How to Create a Self-Extracting SFX Archive in Windows 11

An SFX archive is a special type of self-extracting archive you can create on Windows platforms. It is an executable archive that users can extract without any third-party extraction tools.

You can use such archives to share groups of files with other users via emails, which they can easily extract by double-clicking SFX packages. This is how you can set up a self-extracting SFX archive in Windows 11.

How to Set Up an SFX Archive With Windows 11's IExpress Wizard

Windows 11 includes an IExpress wizard with which you can set up an SFX. You can utilize that tool to set up SFX archives for extracting files only or ones that run installation commands. Selecting that wizard's Extract files and run installation command option enables you to set up archives for installing apps.

This is how to create an SFX archive for extracting files only with IExpress Wizard in Windows 11:

1. Open your Start menu and click inside the search box on it.
2. Type IExpress within the search box.
3. Right-click the IExpress search result and open that wizard with elevated permissions by selecting Run as administrator.
4. Click the Create new Self Extraction Directive file radio button.

   

5. Select the Extract files only option and Next.

   

6. Enter the title SFX archive for the package title and click Next.
7. A confirmation prompt for extracting is an optional extra, but it’s a good idea to add one. To do so, select "Prompt user with" and input a confirmation message like "Do you wish to extract archive?"

   

8. Click Next and select the Do not display license radio button.
9. Select Next again and then click the Add button. Hold the Ctrl key to choose all the files you want to include within the archive and click Open.

   

10. Click Next to proceed to a Show window step. Select the Default (recommended) option there.
11. Then select Next again to go to the finish message step. As it’s not especially important to have a finishing message, select the No message radio button.

Now we can get started using IExpress Wizard:

1. Click Next and press the Browse button to select the folder that will include your archive.
2. Input SFX archive in the File name box to match the one entered at step six and click Save.

   

3. Press Next to reach the options for saving a SED. Click the Don’t Save option there.

   

4. Click Next twice more to create the archive.
5. Wait for the package creation process to finish. Then click the Finish button on the IExpress wizard window.

Testing the SFX Archive Made With IExpress

Now try extracting the files from your new self-extracting archive. Open the folder you selected to save the archive in. Then double-click the SFX archive.exe archive package.

A confirmation message will pop up if you set one up as instructed for step seven. Click Yes and then press the Browse button to select a folder to extract the files. Select OK to extract the files in the archive to the chosen folder. Then go to whatever folder you extracted the archive’s files in to open them from them.

Selecting the Don’t save SED option means you can’t modify the self-extracting archive after creating it. If you would prefer the archive to be editable, select the Save Self Extraction Directive option instead. Then you can change the archive later by selecting the Open existing Self Extraction Directive file radio button within IExpress Wizard.

How to Set Up an SFX Archive With 7-ZIP

7-Zip is a freely available third-party extraction utility for Windows with which you can also set up self-extracting archives. You can set up SFX archives that have variable compression levels with 7-Zip. That software also enables you to encrypt your files within SFX packages. These are the steps for setting up SFX archives with 7-Zip.

1. Go to the 7-Zip download page.
2. Install Z-Zip on your PC.
3. Open the 7-Zip File Manager software, and navigate to a folder that includes some files to include in the archive within 7-Zip’s window.
4. Select multiple files to add to an SFX archive by holding the Ctrl key.
5. Click the Add button.

   

6. Select the Create SFX archive checkbox.

   

7. Click the Archive box’s ellipses button.
8. Choose a folder to save the SFX archive in and click Open.
9. Input a file name within the Archive box.
10. Press the OK button to create your new self-extracting archive.

Testing the SFX File With 7-ZIP

Check out the new self-extracting archive in whatever folder you saved it in. Double-clicking the archive will bring up a 7-Zip self-extracting archive window. Click the button for the Extract to box to select a folder. Then click Extract to access the archive’s files in the selected folder.

If you want to set a password for the archive, you can do so within 7-Zip’s "Add to archive" window. Input some text in the Enter password box there. Then users will need to input a password after double-clicking the self-extracting archive. The archive will have an AES-256 encryption method set.

By default, compression is set to a standard level five. However, you can change that by clicking the Compression level drop-down menu. Select Maximum or Ultra on that menu to increase the compression. However, those compression options are also the slowest.

You can also configure the archive’s compression with the Word size and Dictionary options. Setting a higher Dictionary size setting increases the compression. A higher Word size setting can also enhance the compression ratio for the LZMA method.

Share Your Files Within Self-Extracting SFX Archives

It’s easy to set up self-extracting SFX archives with both IExpress and 7-Zip. Creating such archives will enable you to attach more files to emails because they reduce the overall attachment data sizes. Furthermore, recipients of such archives won’t need any extraction software installed to open them up.

However, note that self-extracting SFX archives aren’t cross-platform compatible. Users can only extract the archives on the same platform in which it was created. So, make sure you send your SFX archives to users with Windows PCs.