---
title: Module Introduction
description: "## About Archiving The Archiving module in the **Extension Kit** for M-Files provides a seamless way to compress and decompress files within M-Files and other external sources like network drives and SFTP servers. It is designed to automate and simplify…"
url: "https://extensionkit.unitfly.com/documentation/archiving-introduction/"
updated: "2025-05-01"
category: Configurations / Archiving
---

# Module Introduction

## About Archiving

The Archiving module in the **Extension Kit** for M-Files provides a seamless way to compress and decompress files within M-Files and other external sources like network drives and SFTP servers. It is designed to automate and simplify the process of archiving and extracting documents based on user-defined rules and conditions.

**Key Features:**

- **Archiving:** Users can compress documents stored in the M-Files vault into archive formats. Archiving can be triggered manually or automatically when objects meet specific criteria. The resulting archives can be password-protected for added security. Supported formats:
  - 7z - archiving and AES256 encryption,
  - ZIP - archiving, password protect, AES128/192/256 encryption,
  - TAR - archiving only (does not support password protecting / encrypting).
- **Decompression:** Archives from M-Files, file shares, or FTP servers can be extracted and imported into M-Files as either individual documents or a single multi-file document. Extracted files are tagged with a comment containing the full source path of the archive. Option to create:
  - Individual documents for each file in the archive.
  - A single multi-file object in the vault.
  Configurable properties for extracted files:
  - Metadata, including object class and type.
  - Replace existing files on destination objects.
  Supported formats:
  - 7z - unarchiving (does not support password protected archives),
  - ZIP - unarchiving, password protected, AES128/192/256 decryption,
  - TAR - unarchiving (does not support password protected archives),
  - RAR - unarchiving, password protected.
- **Flexible Source and Destination:** Archives can be saved back to M-Files, or external destinations, and new objects can be created dynamically if they don't exist. Decompressed files can similarly be stored in vaults, replacing existing files or as new objects. Supported sources / destinations:
  - Vault,
  - Disk (including Network Share),
  - SFTP.

## Accessing Archiving

After you have successfully installed the application, you should configure Insights.

1. Open M-Files Admin.
2. In the left-side tree view, expand the desired connection to M-Files Server.
3. In the left-side tree view, expand the Document Vaults node.
4. Still, in the left-side tree view, expand the vault where you installed the connector and select **Configurations**.
5. Expand **Other Applications.**
6. Expand **Extension Kit.**
7. Click on **Archiving.**

## Initial Configuration Steps

To begin configuring a rule, you need to define four fundamental fields to establish the rule’s essentials. For detailed descriptions, please click on each field below:

- [Name](https://extensionkit.unitfly.com/documentation/common-features/#namenbsp)
- [Description](https://extensionkit.unitfly.com/documentation/common-features/#description)
- [Enabled](https://extensionkit.unitfly.com/documentation/common-features/#enabled)
- [Configuration mode](https://extensionkit.unitfly.com/documentation/common-features/#configuration-mode).