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How to create a new archive, compress files & folders to 7Z TAR ZIP

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Add files and folders to new archive (7Z, TAR, ZIP...)

Archive formats supported for creation

PeaZip provides write support - create new archive, and edit existing ones adding files and/or directories - for following archive types:

7Z, FreeArc's ARC / WRC, BZ2, BCM / QUAD / BALZ, GZ, PAQ family (ZPAQ, LPAQ, PAQ), PEA, RAR (if WinRar is installed in the system), TAR, WIM, ZIP, ZIPX, creation of plain split files .001 (supported by 7-Zip/p7zip, HJSplit, and "split" Unix command)
creation of self extracting archives, based on 7Z or ARC standards - recipient will not need an extraction utility
strip + upx compression, for executable files only

How to create a new archive

To add files and folders to a new archive, or to edit existing archive, you can:

Create new archive from the system's file explorer

select files and folders and use context menu entry PeaZip > Add to archive to be prompted archive creation screen, allowing to set archive format, compression settings, output destination, encryption (password protection), and other options.

as alternative, use system context menu entry Add to .ZIP or Add to .7Z in order to start archiving selected files / directories without further interaction

Create new archive from PeaZip main application

select files and folders, and use Add or Convert button to be prompted archive creation screen

as alternative, drag and drop files and/or folders from the system to an open PeaZip instance

Archiving options

In the top part of the application window, PeaZip provides a file explorer showing list of input files and folders set to be archived (archive layout): rightclick on it for context menu to further edit the list, and for showing other input-related options.

Input context menu features controls to add files & folders, drag to application from search results, open bookmarked / recently visited paths (showing only directory items), add bookmarked / recently used files, load and save layout, and more...
Same menu is replicated clickingon the hamburger icon in the top right corner of the application's window.

In the lower part of the application, Output control sets output archive name and path, and its dropdown menu allows to quickly chose between system paths, recently used and bookmarked paths.

How to create an encrypted archive

Padlock icon on the right of Output sets encryption password, if supported by the chosen archive format; PeaZip can create encrypted archives under following standards:

7Z with 7-Zip AES256 encryption
ARC with FreeARC AES256, Blowfish, Twofish256 and Serpent256
PEA with AES256 EAX authenticated encryption
RAR4 AES128, and RAR5 AES256
ZIP / ZIPX with WinZip AES256 AE, and ZipCrypto for legacy compatibility

How to set archiving / compression options

On the left (dropdown menus):
The first dropdown control sets archive format; by default PeaZip is set to archive to ZIP format, using optimized 7-Zip/p7Zip Deflate implementation which provides improved compression ratio and keeps compatibility with third parts zip files utilities.
Following dropdown controls set compression level (faster to higher - store option being the fastest but provides no compression), action (create new or update existing archive), and span archive in multiple volumes - useful to meet maximum size requirements, i.e. for email attachments.

On the right (checkboxes):
Add each object to a separate archive option create multiple separate archives at once, one for each file or folder in the input list.
Archive to original path overrides Output settings and create output archive(s) in same path of the input data.
Convert existing archives automate archive conversion process, extracting existing archives before starting actual archiving / compression stage in order to optimize final compression - used with "Add each object to separate archive" (active by default when "Convert" button is clicked from PeaZip file browser) it converts single input items to separate archives of the new format, otherwise consolidate all input archives to a single output archive in the new format.
Delete files after archiving send original data to recycle bin (default), quick non recoverable deletion, or secure deletion.
Open output path when task completes open the destination with system's default file explorer.
Send by mail automate creation of a new mail with output archive attached, if a supported mail client is installed in the system.
TAR before option consolidates input adding files into in a single TAR archive before the actual compression stage; this option is automatically activated when applying a pure compression format, as Brotli, BZ2, GZ, LPAQ, XZ, or Zstandard, to multiple input files.

Advanced options to create archives

Above input layout area, below application's main menu, it is featured the archiving tab bar.
Advanced tab provides format-specific features - compression passes, dictionary sizes, alternative algorithms, solid compression, etc.

Script and schedule archive creation

Console and Schedule tabs can fine tune task definition beyond GUI capabilities, and save / schedule the task in the form of command line script.

Create a ZIPX archive with PeaZip

PeaZip can create ZIPX files, which are basically ZIP files allowing compression algorithms different than Deflate / Deflate64, with the possible result of improved compression ratio over creating classic ZIP files.

Create a RAR archive with PeaZip

PeaZip can also create RAR files, but only if WinRar is found on same machines, because RAR compression routines are encoubered by proprietary patents and cannot be freely distributed as standalone Free Software.

Synopsis: How to archive and compress data with PeaZip free archiver utility. Select files and folders to add to archive. Set archiving and compression options to create new 7Z, ARC, PEA, TAR, WIM, ZIP archives.

Topics: create new archive with PeaZip, add files and folders to archive

PeaZip > FAQ > How to create a new archive, compress files & folders to 7Z TAR ZIP