Creates self extracting archive.
-sfx[{SFX_Module}]
Specifies the SFX module that will be combined with the archive. This module must be placed in the same directory as the 7z.exe. If {SFX_Module} is not assigned, 7-Zip will use standard console SFX module 7zCon.sfx.
| SFX_Module | Description |
|---|---|
| 7z.sfx | Windows version. |
| 7zCon.sfx | Console version. |
| 7zS.sfx | Windows version for installers. |
| 7zSD.sfx | Windows version for installers (uses MSVCRT.dll). |
All SFX modules are uncompressed. You can use UPX program (http://upx.sourceforge.net) to compresss such modules. After compressing by the UPX program, the size of the sfx module will be reduced to 40-50% of its original size.
SFX modules for installers are included in an external package (7z_extra). You can download these modules from www.7-zip.org. SFX modules for installers (7zS.sfx and 7zSD.sfx) allow you to create your own installation program. Such a module extracts the archive to the user's temp folder, and runs a specified program, and removes the temp files after the program finishes. A self-extracting archive for installers must be created as joining 3 files: SFX_Module, Installer_Config, 7z_Archive. In addition, an optional file, Installer_Config, is allowed. You can use the following command to create an installer self-extracting archive:
copy /b 7zS.sfx + config.txt + archive.7z archive.exe
An optimally small installation package size can be achieved, if the installation files are uncompressed before including them in the 7z archive.
-y switch for installer module specifies quiet mode extraction.
This config file contains commands for the Installer. The file begins with the string ;!@Install@!UTF-8! and ends with ;!@InstallEnd@!. The file must be written in UTF-8 encoding. The file contains any or all these string pairs:
ID_String="Value"
| ID_String | Description |
|---|---|
| Title | Title for messages |
| BeginPrompt | Begin Prompt message |
| Progress | Value can be "yes" or "no". Default value is "yes". |
| RunProgram | Command for executing. Default value is "setup.exe". Substring %%T will be replaced with path to temporary folder, where files were extracted |
| Directory | Directory prefix for "RunProgram". Default value is ".\\" |
| ExecuteFile | Name of file for executing |
| ExecuteParameters | Parameters for "ExecuteFile" |
You may omit any pair.
There are two ways to run a installation program: RunProgram and ExecuteFile. Use RunProgram, if you want to run a program from the .7z archive. Use ExecuteFile, if you want to open a document from the .7z archive, or if you want to execute a command from Windows.
If you use RunProgram, and if you specify empty directory prefix: Directory="", the system searches for the executable file in the following sequence:
;!@Install@!UTF-8! Title="7-Zip 4.00" BeginPrompt="Do you want to install the 7-Zip 4.00?" RunProgram="setup.exe" ;!@InstallEnd@!
;!@Install@!UTF-8! Title="7-Zip 4.00" BeginPrompt="Do you want to install the 7-Zip 4.00?" ExecuteFile="7zip.msi" ;!@InstallEnd@!
;!@Install@!UTF-8! Title="7-Zip 4.01 Update" BeginPrompt="Do you want to install the 7-Zip 4.01 Update?" ExecuteFile="msiexec.exe" ExecuteParameters="/i 7zip.msi REINSTALL=ALL REINSTALLMODE=vomus" ;!@InstallEnd@!
7z a -sfx a.exe *.txt
adds *.txt files to self extracting archive a.exe using the default console SFX module.
7z a -sfx7z.sfx a.exe *
adds all files to self extracting archive a.exe with module 7z.sfx using windows version of SFX mudule.