Creating archives
Choose a format, compression settings, and optional password protection.
Create a new archive
Start a new archive, add your files or folders, select a format, and choose where to save it. The creation options vary by format.
| Format | A useful choice when… |
|---|---|
| ZIP | You want an archive that is broadly familiar across platforms. |
| 7z | You want 7-Zip compression and optional encryption. |
| TAR | You want to bundle files for a Unix-oriented workflow. TAR itself does not compress. |
| Stream formats | You are compressing a single stream, such as GZIP or XZ; use TAR first to bundle multiple files. |
RAR creation is not supported. See the format reference for reading versus writing support.
Add a password
ZIP and 7z support password-protected creation. AES-encrypted ZIP is not supported by every built-in unzip tool; check the recipient’s software before sharing.
For ZIP creation, passwords must contain 1–99 printable ASCII characters. 7z passwords can include Unicode. Keep your password in a secure place and share it separately from the archive. ezarchive cannot recover a forgotten password.
Check the result
Wait for the operation to complete before moving or sharing the archive. Open the result and verify the entries you expect. Keep the originals until you have confirmed the archive can be extracted.