EXPAND – Windows CMD Command

Uncompress one or more compressed .CAB cabinet files.

Syntax
      EXPAND [-R] Source Destination
      EXPAND -R Source [Destination]
      EXPAND -I Source [Destination]
      EXPAND -D Source.cab [-F:Files]
      EXPAND Source.cab -F:Files Destination

Options
   Source       Source file specification.  Wildcards can be used.

  -F:Files      Name of files to expand from a .CAB.

  Destination   Destination file | path specification.
                Destination can be a directory.
                If Source is multiple files and -r is not specified,
                Destination must be a directory.

  -R            Rename expanded files.

  -I            Rename expanded files but ignore directory structure.

  -D            Display list of files in source.
                The output display does not display the PATH, but will use it on the extraction.

The Microsoft File Expansion Utility dates back to MS-DOS 5 in 1990 supplied on floppy disc.

Versions of Expand prior to 6.0 (Windows 7) have buggy handling of cab files that contain filenames in subfolders – it will not preserve the path. Full details over on the forum.

Example

C:\> Expand -d demo.cab