Featured Freeware: ExtractNow

ExtractNow could use a bit of sprucing up. The dead-simple and cheetah-quick installation brings you to an expanse of white that sits on top of four buttons. That's it. It's not an interface that sells the feature set, but it's the features that you're going to be most interested in.

The program should appeal to users who handle a high volume of archives, because all it does is extract archive contents. The four buttons, Settings, History, Clear, and Extract, lay out the basics. Click Settings and a window pops up to entice you with options. From the boilerplate specials like Always on Top or Start with Windows to more detailed customizations such as delineating a default extraction directory, setting file extensions to ignore, and adjusting post-extraction behavior, ExtractNow gives users as much flexibility as possible when it comes to batch archive extractions. You can, for instance, set it to delete archives after their files have been extracted.

It is not an archiver, though, and won't be able to replace your favorite archiver. But if you're more about receiving than giving when it comes to ZIPs, RARs, and TARs, ExtractNow can save you a massive amount of time.