Microsoft spokesperson said that Microsoft has nothing else to announce at this time.
Microsoft says it has added the new archive file format using the open source libarchive project, which means other formats such as LZH and XAR could also be supported in the future.
Since KB5031455 is an optional update, Windows users will need to install it manually by opening the Settings app, then going to Windows Update and clicking Check for Updates. Users will then be prompted to install the update by clicking on the “Download and Install” link.
The new feature will be available to all Windows 11 users via a cumulative update scheduled for next Tuesday, expected in mid-November.
Microsoft first announced that Windows 11 would support additional archive file formats at its Build 2023 developer conference last May.
Archive file formats such as ZIP, 7-Zip, and RAR are commonly used on Windows systems, with ZIP being the most popular option.
Although Microsoft has integrated support for ZIP files into Windows since 1998, third-party applications such as 7-ZIP and WinRAR are still required to handle archive files in .7z, .rar, and .gz formats.
It is worth noting that the new optional update also activates all the features of the last major update called Moment 4 and brings 72 new features to Windows 11, including: an updated file explorer, a new backup application, a built-in Master Manager application and an artificial intelligence program (Cobaylt). ). ) copilot.