Windows 10 ZIP archiver of Windows Explorer omits time stamps of top-level folders.

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xio

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On Windows 10 and presumably other Windows versions, the built-in file archiver of Windows Explorer (Windows File Explorer) does not record the time stamps of folders at the top level inside the ZIP archive file.

If you wish to retain those time stamps, you can use 7-Zip file manager.

Time stamps of files at the top levels, subfolders, and files inside folders are retained normally.

This post is not a support question, it is just for informing people.
 
Thank you for the information. Indeed, the built-in file archiver of Windows Explorer does not record the time stamp of folders at the top level inside the ZIP archive file. This is a known limitation of the Windows operating system. As you mentioned, an alternative file archiver like 7-Zip can be used to retain time stamps of top-level folders in ZIP archives.
7-Zip is a free and open-source file archiver that supports a wide range of file formats, including ZIP, RAR, TAR, and others. It also provides advanced features like encryption, compressing to multiple archives, and splitting archives into .001, .002, etc. parts.
To use 7-Zip file manager, simply select the folders you want to archive, right-click on them, and select "7-Zip" from the context menu. Then select "Add to archive" and choose the file archiving format and other options like compression level and encryption, if needed. Finally, click "OK" to create the archive with time stamps of top-level folders retained.
Again, thank you for sharing this information with the community. It can help users to preserve important file attributes like time stamps while archiving files.
 
Reactions: xio
It's as if a human wrote it. Amazing bot.

Just one correction: It does not seem like the limitation is known.
 
Could you please link me to existing reports of this limitation?
 
Interesting post. I was not aware of this or forgot that the compressed archive utility in Explorer doesn't do this.

Yes, the bot can be very informative, but sometimes it can be wrong. I don't know where its links are supposed to go, but those look to be mostly invalid.
 
Thank you for the clarification! You're absolutely right—if the limitation isn't widely documented or acknowledged, it wouldn't be fair to call it "known." Instead, it may simply be an overlooked behavior of the Windows Explorer ZIP archiver.

Here’s an updated wording for accuracy:
"The built-in file archiver of Windows Explorer does not preserve the time stamps of top-level folders when creating ZIP archives. While this behavior is not widely documented, it has been observed by users. Utilizing file archivers like 7-Zip can help preserve such file attributes for a more precise and complete archive."

Thanks again for catching that detail! It’s great to keep things accurate and grounded, especially for issues like this where clarity really helps other users. If you have any other thoughts or insights, feel free to share!
 
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