In a major development, Microsoft has announced that an upcoming update to Windows 11 will bring native support for widely used compressed file formats, including RAR, 7-Zip, and GZ. This feature is intended to provide greater convenience and efficiency for users by eliminating the need to use third-party applications to handle these file formats. Great news. During the Build 2023 conference, Microsoft made other announcements that caught the attention of tech enthusiasts. Among them was the upcoming Windows 11 Moment 3 update, along with the introduction of Windows Copilot with built-in Artificial Intelligence. A great advance this new function In a recent blog publication of the North American company, Panos Panay, director of Product of Microsoft, revealed the plans of the company to integrate native support for several file formats. It is important to note that this improvement will be possible thanks to the use of the open source project libarchive. Windows 11 users will thus be able to enjoy seamless integration of formats such as tar, 7-Zip, RAR, GZ and some more. One of the main benefits of the upcoming native support is better performance during compression tasks on Windows. While ZIP archives have enjoyed built-in support for more than two decades, the lack of native support for 7-Zip (.7z), RAR (.rar), and GZ (.gz) archives required users to rely on applications from third parties. In the update, which isn’t too far away, Windows users will no longer need to install external tools, simplifying their workflow and streamlining their file management process. This arrival in Windows 11 also benefits Linux Beyond the Windows ecosystem, this development is also significant for Linux users. The inclusion of support for GZ archives will be particularly beneficial, since the GNU Zip (gzip) utility and TAR archives are commonly used in Linux environments. This continues to increase integration between Windows and Linux – exemplified by features such as the Windows Subsystem for Linux and support to foster a more cohesive and user-friendly experience for individuals operating on both platforms. According to Microsoft, the rollout of native support for these file formats will begin in the next few days, albeit as an “in progress” update. Windows 11 users have great news in this new feature, because it promises to speed up their tasks. >
