Microsoft recently made the exciting announcement that Windows 11 will include built-in support for RAR and various other archive formats, fulfilling a long-awaited desire among Windows users that has spanned decades. That means you won’t need to use WinRAR anymore. If you don’t already know what WinRAR is, its a popular file compression and archiving utility for Windows. It is used to compress files and folders into a single compressed archive, making it easier to store, share, and transfer multiple files. WinRAR supports various archive formats, including RAR, ZIP, 7Z, and more. Additionally, it offers features such as encryption, password protection, and the ability to split large archives into smaller parts.
In a recent blog post, Windows chief Panos Panay announced that they have incorporated native support for a range of archive formats, such as tar, 7-zip, rar, gz, and several others. This support is made possible through the utilization of the libarchive open-source project. Panay highlighted that users can now experience enhanced performance when it comes to compressing files on Windows, further improving the archive functionality.
According to Microsoft, the support for the newly added formats is expected to be introduced in an upcoming work-in-progress build later this week. During a Build session, Microsoft confirmed that an update for Windows 11 will be released in September, enabling users to open these additional archive formats. Sharla Soennichsen, a product manager at Microsoft, stated that the company also intends to incorporate support for creating files in these formats by 2024.
Regardless, the inclusion of tar, 7-zip, rar, gz, and various other formats is undoubtedly a positive development for Windows 11 users. This means that there will no longer be a need to rely on third-party applications to access these types of files. It is hoped that the integration of these formats will be more seamless and efficient than the native ZIP support, ensuring a smoother user experience overall.
