Let’s look at how to use 7-Zip with Windows 11 including, installing 7-Zip, compressing, removing files, and encryption of folders with 7-Zip.
Are you constantly running out of space on the hard disk? Do you find your hard drive becoming messy when the files are added to it? You need a reliable compression tool for compressing the files, archiving them and organizing them to make it easy and secure storage.
There are a lot of excellent software for file compression and extraction available among them the most well-known versions, WinZip and WinRAR. However, both are priced at around $40. If you’re not looking to pay this much for a basic file compression program You can try 7-zip, which is a free lightweight compression program with an impressive compression ratio.
7-Zip is among the top file archivers for Windows. It is an open source file archive program that allows you to compress and uncompress files and encryption of files. This article will demonstrate how to use 7-Zip on Windows 11, including how to install and download 7-Zip to compress extract, encrypt, and compress archives and folders with 7-Zip.
Table of Contents
Why You Should Use 7-Zip
- 7-Zip is free to use , for both commercial and personal use.
- The software is available for localization in the following languages: 87.
- It has a higher compression ratio in 7z, ZIP, and GZIP formats when compared with its competitors.
- It offers it with 256-bit AES encryption for ZIP and 7z formats.
- The program allows you to compress files up to 16 exbibytes or 64 bytes in size.
- It is accessible as an easy command line, as well as versions that are available.
- It is possible to be Integrated into Windows Shell.
- Formats supported Packing and Unpacking 7z, XZand BZIP2 GZIP, TAR ZIP, and WIM formats.
- Formats supported Unpacking only for AR and ARJ CAB, CHM, CIO, CramFS, DMG, EXT FAT, GPT HFS, IHEX, ISO, LZH, LZMA, MBR, MSI, NSIS, NTFS RAR, QCOW2, RPM, SquashFS, UDF, UEFI, VDI, VHD, VMDK, WIM, XAR, and Z.
How to Install 7-Zip on Windows 11
If you don’t have 7-Zip onto your Windows then follow these steps to download and install 7-zip.
Then, visit first the 7-zip.org website in your web browser. Select the 7-zip version that you want to download. If you are running 32-bit Windows choose the 32-bit version x86′ or the 64-bit version for 64-bit Windows.
Click on the download button to download the installation file.
After that, open File Explorer and navigate to the directory where you downloaded the 7-zip installation file. Double-click it to install it.
If User Account Control asks permission, click ‘Yes’.
A new window for 7-Zip Setup will pop up asking you to choose the location which directory you would like to download the application. If you wish to alter the directory, simply click the button that has three tiny dots (…) and choose your destination directory. If you prefer to keep the default folder then click the “Install” button.
7-Zip is a light application It can be installed in a matter of minutes. After the installation is completed close the application by clicking ‘Close’.
Setting Up 7-Zip in Windows 11
Before you can begin using 7-Zip program, you must make it the default application for opening archive files as well as creating archive files. This is how to accomplish this:
After the application has been installed After installation, type ‘7-Zip’ into the Windows search engine and then open it as an administrator.
After that, click “Yes” to grant UAC authorization.
In the 7-Zip program Click the menu ‘Tools’ and then select the option ‘Options’.
On the System tab Click the first+ button to make 7-Zip as the primary archiver of all types of archives for the user currently in use. Even if you use other archive software on your system, pressing the button above will create 7-Zip the default archiver.
Click the second “+” button to set this application as the standard to all of the users. After that, click “Apply” to save the settings and click OK for the dialogue to end.
It is also possible to connect and disconnect 7-Zip from different types of files. You can also add or remove types of files by clicking on them.
When you click right on a compressed file you’ll see the option to open the file in 7-Zip format and then compress the file into a ZIP file.
When you open Windows 11, when you click on an archive file with the right mouse button you will be presented with a new context menu that has only one archive option, 7-zip. If you would like to view the traditional context menu that has additional 7-zip options then select ‘Show additional options’.
There is a context menu, which has more options . As you hover your mouse over the 7-Zip option you’ll see additional menu items from 7-Zip.
You can also modify the context menu options within the 7-Zip app. To do this, open the 7-Zip application and then go to Tools - Options. After that, go to the tab ‘7-Zip’ and then add or remove the context menu items in this section.
How to compress files using 7-Zip
We’ve covered the steps to installing and configure 7-Zip. We will now look at how to use 7-Zip in compressing files as well as extracting files and folders. Let’s first look at the process of compressing files.
Choose one or more files that you wish to archive using your File Explorer or Desktop, then right-click the selected file and choose ‘Show additional options’.
After that, hover over the 7-Zip icon and choose either Add to filename.zip or ‘Add to filename.7z to compress it quickly.
Because the ‘zip’ and 7z formats are the most well-known and effective archive formats, they are the default formats for archives within the context menu. However, 7-Zip can be used for archive files in four different formats, which include wim, zip, tar 7z, wim, and zip.
If you want to choose a different file format and to modify your compression options, choose the files you wish to archive, click on the right side and select ‘Show additional options’. After that, hover over 7-Zip option and choose the Add to archive’ option.
Within the Add to Archive window, you can adjust the settings to control the compression according to you’d like. You can change the name of the file in the field ‘Archive. You can also alter the location for saving your compressed files by pressing the square dots in the Archive field.
If you wish to select an alternative archive format choose a file type from the drop-down menu titled ‘Archive format. You can select between wim, 7z, tar, and zip formats for compressing.
Increase or decrease the duration of compression by changing the setting for Compression level (from Store up to Ultra). The choices range from ‘Store’ to get the most efficient compression, to Ultra for the slowest compression speed with the largest space saved. The default choice is Normal, which provides a more stable compression speed.
Alter the compression ratio using different algorithms using the option ‘Compression method.
If you’d like to divide the archive into multiple pieces, you can set the size of the file in the ‘Split to Volumes bytes:’ setting. After you’ve configured the settings Click ‘OK’ to begin the compression.
This creates a new compressed file using the format of archive files you choose. The same procedure is followed when you wish to archive folders.
The speed at which files are compressed can vary between a few seconds and hours dependent on the amount of folders, files, sizeand the computer’s performance.
Secure a File using Password Security using 7-Zip
7-Zip does not just archive files however, it also allows you to secure your files with a password. 7-Zip can be encrypted using the AES-256 algorithm. It is among the most secure variants of AES. This means that encrypted files cannot be encrypted without the correct password. This is extremely useful for those who want to save or share files that contain important details.
Then, choose first the file(s) or the folder that you wish to secure then right-click them choose 7-Zip, then select the ‘Add to archive’ button.
Within the Add to the Archive dialog box, select a name and a location to store the file. choose the Archive Format as ‘zip 7z’ or ‘zip’.
Enter and then enter your password again under the section Encryption and make sure the ‘AES-256 option is selected from the encryption method drop-down. If you’re using the 7z format, make sure to select the ‘Encrypt file names’ option for additional security. After you’ve completed the process you can click OK to begin the compression process.
It is also recommended to create a password that includes at minimum one number, at least one uppercase letter and one lower case letter and special characters to make an extremely secure password.
How to Extract Files using 7 Zip
Extracting files is much easier to do than compressing them. Choose the archive files you wish to extract, or, if you have split archives, choose the first file in split archives (filename that begins with ‘.001’), right-click and choose the option ‘Open’ (with the logo of 7z).
In the 7z app, press the button ‘Extract.
In the copy dialog box, choose the destination folder by clicking the square dots button (Browse button). In default, it will display the folder in which the archive is located in the desired destination. After that, click the OK button to begin extracting files.
They will then be extracted within the current folder or at your preferred destination.
If you would like to view additional extraction options, simply select ‘Show additional options’ in the contextual menu for the file you’ve compressed.
After that, hover over the word the word “7-Zip” to view three options for extraction. Select the ‘Extract files’ …’ choice to select the destination and extract by selecting “Extract Here” to extract all the files into the currently selected folder, or choose the Extract into “filename”‘ option to extract files to a different folder with the same name as that of the archive.
Remove a single file from an Archive File with 7-Zip
If you are looking to extract just one document from an archive file that contains several files Follow these steps.
Double-click on the archive file, or right-click and choose ‘Open’ to show all the compressed files into it in a brand new window called 7-Zip.
Select the files you want to extract, and press the button ‘Extract’ or simply move and drop desired files from the 7-Zip application into any folder you want.
This will only remove only the selected file(s) out of the archives.
Remove or open an encrypted Archive File with 7-Zip
If you wish to unpack or open an archive file that is encrypted using 7-Zip, you can do it this way:
To open a file encrypted open the archive, click on the right-click file and choose “Open”.
You will then be asked for an account password. Enter your password and select ‘OK” to view the contents.
If you wish to remove the file, click right and choose ‘Show additional options’. After that, you can open the menu item 7-Zip and select one of three options to remove the file. The program will prompt you to enter an account password, you must use it to begin the extraction.
This is all you need to know about using 7-Zip with Windows 11. Enjoy Archiving!