XL: How to Copy Files from Cabinets on DMF-Formatted Disks

The information in this article applies to:

• Microsoft Excel for Windows, version 5.0c
• Microsoft Excel for Windows 95, version 7.0
• Microsoft Excel 97 for Windows

SUMMARY

The files on Disk 2 and later of the Setup program for Microsoft Excel for Windows are stored in cabinet files on DMF-formatted disks. If you need to copy the files from the disks to a network server or other permanent storage drive, you must use the copy switch (/c) with the Extract.exe utility located on Disk 1 to copy the program files to the target location.

Extract.exe allows you to copy the entire cabinet file (*.cab) or extract and decompress individual files contained in the cabinet file. You can also use the Extract utility to search a cabinet file and list its contents.

To obtain a complete list of command options for Extract, insert Disk 1 and switch to the drive containing the disk. For example, type "A:" (without quotation marks) if the disk is in drive A. Type "extract" or "extract /?" (without quotation marks) at the command prompt to obtain a list of commands for Extract.

MORE INFORMATION

A cabinet (*.cab) file contains many files stored as a single file. The following are examples that show how to use the Extract command to copy and extract files from a cabinet file and how to locate the files contained in a cabinet file.

Copying an Entire *.Cab File

The following examples demonstrate how to use the Extract command to copy the entire cabinet file to another location.

To copy a cabinet file named Excel2.cab to the current directory, use the following syntax:

   extract /c a:\excel2.cab excel2.cab

   extract /c a:\excel2.cab c:\disk2\excel2.cab

Copying Files from a *.Cab File

Below are some examples of how to copy all of the files from a cabinet file.

To copy all of the files from all cabinets on all disks to the directory C:\Flat:

   extract /e /a /l c:\flat a:\excel1.cab

To copy all of the files from the Excel4.cab cabinet to the current directory, use the following syntax:

   extract /e a:\excel4.cab

Locating a File in a *.cab File

If you need only a single file that is contained in one of the cabinet files, you can search for it using the /d switch with Extract.exe. After you find the file, you can use Extract.exe again to copy the file to the desired location. The following examples show how to use the extract command to find files.

To list all files in a cabinet file, use the following syntax:

   extract /d a:\<cabinet filename>

   extract /d a:\<cabinet filename> *.exe

Copying a Single File from a *.Cab File

The following are examples of how to use Extract to copy a single file from a cabinet file.

To extract Any.exe to the current directory, use the following syntax:

   extract a:\<cabinet filename> any.exe

   extract a:\<cabinet filename> any.exe /l c:\excel