JSI Tip 1507. Extract from a Cabinet (.CAB).

Extract is a new tool that is included in Supplement 4 of the Windows NT 4.0 Server Resource kit.

Extract.exe is a command line utility to extract individual files from compressed cabinet (.cab) files. Cabinet files are a highly efficient method of compression and distribution that has been used by Microsoft for its own products for many years. It is now available to anyone who needs to compress and distribute multiple files.

The CAB file format is a non-proprietary format based on Lempel-Ziv compression. At the heart of this format is the MakeCAB compression tool, a lossless data compression tool that provides efficient compression for setup programs and Internet applications alike. With MakeCAB, you can store multiple files in a single cabinet file and carry compression across files.

Note: Internet Explorer 4.0 and later, and Windows 98, use a new compression algorithm for compressed cabinet files. You cannot extract files from Internet Explorer 4.0 or 4.01 or Windows 98 cabinet files using the version of Extract.exe included with Windows 95.