Thanks David for your extensive reply. I do have WinZip as well as ZipZilla (accompanied GoZilla download manager).
 
I guess even to merely view the contents of cab files (without extracting its contents), I would need to use the decompression utilities ? Are the cab file contents available in text form (for easy reference) anywhere on the Web ?

Thanks

Shaleen Kumar
  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: [log in to unmask] 
  To: sonalee harve ; PCSOFT - Personal Computer software discussion list 
  Sent: Wednesday, October 24, 2001 8:46 PM
  Subject: Re: [PCSOFT] Cab files


  On 24 Oct 2001, at 13:34, sonalee harve wrote:
  > Could anyone please tell me what are Cab files
  Cab files are compressed files, like zip files.  People say that the 
  format was invented by Microsoft, but I have no reliable information 
  on their history.  Microsoft uses them very extensively, but some 
  other software companies use them also.

  >  and how is a program extracted
  Windows 95 came with an inconvenient .cab extractor, and Win98 
  came with 2 different ones.  I don't know about other Windows.  by 
  far the easiest way to extract a .cab file is using WinZip, or any 
  other modern general zip utility.  If you don't have one, or if 
  Windows is too badly damaged to let you use it, post again.  We 
  can direct you either to some free or evaluation utilities which can 
  extract the program (Winzip itself has an evaluation version), or to 
  MS's instructions for using their built-ins. 

  > (if I am using the right term) from them ?
  Yup.

  Thank you.
  David Jonathan Justman

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