P7ZIP(1)                                                 P7ZIP(1)



NAME
       7-Zip - A file archiver with highest compression ratio

SYNOPSIS
       7za [adeltux] [-] [SWITCH] <ARCHIVE_NAME> <ARGUMENTS>...


DESCRIPTION
       7-Zip  is  a  file  archiver  with the highest compression
       ratio. The program supports 7z (that implements LZMA  com-
       pression  algorithm),  ZIP,  CAB,  ARJ,  GZIP, BZIP2, TAR,
       CPIO, RPM and DEB formats. Compression ratio in the new 7z
       format is 30-50% better than ratio in ZIP format.

       7za  is a stand-alone executable. 7za handles less archive
       formats than 7z, but does not need any others.


FUNCTION LETTERS
       a      Add

       d      Delete

       e      Extract

       l      List

       t      Test

       u      Update

       x      eXtract with full paths


SWITCHES
       -ai[r[-|0]]{@listfile|!wildcard}
              Include archives

       -ax[r[-|0]]{@listfile|!wildcard}
              eXclude archives

       -bd    Disable percentage indicator

       -i[r[-|0]]{@listfile|!wildcard}
              Include filenames

       -l     don't  store  symlinks; store the files/directories
              they point to (CAUTION :  the  scanning  stage  can
              never end because of recursive symlinks like 'ln -s
              .. ldir')

       -m{Parameters}
              Set Compression Method

       -o{Directory}
              Set Output directory

       -p{Password}
              Set Password

       -r[-|0]
              Recurse subdirectories (CAUTION: this flag does not
              do what you think, avoid using it)

       -sfx[{name}]
              Create SFX archive

       -si    Read data from StdIn

       -so    Write data to StdOut

       -t{Type}
              Type of archive

       -v{Size}[b|k|m|g]
              Create volumes

       -u[-][p#][q#][r#][x#][y#][z#][!newArchiveName]
              Update options

       -w[{path}]
              Set Working directory

       -x[r[-|0]]]{@listfile|!wildcard}
              Exclude filenames

       -y     Assume Yes on all queries


Backup and limitations
       DO  NOT  USE  the  7-zip  format  for  backup  purpose  on
       Linux/Unix because :
        - 7-zip does not store the owner/group of the file.


       On Linux/Unix, in order to backup directories you must use
       tar :
        - to backup a directory  : tar cf - directory | 7za a -si
       directory.tar.7z
        - to restore your backup : 7za x -so  directory.tar.7z  |
       tar xf -

       If  you  want to send files and directories (not the owner
       of file) to others Unix/MacOS/Windows users, you  can  use
       the 7-zip format.

         example : 7za a directory.7z  directory


       Do  not  use  "-r"  because this flag does not do what you
       think.

       Do not use directory/* because of ".*"  files  (example  :
       "directory/*" does not match "directory/.profile")

EXAMPLE 1
       7za   a   -t7z   -m0=lzma  -mx=9  -mfb=64  -md=32m  -ms=on
       archive.7z dir1
              adds  all  files  from  directory "dir1" to archive
              archive.7z using "ultra settings"

       -t7z   7z archive

       -m0=lzma
              lzma method

       -mx=9  level of compression = 9 (Ultra)

       -mfb=64
              number of fast bytes for LZMA = 64

       -md=32m
              dictionary size = 32 megabytes

       -ms=on solid archive = on

EXAMPLE 2
       7za -sfx archive.exe dir1
              add all files from directory "dir1" to SFX  archive
              archive.exe  (Remark  :  SFX  archive MUST end with
              ".exe")

MORE EXAMPLES
       You      will      find       more       examples       in
       /usr/share/doc/p7zip/DOCS/MANUAL.

AUTHOR
       Written for Debian by Mohammed Adnene Trojette.



Mohammed Adnene Trojette October 31 2004                 P7ZIP(1)