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This is an archive article published on October 30, 2023
Windows 11 users can now open RAR files without third party tools like WinRAR
Apart from RAR files, Windows 11 users can also open popular file formats like .7z and .tar natively.
Windows 11 recently added 72 new features with the latest Moment 4 update. (Image Source: Microsoft)
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Windows 11 users can now open RAR files without third party tools like WinRAR
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Microsoft has released an optional update for Windows 11 that lets users open and decompress RAR files without having to download a third-party tool like WinRar.
The optional KB50311455 preview update also added file support for 10 new file archive formats like .7z, .tar, .tar.gz, .tar.bz2, .tar.zst, .tar.xz, .tgz, .tbz2, .tzst, and .txz, but it looks like Windows still cannot password protected encrypted files.
Earlier this year in May, Microsoft announced in a blog post that it was working on the ability to natively open RAR files during the Build 2023 conference. While Windows already has support for .ZIP files since 1998, the company had refrained from introducing .RAR support for 28 years for reasons unknown.
According to Microsoft, support for the new file formats was added from the open-sourced libarchive project, indicating that we might also see support for formats like LZH and XAR in the future.
Apart from support for new file formats, the optional update also automatically enables new features from the Windows 11 Moment 4 update, which includes a redesigned File Explorer, a brand new Backup app, support for passkeys and the much-anticipated Co-pilot for Windows.
To install the KB50311455 optional update, type ‘Windows Update’ in the search bar and hit enter. Now, in the window that appears, click on ‘Check for Updates’. The new update with native RAR support will appear as ‘2023-10 Cumulative Update Preview for Windows 11 Version 22H2 for x64-based Systems (KB5031455)’. Install the update and you will be able to open RAR archives on Windows 11 without the help of any third-party tool.
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