WinRAR Beta Update and Enhancements in File Archiving Software
WinRAR, the widely used archiving tool, has just rolled out a beta update that introduces a variety of enhancements and critical bug fixes. Users can appreciate the performance improvements that accompany this update.
Key Performance Enhancements
One of the notable improvements is the faster display of the context menu in Windows 11, which enhances user experience during file management. This update aligns well with Microsoft’s recent patch (KB5046756) aimed at bolstering the performance of context menus in Windows 11. Additionally, users will benefit from an increased compression speed as the new version addresses a prior performance bug that affected efficiency.
Highlights from WinRAR 7.10 Beta 2 Release Notes
The release notes point to several significant updates, particularly those concerning dark mode and overall functionality:
- Improvements and fixes related to dark mode.
- The “Dark mode”settings have been renamed to “Color mode”for clarity.
- Speed enhancements for WinRAR items in the Windows 11 context menu during multi-selection actions.
- The “Export settings to file”feature no longer triggers User Account Control prompts.
- A new exit code 13 is returned for command line operations when unpacking a non-RAR file mistakenly labeled with a. rar extension.
- The “External viewer name”field now supports relative path specifications, which is beneficial for portable installations on USB drives.
- Bug fixes addressing:
- Unexpected compression speeds in specific non-solid archives.
- Issues causing the console RAR to encounter infinite loops during user prompts.
- Errors when running executables from archive subfolders.
- Unintended resets of WinRAR.ini contents under certain conditions.
Updates Across Other Archiving Tools
WinRAR’s update isn’t the only news in the archiving software sphere; competitors such as 7-Zip and NanaZip have also received notable improvements. Last week, 7-Zip version 24.09 implemented significant enhancements, including an increase in the maximum default dictionary size values for LZMA/LZMA2 compression:
- The dictionary size for 64-bit and 32-bit versions increased as follows:
dictionary size compression level v24.08 v24.09 v24.09 32-bit 64-bit 8 MB 16 MB 16 MB -mx4 16 MB 32 MB 32 MB -mx5: Normal 32 MB 64 MB 64 MB -mx6 32 MB 64 MB 128 MB -mx7: Maximum 64 MB 64 MB 256 MB -mx8 64 MB 64 MB 256 MB -mx9: Ultra
- Calculation capabilities for additional hash checksums, including SHA-512 and SHA3-256.
- Enhanced compatibility with APM and HFS.
- Visual feedback during large file movements in archive updates.
- Bug fixes related to file extraction from nested archives.
NanaZip Security Improvements
On the other hand, NanaZip has responded to a critical vulnerability (CVE-2024-11477) concerning Zstandard decompression, which was also addressed by 7-Zip in their earlier updates. The latest NanaZip 5.0 Preview 0 includes several enhancements, ensuring a smoother and more secure user experience:
- This release consolidates updates from NanaZip 3.1.
- Enhancements to translations, dependencies, and documentation for improved functionality.
- Significant updates that increase optimization and reduce binary size for self-extracting files.
- Improvements in legacy Windows compatibility, aiding usability for a broader user base.
For more detailed information about the NanaZip update, interested users can check the release notes on their official GitHub repository here.
Overall, the recent updates across multiple file-archiving applications underscore a dedicated effort to enhance performance, usability, and security for users worldwide.
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