User Guide

High-ratio desktop archiving — compress, extract, and manage archives, with optional encryption, self-extracting archives, and split volumes.

Applies to: Slim Archiver (Free / Evaluation, Pro, and Enterprise editions) — Desktop v1.0.0 · Audience: end users. Enterprise administration (SSO, vaults, cloud, governance) is covered in the separate Administrator guides.

About this guide

This guide covers everyday use of the Slim Archiver desktop app: creating archives, extracting them, and the options on each screen. Features marked PRO require a Pro license and ENT require an Enterprise license; everything else is available in all editions, including Free / Evaluation.

1. Getting started

Slim Archiver is organized into workspaces, selected from the sidebar on the left:

Compress — select files and folders and create an archive.
Manager — open an existing archive, view its contents, and extract it.
Cloud Connect ENT and Control Center ENT — enterprise features (see the Administrator guides).
Settings — application preferences and default options.
License & Info — your license status, machine ID, and application details.

The System Output Console runs along the bottom of the window and logs each operation. You can collapse it with the arrow in its header, or drag its top edge to resize it.

Editions at a glanceFree / Evaluation — core compression and extraction, including password and file-name encryption. Pro — adds self-extracting (SFX) archives and split volumes. Enterprise — adds Smart Card / CAC encryption, password-vault integration, cloud connectors, and centralized governance. Your current edition is shown in License & Info and in the status bar (e.g. ENGINE: SLIM ARCHIVER ENTERPRISE).

2. Creating an archive (Compress)

Open the Compress workspace. Creating an archive has two parts: choosing what to include (Source Items, left) and choosing how to build it (Archive Settings, right).

2.1 Add your files

Drag files or folders onto the Drag & Drop area, or click it to browse.
Or use Add Files, Add Directory, and Clear All below the list.

2.2 Choose your settings

Slim Archiver creates archives in its own high-ratio .slim format. The main settings are:

Setting	Options	What it does
Compression Method	Fast, Normal (default), High, Very High, Extreme, Maximum	Higher settings compress smaller but take longer and use more CPU. Very High, Extreme and Maximum combine Zstandard with LZMA: Very High uses a faster LZMA search, Extreme compresses each block as 4 LZMA pieces, Maximum as one LZMA stream (smallest, slowest).
Dictionary Size	1, 4, 16, 32, 64 MB (default 64)	Larger dictionaries improve ratio on big or repetitive data. Applies to High and above.
Worker Threads	Auto-detect (default), 1–32	How many CPU threads to use. Auto-detect is recommended.
Archive Target Path	Save location	Where the archive is written. Type a path or use Browse.
Password (optional)	Any passphrase	Encrypts the archive. See section 4.

Tip — dictionary size only affects High and aboveIf you pick Fast or Normal, the dictionary setting has no effect and the app shows a hint to that effect. To benefit from a large dictionary, use High, Very High, Extreme, or Maximum.

2.3 Advanced Parameters

Expand Advanced Parameters for additional options, grouped by purpose:

Security

Encrypt File Names — also hides the names of files inside the archive. It becomes available once the archive is encrypted: a password or a Vault Secret ID ENT is entered, or CAC / Smart Card Encryption is ticked.
CAC / Smart Card Encryption ENT — encrypts the archive for a smart card certificate instead of a password: Windows asks you to choose the certificate (and the card's PIN). The archive then has no password and opens only with that smart card; if the card or its private key is lost, the archive cannot be opened. It cannot be combined with a password or an SFX archive: the app greys out the conflicting option and a hint below the options says why.

Format

Split Volume Size PRO — splits the archive into parts of a chosen size: 10 / 25 / 100 MB, 700 MB (CD), 4 GB (DVD), or a custom size. Useful for transfer limits or removable media.

2.4 Create it

Click Create Archive. Progress appears in the console and a progress overlay. Enterprise users may see Create & Upload to Cloud to write directly to a configured cloud destination (see the Cloud Connectors guide).

3. Opening and extracting archives (Manager)

Open the Manager workspace to work with an existing archive.

Click Open Archive (or drag an archive onto the drop area) to load it and list its contents.
Set an Extraction destination — leave it blank to extract to the same folder as the archive.
Click Extract All Files.

Slim Archiver can extract these formats: .slim .zip .rar .tar .gz .tgz

What Slim Archiver creates vs. extractsThe desktop app creates archives in the .slim format (and self-extracting .exe with SFX). It extracts the six formats listed above. RAR extraction uses the UnRAR library by Alexander Roshal, provided as-is.

3.1 If the archive is encrypted

Enter the password in the Password field before extracting.
Enterprise users can instead supply a Vault Secret ID ENT to fetch the password from a corporate vault (see the Vault Integration guide).
For your protection, extraction stops after 5 incorrect password attempts; re-open the archive to try again.

3.2 Cloud Connect transfers ENT

In the Cloud Connect workspace, Upload sends the selected local file to the current cloud folder, and Download saves the selected cloud file into the local folder shown on the left.
If a file with the same name is already in that folder, the app asks Replace File?; the existing file is replaced only when the download is complete. A failed or cancelled download leaves it unchanged.
A download interrupted by a brief network drop is retried (up to 3 times) and continues where it stopped. Files of 100 MB or more are downloaded over 4 connections at once.
Setting up the cloud connection is covered in the Cloud Connectors guide.

4. Passwords & encryption

Encryption is included in every editionPassword encryption of archive contents and file-name encryption are available in all editions, including Free / Evaluation — no Pro or Enterprise license is required. (Smart Card / CAC encryption is the only encryption option that requires Enterprise.)

To encrypt an archive, enter a password in the Password (Optional) field on the Compress screen before creating it. The archive is encrypted with that password; anyone opening it must supply the same password.

Use Encrypt File Names (Advanced → Security) to also hide the list of file names inside the archive.
There is no password recovery — if you lose the password, the contents cannot be recovered. Store it safely.
A password-protected archive can be opened by anyone who has the password; keep it confidential.

Important — no password recoveryIf you lose an archive's password, its contents cannot be recovered by anyone, including the vendor. Store passwords safely.

Note for Enterprise usersA vault-sourced password produces an archive identical to a manually-typed one — it can be opened either by fetching from the vault again or by typing the literal password. The vault governs who can retrieve the password, not who can open the archive. Full detail is in the Vault Integration guide.

5. Settings & defaults

The Settings workspace lets you set defaults that pre-fill new operations — for example a default compression method and a default extraction behavior (prompt for a folder each time, or always use a set path). These are conveniences; you can still change any option per archive.

6. License & edition

Open License & Info to see your machine Hardware ID (HWID), your license status, and to activate or deactivate a license. The header shows your active edition — PRO ACTIVE or ENTERPRISE ACTIVE — or evaluation mode if no license is active.

Free / Evaluation — core compression and extraction, including password and file-name encryption.
Pro — unlocks SFX archives and split volumes.
Enterprise — unlocks Smart Card / CAC encryption, vault integration, cloud connectors, and governance.

If you select a Pro or Enterprise feature without the matching license, the app tells you which license is required and does not create the archive.

7. Troubleshooting

Situation	What it means / what to do
“Please enter an archive target path”	No output path was set on Compress. Type a path or use Browse.
A Pro-feature message when creating	SFX or Split Volume was selected without a Pro license. Activate Pro, or turn the option off.
Smart Card / CAC message	Smart card encryption requires an Enterprise license (and corporate sign-in, if your administrator requires it). To open such an archive, the smart card it was encrypted for must be inserted; a cancelled certificate choice or PIN also stops the operation.
Extraction stops after retries	Five incorrect password attempts were reached. Re-open the archive and try again with the correct password.
Unsupported archive	The app extracts `.slim`, `.zip`, `.rar`, `.tar`, `.gz`, `.tgz`. Other formats aren't supported.
“Data Loss Prevention Block” or “Data Loss Prevention: File Not Inspected” ENT	Your administrator's DLP policy stopped the archive: a file matched a rule, or a file could not be inspected (unreadable, encrypted, too large, or an archive type DLP cannot open) or a DLP rule is invalid. The Raw Error under the card names the file and the reason. Remove that file from the selection, or ask your administrator.
“Cloud Storage Request Failed” ENT	An upload, download, new folder or delete in Cloud Connect did not complete. The Raw Error gives the reason, for example `NoSuchKey` (the object was deleted or renamed in the cloud: refresh the cloud list) or `AccessDenied` (the access key is not allowed to do this).
Update check unavailable / offline	The app couldn't reach the update server. This doesn't affect compression or extraction.

The System Output Console at the bottom of the window logs each step and usually names the specific cause of any error; use Report Issue in its header to send feedback.