© Lemon squeezer
If the RAR format is still used today, it is because it offers a very practical compression algorithm for sending large files. But since its creation in 1995, it requires the installation of WinRAR software to compress and extract files on WIndows. For example, if you receive a RAR file on your PC, you must first download the software to extract the data that has been compressed. But with the Windows 11 update which is currently being deployed, Microsoft will finally put an end to this hassle.
A few months ago, Microsoft announced a Windows 11 update which includes the support for RAR files. This support allows you to extract RAR files without using third-party software. And currently the update is rolling out.
As reported by the PC World site, this deployment began in September. But now, all users who enable the “Get the latest updates as soon as they become available” option can manually install update KB5031455 which includes support for RAR files. And in November, this new feature will arrive via automatic updates.
Good news for Windows, and for WinRAR?
Obviously, support for such a popular format as WinRAR is good news for Windows users. Furthermore, this is not the only compression format that is now natively supported by Windows 11. Thanks to the open source libarchive project, the operating system will also support .Tar, .tar.gz, .tar .bz2, .tar.zst, .tar.xz, .Tgz, .tbz2, .tzst, .txz and .7z. As for ZIP files, they have already been supported by Windows since 1998.
On the other hand, the support for RAR files by Windows 11 worries the publisher of the WinRAR software. “First of all, we feel honored by Microsoft's decision. We hope this will make RAR compression even more popular and more accessible to users who are not familiar with WinRAR. Are we worried? Of course we are, because we are a small company and Microsoft is a large international multi-billion dollar company with great power. However, others might be even more concerned about Microsoft's decision,” responded WinRAR in an email published by the Neowin site in May.
Indeed, if Microsoft supports this format on Windows 11, most people will no longer have any reason to download WinRAR on their PCs.
- Microsoft is gradually rolling out a Windows update 11 which brings support for RAR files
- 28 after the creation of WinRAR, it will no longer be necessary to download this software to extract the files
- This makes life easier for users of Windows, but also worries the publisher of WinRAR
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