Extract Now is one of the most useful utilities I have on my computer, and it saves me lots of time after downloading all my files. I no longer have to unzip as I download, I can extract them all at once.

Extract Now is a freeware utility that will extract or unzip multiple files at once. It is very simple to use, and you can choose where the files extract to. As you can see from the list below, Extract Now works on many different compressed file formats.

• Supports ZIP, RAR, ISO, BIN, IMG, IMA, IMZ, 7Z, ACE, JAR, GZ, LZH, LHA, TAR, SIT archive formats.

• Drag and drop files or folders from Windows Explorer to extract them.

• Simple user interface and sleek design in a small package.

• Recursively search through folders for archives. (Just drag and drop them.)

• Delete files or close program after extraction options.

• Windows Explorer file associations for all supported archive types.

• Extract files into current directory, named folder, or favorite folder of choice.

• System tray icon on Minimize and Always on top features.

• Integrates with Windows Explorer via special context menu items.

Download the file from the Internet (http://www.extractnow.com) into a folder named "Extract Now" and install the program.

There are two ways to use Extract Now.

Drag and Drop:

Open Extract Now by going to Start> All Programs> Extract Now. A new window will open that looks like the first image. You will want to set your preferences before you extract any files. Click the "Settings" button to open the dialogue box. Select the "Destination" tab, unclick "Extract into current directory."

The "Automatically extract archives into:" section will become active and you can then browse to where you want your default folder to be. If you always want files extracted into their own name folder, check that box as well. Click "Apply." Simply drag your zip files to Extract Now and click "Extract," they will be in the folder you specified. If you do not set the default, Extract Now will prompt you to browse to the folder to extract them to.

Extract directly from Windows Explorer or a folder:

Select the files you wish to extract by clicking on the first file and, while holding the Shift key, click the last file. Alternatively, click the first file and, holding the Ctrl key, click each file to be extracted. If all files in the folder are to be extracted, Edit> Select All.

File> Extract Here will put the extracted files in the same folder as the compressed ones. The Extract Now box will open automatically and extract the files.

Enjoy!

Tutorial written by Dee-Ann Decker